Plethora of November Letters!

I was going to do separate posts on this group of letters, but I decided that I don't want to. :)

In the last week or so, I've received five letters! I will share them all with you in this post, from youngest child to oldest child, of course. We must keep things orderly.

The first letter is from Veronika. She wrote about the My Dreams template, which is super sweet. I love hearing dreams from the future from little ones.

Veornika is 6 years old and lives in Haiti. Her letter is dated November 7th, 2016.

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1. Someday I would like to visit: Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti. 

2. Someday I would like to help: My family and friends.

3. Someday I would like to meet: My aunt. 

4. When I grow up I would like to be: A Nurse. 

5. Someday I would like to be like: My Mother. 

Veronika is glad to write this letter to you and greets you in Jesus's name. How are you? How are your activities going? She and her family are very well, by God's grace, in spite of the natural disaster, but God keeps her and her family safe. She always prays for God to bless you and your family. She asks you to pray for her to have much intelligence in school. She wishes you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2017. May God bless you! 

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Next, a letter from Mulwa. This is the second letter I've gotten from him this month. He's turned into quite a chatty boy. Graduating from the template letters was a great thing for him!

Mulwa is 9 years old and lives in Kenya. He wrote his letter on October 21st, 2016.

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Dear Kayla,

I greet you, Kayla, in Jesus's name and I hope you are fine as I am. At the project we are well and we are trying as much as we can to preach and know the word of God. My parents are working hard to provide the basic needs for me. I help my parents to fetch water from the nearby river. I fetch firewood which is used as fuel. My parents even send me to the market. I like helping my parents with house chores. I have a dog named Baby. He is a big, black dog who guards the house. At school, I am working hard. In the last exam, I was in position 3 with 350 points. I work hard to achieve my goals. I play football, which is my best game. My best subject is English. I attend church services every Sunday. I am in the church choir. My talent is singing. I thank God for that talent. Now we are approaching the December holiday. I will help my parents to prepare their farm because the rainy season is starting. My parents benefit mostly through farming. I love you and may the Lord Almighty bless you. Amen. 

Mulwa

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Another letter from Kenya now. This time, from my girl Faith. I was absolutely heartbroken when I read this letter. As long as I've been writing to her, Faith has lived with her single mother and her siblings. It isn't said flat-out in this letter, but it appears that Faith no longer has her mother in her life. I am not sure if her mother died or left or what. Whatever happened, she appears to be struggling to deal with it. Breaks my heart. However, I am also completely honored of the new role I now play in Faith's life. I don't take it lightly, at all. Even typing this now, my eyes are getting teary. Faith and I are now bonded for life. 

It also appears that, due to the letter slowdown this year, she has had to wait quite awhile for a letter from me. She is not shy about letting me know how that makes her feel. I love that honesty. 

Faith is 10 years old. Her letter is dated October 1st, 2016. 

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Dear Kayla, 

I salute you in Jesus's name, my beloved sponsor Kayla! How are you? I believe you are fine. I am fine here with my brothers and sisters. My sponsor, I don't have parents anymore and due to this, I count you as one of my parents. I got your letter, my dear sponsor, and I am thankful, because of your remembrance. I thank God because he is my father who will never ever fail me in any way. I am struggling to meet my objectives of pursuing well in my academics. Join me in my prayers  to pursue well. My sponsor, I do pray for you. When you stay for long with saluting me with letters, I feel frustrated, so please keep on saluting me and the Almighty God will bless you. You are my parent in one way or another. Have a good time. Good bye!

Faith

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The next letter is from Ernest. He is one of my kiddos who doesn't like to write much. I think he may have trouble writing, because he still has a tutor help him write. I think that may change in the future. If not, I will keep writing to him faithfully anyway.

Ernest is 11 years old and lives in Ghana. His letter was written October 31st, 2016.

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Dear Kayla, 

Ernest says thank you very much for your letters and support for him. He says he has been promoted to the next class. He says he and his family are doing well. He says pray for God's protection for him always. He says may God richly bless you. He shares John 10:30, "I and my father are one." 

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And the last letter of today is from Maria. For some reason, this letter has taken quite a long time to get to me. There must have been a pile up of letters in her country's office. 

Maria is 12 years old and lives in Brazil. Her letter is dated August 3rd, 2016. 

