Wordless Wednesday: When Poverty Meets Compassion 3

 

Happy Kids in Indonesia

 

Healthy Babies in Peru

 

Successful Parenting in Haiti

 

Quiet Times in Ethiopia

 

Clean Water in Ghana

 

Skills Training in India

 

Eyes Full of Jesus in Burkina Faso

 

 

Adult Literacy Classes in India

 

The Secret to Happiness in El Salvador

 

Pure Beauty in Guatemala

Mail Call Monday: Hope From Uganda

After a 5 month wait, I received a letter from my handsome young man, Erick, in Uganda. Eric is 17 years old and is absolutely wonderful. He is the "man of the house" as his father is not in the home or in the picture at all anymore. I'm not sure how long he has been gone, but I know that he is not supporting the family at all. Erick started school late and has struggled very much along the way and is only in Primary 4. Compared to the letter I received from him in June, the handwriting in this letter has improved immensely! I'm so proud of him!

I love this letter because he is very open and it appears that he has a 5 year plan. I love that he has hope for the future!

Erick wrote the letter in his language, I'm assuming in the first person. The translator translated it into the third person, so not a direct translation, but I get the point. :)
___________________________________________________________________________________

Dear Kayla,

Receive warm greetings from your beloved sponsored child Erick. He is saying that he loves you very much. That thank you for the good heart and love that God has given to you. That he is blessed to have you as a special friend.

Erick says that his mother and Moses, his only brother, are greeting you and they send their love. That they are thankful to you for the support. Erick says thank you very much for the gift you sent to him (I sent him birthday money) of 50,500 shillings. He says that he received it and used 35,000 to buy school necessities for term 3 and 20,000 to buy food which he shared with his family. Erick says that may God bless you so much.

He says thank you so very much for writing to him. He received the letters, cards, stickers, and photos. He was glad to know about you.

Erick informs you that he has 3 goats, which he bought from the gifts you sent him. (Sounds like his financial sponsor sent him money). He says that school is going on well and that is best friend at school is Boy. Erick says that thank you for sending to him the photos of your other sponsored children. That they are very smart. He says thank you for the special love that you have for him. He is blessed.

Erick is requesting you to pray for him to study and finish through Primary 7 so that he can join a vocational institution. (Sounds like a 5 year plan to me! If he finishes Primary 7 in three years, he'll probably be finished with vocational school right around the time he is 22 and graduates from Compassion.)

He asks do you grow any crops in your area? Are there big mountains in your country? Do you stay in a village or a town? He ends wishing you God's blessing.

Erick

__________________________________________________________________________________

Pastor Letter from Jhon's Project

I have another pastor letter to share with you, from my newest correspondent child, Jhon's, project. Man, I just love these letters. It's like getting a sneak peek at what's going on at the project.


___________________________________________________________________________________

Dear sponsor,

First of all, I feel very happy to write you this letter, which is very important to me.

My name is Alejandro and I am the pastor of the Redeemer Assemblies of God of Bolivia church that ministers to your Compassion sponsored child. I am very happy and at the same time thankful for the attention you show as your share your life, your love, and your prayer support for your sponsored child. God bless you!

I would like to share some thoughts to help you understand more about our local community and Compassion's program. Our program is having a great impact in the lives of our children and, of course, their famlilies. I want to tell you of one boy at our center who is very active in our program in comparison from when he started the program. Now he knows and fears the Lord, along with his family. It's surprising how the boy can now testify to what the Lord has done in his life. A few years ago, he was sick. But with the blessing of this ministry, we were able to bring solution to the problem, and also to solve his mother's problem too. I also want to mention that he is the best in his grade at school.

We are praying that all our children would continue with the same eagerness as this child. At our child development center, they come to learn - above all in the spiritual area - but also in the cognitive, social, and physical areas. They like to play soccer (football) and overall participating in the activities we do like dramas, theather, etc.

For me as a pastor, it's truly a blessing to work with Compassion on behalf of the children. Once more, I thank you for the help you give to your sponsored child. I'll say goodbye, wishing blessing for your loved ones and your work.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Jhon's project is in Bolivia, project BO370. This project currently has children waiting for sponsors. I want to share two of these children with you.

 

This is Jose. He is 8 years old. His birthday is July 13th. Jose lives with his father, mother, and 4 siblings. He enjoys playing with cars.

 

To learn more about Jose and sponsor him, visit his page here.

 

 

This beautiful young woman is Rosio. She is 15 years old and her birthday is September 16th. She lives with father, mother, and 2 siblings. Rosio helps with the housework, like washing clothes, making beds, and helping in the kitchen. She enjoys volleyball, singing, and playing ball games.