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Dear Sponsor Kayla, 

How are you? My family and I are doing fine. I enjoyed my vacation in July. I went to the movies with my friends and to the beach with my family also! I like getting your letters! I am so happy because my brother is in college. He is studying to be an architect. I am taking computer and Christian classes at the project and I like both so much. I hope to hear from you soon. Kisses and hugs from me! 

Maria Eduarda

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Looking to Sponsor a Sweet Girl?

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving (for my U.S readers)! After the meal has been eaten and leftovers put away, I hope you took some time to think about what you are thankful for this year.  I know I sure did. Other than the typical being thankful for my family, my friends, and my job, I am also so thankful to have the opportunity to be able to both financially sponsor children and write to many, many children around the world. It is a privilege that I don't take lightly. I am in awe of the blessings of these children every single day. 

If you are reading this blog, I'm sure you feel the same way about your children. If you have room in your family for a new sponsored child or have been searching for a child to sponsor, I encourage you to consider one of the two girls that I will share about in this post. If you aren't in the spot to sponsor financially right now, I encourage you to pray for these girls, that they will find a sponsor soon. 

If you are interested in sponsoring either of these girls, please email me at Groth.Kayla@mail.ic.edu and I will share the information that you need to sponsor them. 

Both of these girls are currently sponsored by one of my readers, who is no longer in a position to sponsor them. She asked me to post these girls on my blog and I was happy to do so. 

This first precious girl is Anahi. She lives in Ecuador, in a jungle community. These jungle communities in Ecuador often lack even the basic necessities of running water, electricity, shoes, and daily meals. Compassion does amazing work in these communities. 

Anahi is 9 years old. Her birthday is April 5th, 2007. She lives with her father, mother, and sister. She loves to play house, play hide and seek, play with dolls, and go swimming. She also loves animals!

This cutie is Janet. Don't you love her track suit? I think it's adorable! 

Janet is 8 years old. Her birthday is October 5th, 2008. She lives in a rural desert community Mexico.  She lives at home with her grandmother, her mother, and 6 siblings! Her father is living and working in the United States and sending money home to the family. I imagine they don't get to see each other very often. 

I was told that Janet writes wonderful letters and always shares about what she is learning at the project. I think she'll be a blast to get to know through letters! Her current sponsor says that she also has a video of Janet on her account, that she would be happy to show anybody seriously considering sponsoring Janet. 

Remember, if you would like to sponsor either of these girls, please send me an email to the above email address and we'll get you on the road to having them transferred to your Compassion account. 

Two More for the Records Book and Another Precious Child

If you can believe it, I got ANOTHER two photo updates yesterday. All of these photos of my beautiful children are certainly something to be thankful for this month. Happy Thanksgiving, indeed. I am amazed by and grateful for the opportunity to write to these precious children everyday. They are the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning and I fall asleep praying for them every night. These kiddos keep me going.

Here are the photo updates:

It's great to get another smiley photo from Derrick! 

I think Gary looks pretty snazzy in his pink shirt! 

And another correspondent child joins my family. Sweet 9 year old Sunrei (don't you love her name?!). 

I Love My CO-384 Boys!

Goodness gracious, I love my two boys from CO-384. Don't get me wrong, I love all of my kids, but there is some part of my heart that feels so connected to these two boys, as well as their project. I pray every day that the company that is sponsoring them never cancels their sponsorship, because I would have to find a way to pick up both of them as financial sponsorships and I have no idea how I would swing that. Let's just hope I never have to figure it out. I love companies that sponsor children for the "long haul."

Anyway, I heard from both of my boys this week. It has been 5 whole months since their last letters, which is extremely rare for this project. In the past, I have heard from these boys every two months, like clockwork. I hope it's just that 2016 is a transition year and that things will pick up in 2017.

Both boys wrote about what kinds of things they are learning at their project. Jonatan wrote on a template and Daniel wrote his own letter. I like looking at both letters and seeing the similarities in what they are learning. It's also fun to see the differences in what they are learning, based on their class-specific lessons. Jonatan is in 3rd grade and Daniel is in 5th grade, so they are in different age groups at the project. They also attend project activities on different days of the week.

Up first, Jonatan wrote on the My Project Learning template. This seems to be the very first template that he's written on his own. He checked pretty much every box on the letter, haha. He may need a bit more direction on the next letter. Sweet boy...

Jonatan is 9 years old. His letter is dated September 18th, 2016.

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1. In my project, I am learning about: The Bible, Good Behavior, Sharing with Others, Celebrating Birthdays, Camps, Singing, God's Love, Salvation, and Learning to Pray. 

2. Regarding my behavior, I have learned: To respect others, to be grateful, to greet people, and to help elderly persons.

3. My favorite thing to learn about at the project is: When we go out to watch and learn. 

4. About taking care of my body, I have learned: Take a bath, brush my teeth 3 times a day, and washing hands. 

5. About my community, I have learned: No littering, keep the street clean, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and taking care of trees. 

Dear Kayla, 

I kindly greet you, wishing you are well. Thanks you for all your letters with photos and pictures to color. I want to tell you that I have been at my cousin's house, where we played ball and hide and seek. I say goodbye with this Bible text Deuteronomy 6:6-9. 

Until Later, 

Jonatan

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Now Daniel's letter. He wrote about the same topic, to a more detailed degree. Daniel is very advanced, intellectually, which I have been able to tell since his very first letter. Even two years ago, his letters were very impressive. This letter confirms what I've thought about his intelligence. It seems he is doing even more excellent in school than I thought. I am so eager to see where this boy heads in the future. 

Daniel is 10 years old. His letter was written on September 21st, 2016. 

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Dear Kayla, 

Dear remembered sponsor, I write this letter with the desire to greet you and wish you many blessings from God, my Lord. I want to tell you that at the project, I have learned more about the Bible; about the story of Noah's ark, Daniel in the lion's den, about salvation, God's love, to respect others, to always give thanks, to greet other people, to shower everyday, and keep my clothes clean. I have also learned to not throw garbage in any place, but to reduce, reuse, and recycle it. What I like most to learn to play is the piano and flute. Thanks to God, I am doing very well in my school. I am occupying the 1st place in all my subjects. I am healthy. Would you visit Colombia one day? I want to thank you for the letter you have sent me. You tell me that Chloe hurt her arm. Yes, I will be praying for the request you asked me for. I want to give you the Bible verse Psalm 23. I say goodbye with a hug for you and your whole family. God bless you. 

Daniel

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November Photo Updates Are Rolling In!

I got four photo updates last month and I thought that was great. However, we are only halfway through November and I've received five photo updates. Some of these photo updates I wasn't even expecting! The two updates I share with you today came at only 16 month and 18 months, respectively, since the last update. Considering Compassion projects only have to update photos every 24 months, I am pretty happy with the faster updates!

My growing kids:

Haji in Tanzania

Marinelis in Dominican Republic

Sweet Letters Come in Pairs

I have another pair of letters to share with you. November is certainly shaping up to be a great month for letters!

I'll share the letter from Ernest first. I know that children learning to write is a process and it takes longer for some kids, than others. However, I am so looking forward to when Ernest starts writing his own letters. I just have this feeling that Ernest has so much to say. I am looking forward to the day when I see a long letter from him.

Ernest is 11 years old and lives in Ghana. His letter is dated September 3rd, 2016.

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Dear Kayla, 

God bless you for supporting him, says Ernest. Ernest says that he has been promoted to primary grade 4 in school. He says pray for knowledge and understanding for him. He says may God bless, guide, and keep you always. John 14:14, "If you ask anything in my name, I will do it." Amen. 

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Now, a letter from Enmanuel. He is going to be graduating from the template letters soon, which seems to be perfect timing. He wrote this letter on his own and did a great job answering my last list of questions! 

Enmanuel is 9 years old and lives in the Dominican Republic. He filled out the My Friends template and wrote a detailed letter on the back. His letter isn't dated. 

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1. An activity I do with my friends is: Reading the Bible

2. My friends names are:  Manuel, Jassiel, Daniel 

3. My best friend is: A boy

4. My best friend is special because: He loves to share

5. I met my best friend: At school

Dear Sponsor Kayla, 

May God bless you a lot! How are you? I hope you are doing fine! My favorite fruit is mango. My favorite vegetable is tomato. My favorite dessert is rice with milk pudding. I like playing when it's raining. I like showering under the rain. The first thing I do when I wake up is pray, then brush my teeth. The last thing I do before going to sleep is pray. My favorite toy is a car. If I were invisible for a whole day I would make mischief. Thank you for your prayers for my family. 