 

To sponsor Rosio, click here.  

Give Of Yourself This Christmas

Today, I am joining up with the Compassion Bloggers to share about what giving means to me and to share with you ways that you can give of yourself to help people in need this year.

There is no mistaking that God wants us to give our time, talents, and money to those that are in need. the bible tells us that all over.

Proverbs 19:17 "Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed."

Hebrews 13:16 "Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God."

2 Corinthians 9:7 "Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

Luke 6:38 "Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

Matthew 25:4 "And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."


It's hard to argue with scripture, isn't it?

I know that it is sometimes hard to think about giving to the poor. We have families to feed, bills to pay, Christmas gifts to buy, etc. Our excuses really can be endless. However, God calls us to give anyway.

It's actually amazing how such little money can make such a big difference in the lives of a child and/or family in need.

What's absolutely wonderful is that Compassion makes is so easy to give to a wonderful cause. Through the use of their gift catalog, you can trust that your money will go exactly to what you donated it to. I want to share three causes that you can donate to to make a difference this season. You won't regret it.

 

For only $10 you can provide a family in Africa with garden seeds. For these families, $10 worth of seeds is enough for them to grow a large garden of food to feed their family. Then, after harvest, they will have more seeds to plant for the next year. $10 can truly feed a family for many years to come.

 

Give Graden Seeds Here

 

 

For $35 you can give a share of a playground for a needy community. While a playground is not necessarily a pressing need for surival, I think it is super important for children to have a safe place to play. Many children living in 3rd world countries simply don't live in safe places. They either stay home or they wander the streets, running into who knows what kind of trouble.

 

Give a Share of a Playground Here

 

 

For $350 you can help build a classroom in a needy area. In many places, families cannot afford to send their children to a good school. Because every parent wants to give their child an education, they send them to the only schools they can, which are often times schools without walls, a ceiling, or even school supplies. Can you imagine getting together with your church or group of friends and raising enough money to build a quality classroom for these children?

 

Give the Gift of a Quality Classroom Here

 

 

New Correspondent Child (Again!)

It seems that whenever Compassion gives me a new correspondent child, I get another one shortly after. Eric and Kalpesh last December. Sadiya and Sagitaria in August. Now, Solomon and this new kiddo this month. Good things come in pairs? Did I just make that up?

Last week, Compassion posted on their Facebook page that there were 250 children who were needing to be assigned to correspondent sponsors, because their financial sponsors had not been writing to them for many years and had decided to allow them to be "released", in a way, to people that could write to them and encouragement them. I requested one of these kids and early this week, I saw this face on my account:

 

This handsome guy is Jhon from Bolivia!

 

 

Jhon is 13 years old and his birthday is February 1st. He lives with his parents. His father is employed as an electrician and his mother maintains the home. I don't yet know about his siblings, but I hope to find out soon when his first letter arrives! Jhon is in 7th grade and is getting average grades. Jhon's chores included making beds, cleaning, and running errands.

 

When he's not at school, Jhon enjoys group games, soccer, volleyball, and singing. He's quite an active guy!  

 

Typical houses in his community are constructed of dirt floors, block walls and corrugated iron roofs. The most commonly spoken languages are Guaraní and Spanish.The regional diet consists of bananas, chicken, bread, cassava root, beef, rice, plantains and potatoes. Common health problems in this area include respiratory illnesses, intestinal infections, skin diseases, malnutrition and malaria. Most adults work as day laborers and earn the equivalent of $100 per month. This community has water and electricity but needs hospitals, schools, a sewer system and technical training centers.

 

 

Touching Thursday

It's Thursday! That means that I'm sharing three children form Compassion International that I would love to see find sponsors this week. If you have been thinking about sponsoring a child, mabye it's time to stop thinking and start trusting God. Choose a child who needs you and start loving them today.

 

12-15-12 Zaratou has been sponsored!

 

 

 

 

David has been sponsored! I hope his new sponsor loves on him, he's so cute!

 

 

 

 

Issac has been sponsored!

 

 

 

First Letter of December

Can you guess who it's from?

If you guessed Kalpesh, you are right!

Here's what my little man had to say:

___________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

Dear friend Kayla,

 

Greetings to you in the holy name of Jesus Christ. How are you and your family? By the grace of God and your prayers I am doing well. My uncle and auntie say hello. Right now they are busy in field work. I am helping them in field as well as housework whenever I get time. Here it's raining. Is it there? In last month, I received a school bag, uniform, sandals, notebooks, and other educational materials from the project. I am very glad to get it. I thank you very much for these things and your love and care for me. I miss you a lot and love you so much. I am praying for you and wish you may have good health.