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Two More Sweet Little Ones

When I asked for so many correspondent list requests, especially such specific ones, I expected to wait for quite awhile. However, this kiddos keep pouring in! I can't complain, of course. Children are getting sponsors and I get to love on them through letters. Doesn't get much better than that.

I have another two children to share with you:

6 year old Airin from Indonesia

4 year old Tle from Thailand

As always, I can't wait to start sending letters to them and encouraging them!

Erick's Updated Photo: 2016

You guys! Be still my beating heart...

I sponsored Erick, from Honduras, last month, straight from another sponsor. I went into my sponsorship with two photos and I just received another one of him. I feel quite spoiled. Three photos for a new child is one of those wonderful things that can happen, if the dates line up right.

I feel in love with Erick's sweet disposition in both of his photos and it just keeps getting better. His new photo is just as sweet!

Erick is turning 14 next month.

Kiddos Both Small & Big

Another two letters to post today. One from a cute, teeny girl and one from a wonderful, young man.

I'll share the letter from my sweetheart Carolin first. She wrote her letter on the My Friends template form.

Carolin is 4 years old and lives in the Dominican Republic. Her letter is dated September 15th, 2016.

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1. An activity I do with my friends are: Eat ice cream

2. My friends names are: Emily, Camila, Sara

3. My best friend is: A girl

4. My best friend is special because: she likes to share

5. I met my best friend at: the center

Dear Kayla, 

May the Lord bless you. Blessings are the wishes of the girl and her family. She says that she is very grateful for all the letters you sent her and that she is fine and happy because her mother had a baby, her little sister. Please pray for the family of the girl. She loves you so much. 

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Now a letter from Jhonrex. He's such a great young man. He took several years off of school due to peer pressure and started back up recently, through encouragement by his previous sponsor (my friend Ali) and his tutors at the Compassion project. He is working very hard in school, despite being the oldest, by far, in his class. I am so proud of his effort. 

Jhonrex is 16 years old and from the Philippines. His letter is dated September 10th, 2016. 

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Dear Ate Kayla, 

Hello! How are you? I hope you're in good condition together with your family. About me, I am fine and by the way, thank you for sending me letters. I am happy to receive your letters, mostly those with pictures of Ate Ali and of her baby. I am now in 6th grade and hoping to graduate from elementary school in March. Please pray for wisdom from God for my studies. Where did you spend the summer? Did you go to a beach? Thank you very much for reading my letter. Regards to Ate Ali. 

LOVE,

Jhonrex

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Twice the Love from Honduras

It's always such a treat to hear from my teens in Honduras. Now, I have a third teen from Honduras and I am so looking forward to when I first hear from him. Today, we hear from Celeste and Carlos.

Celeste's letter is dated September 13th, 2016. She is 14 years old.

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Hello Dear Sponsor Kayla, 

I hope you and your beautiful family are in good health. It is a pleasure to write another one of my letters to you. I do it with much love and affection. Friendship is a beautiful thing and I take you as my special friend. My best friend here is Gloria. She is so special and I get along with her. We are always together and we do many things together. In the CDC class, they have taught me several biblical texts. I write here one of the many that I have learned. "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will fine; knock and the door will be opened to you." Matthew 7:7. My best friend and I have been friends since we started school. She has always been with me in good and bad times. We have done many things together. Once we had a sleepover in my house and we had a lot of fun and ate snacks my grandma made for us. I close here with many hugs and kisses. 

Sincerely, 

Celeste

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Now, onto the letter from Carlos. His letter is dated September 8th, 2016. 

Carlos is 15 years old. 

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Hello dear Kayla, 

I hope that you are in good health, next to your family. My family and I are very well in health, by the grace of God. I wanted to tell you that on Saturday I had a birthday party of a cousin who turned 1 year old. I had a good time with everybody. I wanted to tell you that I am doing very well and school and in my grades. I thank you for sending me a letter. I wanted to tell you that I observed the pictures and I feel sad to know that C broke her arm, but thanks to God, they took her to a doctor and they placed a cast and little by little the bone will be restored. I wanted to tell you that I will be praying for her. I would like to know, what activities do you do? I wanted to tell you that one of my goals is to become a teacher. I would like to work in a school. I would like to visit the Statue of Liberty. What is C's favorite toy? I ask you to always pray for me, to fulfill my goals. I say goodbye with affection. 