 

Your Friend,

Kalpesh

 

__________________________________________________________________________________

Pastor Letter From Solomon's Project

On OurCompassion, sponsors are able to read letters that the pastors of their sponsored child's communities have written. Not all projects have a pastor letter, but I love the ones that do! It's so interesting to hear how the communities are and how Compassion is working to help the families there. Here is what Solomon's pastor has to say:


Dear Sponsor,

Greetings to you in the precious name of our Savior!

I am the Reverend Dr. K Paul Devakumar, partner with Comapssion at our child development center in Banaswadi, Banglore, India, where we minister to your sponsored child. The center was started in the year 1996. At present, 225 children are taken care of through the center. We are grateful to you for faithfully sponsoring your sponsored child.

In Banaswadi, mostly poor and neglected people are in the community facing major problems, like illiteracy, poverty, alcohol, and broken homes. Men here are irresponsible and women work and support the families. Children suffer from malnutrition.

The children are developed in four areas of physical, educational, spiritual, and social through the Compassion project. We provide one nutritious meal a day to the children. The children are provided coaching classes and followed up on their progress in the school, and they also have the opportunity to hear stories from God's word. The center workers visit the homes of the children, counsel the parents, guide them and pray for the family. Regular medical care is given for the children and sometimes even for the parents. The children are learning income-generation skills such as tailoring, sewing, and embroidary.

The staffs of the center are very committed and provide good support to the children. One of our children was a 5 year old when she joined the center. Her parents did not have a shelter, no proper employment, and practically nothing to care for their children, they lived under a push cart. During this time, we brought this child and her elder brother to our center and cared for them. The center took complete care of the children. Now she is a 14 year old who is enjoying school. Her parents are better now and everything they have in their home is provided by her Compassion sponsor to whom she and her parents are very grateful.

Our vision and goal is to see that the community is transformed through the center. Our desire is to share God's love with people from all communities, caste, and religions. We pray that our partnership with Compassion will continue and many more children will be reached.

We aspire that the sponsor and child relationship continues to grow. Sponsor letters are a great encouragement to the children and they look up to them as their role models. The encouragement thorugh letters in time of difficulty pushes them to overcome any situation.

Once again, we take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support to your sponsored child. We know these are times of great difficulty all over the world. We request you to continue to uphold us in your prayers and the children.


If you are interested in sponsoring a child from East India, I urge you to consider one of these two children. Aren't they just adorable?

 

This little guy is Vanlal. He is 4 years old. He will turn 5 on December 25th. He has been waiting 395 days for a sponsor.

 

To learn more about his interests and his family, visit his page here.

 

 

 

This beautiful Indian princess is Sweety. Her name fits her perfectly, doesn't it? Sweety just turned 7 on November 6th. She has also been waiting 395 days for a sponsor.

 

Learn more about Sweety here

 

Sagitaria's 9th Birthday

Today, sweet Sagitaria is turning 9 years old!

 

 

Dear Sagitaria,

 

I have not known you long, only being assigned to correspond with you in August and not yet receiving your first letter, but I already love you. Your face has this very gentle quality about it. I bet you are a very sweet and loving girl.

 

I hope that you are having a wonderful 9th birthday today. I pray that God blesses you with a happy day and another happy and healthy year. I hope that you got the birthday package that I sent you and you love all of the flower themed things that I sent you. I sure hope you like pink and girly flowers! :) If you aren't a pink kind of girl, let me know, and I'll make it up to you on your 10th birthday, haha.

 

I hope that you get to celebrate a little bit with your family and friends.

 

Happy Birthday Sagitaria!

 

Love,

Kayla

A New Correspondent Child!

On November 19th I requested another correspondent child from Compassion and on Wednesday, only 9 days later, I was assigned one!

A new boy! From India!

God sure does know how much I love those kids from India. I am so happy that I now have this cutie in my life.

 

Name: Solomon

Age: 7

Birthday: November 20th

Grade in School: 1

School Performance: Average

Chores: Carrying Water & Buying/Selling in the Market

Hobbies: Group Games, Playing House, & Hide and Seek

Guardians: Father & Mother
Number of Siblings: 3

 

Typical houses in his community are constructed of dirt floors, mud walls and corrugated iron roofs.The regional diet consists of bananas, chicken, rice, bread, ragi (grain) and wheat. Common health problems in this area include fevers, gastrointestinal disorders, dysentery, malaria, chickenpox, coughing and wheezing. Most adults work as day laborers and earn the equivalent of $111 per month. This community needs proper sanitation, potable water and adult literacy programs.