Carlos 

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Eric's Last Updated Photo!

Look how much this handsome guy has grown over the years. Eric was my first ever correspondent child, way back in 2011. He will be graduating next August and I will miss him so much. However, when I first got him, even as a teenager, he was barely able to read and write. His first letters to me were illegible and he had to be helped by a tutor to put a few words on the paper. As time went on, his handwriting turned out to be wonderful and he had great things to say. He was only in 3rd grade when I first started writing to him and now he is finishing up 8th grade! He doesn't have to plans to continue to high school, but he is enrolled in vocational training to become a construction worker. I am so proud of him! I am looking forward to our remaining months together to see just how much he will continue to accomplish!

Letters, Letters, Yay!

I have another two letters to share with you today. Both letters are from two of my great teenagers.

Let's begin with a letter from Daniel Lemayian. This is my 2nd letter from him. His first letter was a bit more chatty than this one, but hey, at least he wrote to me, right? That's a blessing in itself.

Daniel Lemayian is 16 years old and lives in Kenya. His letter is dated August 27th, 2016.

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Dear Kayla, 

First and foremost, I greet you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. As for me, I am good with my family members. I'm also doing well at home and I am working hard in school. I am doing well in the project. I hope that you are all doing well. I am praying for you so much. May God bless you and your family. Have a nice day. 

Daniel Lemayian 

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The other letter I received was from Lina. As is common for her country, this letter is wonderful. All of her letters are wonderful. 

Lina is 18 years old and lives in Colombia. She wrote this letter on September 9th, 2016. 

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Hi My Dear Friend, 

I greet you in the name of the Lord Jesus. With this letter, I want to show my happiness because I serve the Lord in the camps and gospel activities. It is rewarding to work with these. Everything is going well, without problems at home. My mom is still working at her dressmaking workshop and I do the chores, while my sister cooks our food. I'm still living in our neighbored La Union with my mom and sister, Luna. I like to talk to them. I thank you for your letters, support, and prayers that you offer to me. They bless me and help me to do well at school. I answer your questions saying that my best friend's name is Daniela and we met when we were 6 years old. We go to the project together and we share happy and sad times.  How is your health? I send Isaiah 43:1-5. Remember that God saved us because he loves us. I close, wishing you will be blessed by him. 

Lina 

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First Sunday Advocate: November 2016

A new month, a new list of kids to share with you. For my new readers, every month, I share children that are waiting for a sponsor through Compassion International. Each of these children attends the same project and church as one of my sponsored/correspondent children. Typically, each month, I have a list of 10 kids to share with you and there are many more children from my kids' projects on the website.

This month, I only have five kids to share with you. I hope that means that there aren't any kids waiting for sponsors! Here are this month's kiddos (all boys this time!):

4 Year Old Jean from NI-207 (Ayling)

11 Year Old Bayardo from NI-207 (Ayling)

10 Year Old Cristhiam from NI-244 (Gary)

17 Year Old Eric from RW-339 (Kwizera)

3 Year Old Robert from UG-721 (Eric)

Emanuel and Tamiru's New Photos: 2016

My kids keep growing and it makes my heart happy.

(Photos can be viewed larger by clicking on them)

A Long Letter from Mulwa

Just a few days into November and I already have letters to share with you.

I will share a really long and wonderful letter from Mulwa, today, and share a few more tomorrow.

He has just recently graduated from using the template forms and he seems to have found his stride in writing. He still uses a helper to write his letters, but Mulwa dictates every word. All of a sudden, he's a super expressive guy! He answered all of my questions, as well.

Mulwa is 9 years old and lives in Kenya. He wrote this letter on May 28th, 2016 (no idea what took it so long to get here).

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Hello Sponsor, 

Mulwa salutes you in Jesus's name. He says that he is fine and his family members are fine too. He hopes that you are as fine as he is. 

Mulwa says that Compassion has helped him in many ways. It has paid school fees for him. It has provided him with a balanced diet and medical care. It has enabled him to the know the word of God. and how to live with others in good ways. It is important that children have a sponsor for the above reasons, among others. Before one sponsors a child, they should consider the background of the child. Through letters, they act as a link between sponsor and child. Mulwa says that he likes to hear about your country and also your family. 

Mulwa says that he longs to see a ship and to see how it travels in water. He adds that he loves ships, but has never seen one, except in storybooks and in drawings. He says that he has never seen an ocean. 

Mulwa says that to become a good pilot, he has to excel in academics, most especially in mathematics. He says that Colossians 2:6-7 has encouraged him and strengthened his faith in God and also his plans for the future. 

Mulwa says that he is very happy when he plays with his friends and that makes him feel better when he is sad. He says that he is afraid of lions and snakes. In his family, Mulwa says he resembles his father and writes with his right hand. He says that he wishes to be a pilot and fly to your country to visit you. He says that if he were to make a law for his country, it would be that every citizen should love one another just as he/she loves themselves. He says that he knew that he had a sponsor through the letters and gifts he has been receiving from you. He says that he has never won a prize or award, but he longs to win one. He says that the famous person he most wants to meet is the president of this country. Mulwa says that he has no nickname and you can give him one of your choice. He says that if he had a garden, he would plant maize and beans, the staple foods in Kenya. Now, Mulwa has these questions for you: 

1. What kind of job do you do? 

2. Do you live in a city, a town, or a village? 

3. What do you like doing in your leisure time? 

Finally, he wishes you all the best in your undertakings. 

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Three New Correspondent Children

The other day, on Facebook, a group of sponsors was talking about what our "limit" on correspondent children. I mentioned something about how I've had several "limits". I wanted 5 kids, then 10, then 25, then 50 and now I've even gone above and beyond that. The more kids I have, the more I feel in my heart that I can write to more and more. And believe it or not, I have a personal connection with all of them. I know their family members names (what they've told me anyway), their favorites, their plans for the future, etc. Ever since I was a teenager, I've known that I have been blessed with the gift of connecting with children. When I have a classroom of 20 children, I know all of their names within an hour. I remember these students names, birthdays, siblings names, etc, for years and years after they have left my classroom.

God has truly made me able to understand children. Which, to be honest, is pretty great, because I'm not so great at connecting with adults.

But, back to the point, I've decided that I no longer will try to limit myself. If I feel that tug to write to more kids, I will ask to be put on the waiting list. End of story.

I have several requests on the list right now. I decided that I want to have, at least, one child from every country that Compassion works in. I accidentally sent one of the emails twice (haha) so I'm on the list for three more than I "planned", but oh well.

Over the last week or so, I received three of these children and I want to introduce them to you today. Meet:

7 Year Old Prity from East Indonesia

5 Year Old Djimitri from TG-661

and...

16 Year Old Joel from Mexico

Letters to My Kids: Ocober 2016

So...I may have gone overboard with letters this month, but I just had so much to say. This month, I wrote three letters to all of my children. Some children even got four letters, if I was responding to a letter they wrote me.

Over the first weekend in October, I had my five year college reunion. I spent the weekend during typical Homecoming related activities and seeing my old roommates and friends. It was a fun weekend and it was so fun to write about it to my kiddos!

Even though the new letter writing system has been faster, I still wasn't sure how far ahead I should write Christmas letters. I decided to write them this month, just in case. If my children start writing back that they got their Christmas letters in November, I'll know better when to send them next year. 

Anyway, I used the Christmas card templates that Compassion has provided on their website for my kids.  If you haven't seen the templates, you should really check them out. They are beautiful! The cards come complete with a cove that the child can color, if they want to. There are cards geared for younger children, which I sent to my little ones, but most of my kids are older and got the following card. With the card, I also sent a beautiful photo of the nativity scene, which I found on Google. 

Lastly, I sent each of my children The Father's Love Letter. The letter comes in several languages so I was able to find most of my children's native languages. For those that I couldn't find, I sent the letter in English, hopeful that it will be translated. For those of you that haven't heard of this letter, I encourage you to follow the link above and read the letter. Basically, it is a letter from God, quoting Bible verses, to remind us how much God loves us. 

Sending these letters online was a bit of work, as they are downloaded in PDF files. I had to find an online converter that would change them into jpeg files, so I could upload them. Totally worth the work! I am so excited for my children to receive these letters.