Kalpesh Love Animals!

I received a letter from Kalpesh today! I know, you must be sick of hearing that, haha. This whole blog is turning into letters from Kalpesh. You know what? I'm okay with that! He writes wonderful letters so often!

I just wish I could hear more often from the other 11 children I sponsor/correspond with.

Anyway, here's Kalpesh's letter:

 

 

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Hello Kayla!

 

How are you doing? Once again I am very glad to write to you and happy to see the pictures of various animals and here about them. (I wrote a letter about and sent some pictures of animals I see around my home) I know and see some of animals but some of them I never seen neither in pictures nor in real. I know and see squirrel, deer, and rabbit. But I don't know or seen raccoon and possum. I am seeing all pet animals like cow, buffalo, goats, sheeps, monkeys where I live. Last year, when our project field trip at Aurangabad that time I saw lot of wild animals at zoo like tiger, lion, elephant, leopard, fox, wolf, and various kinds of birds and snakes. (I love that his project went on a field trip to a zoo! How fun!) It was really great for me to see them. My favorite animal is dog. Here I am trying to draw picture of squirrel for you.

 

With Much Love,

Kalpesh

 

 

 

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Poverty Meets Compassion 3

 

Friendship in Tanzania

 

A Healthy Lunch in Uganda

 

Pride in Kenya

 

Faith in Central America

 

Growing Boys in South America

 

Tradition and Culture in Bangladesh

 

Bible Study in Uganda

 

VBS in Central America

 

Weaving in Indonesia

 

 

 

If you would like to contribute to this happiness and help defeat poverty in Jesus' name, you can Sposnor a Child Here

 

1, 2, 3 More Letters from Kalpesh

Three letters at one time from Kalpesh! What a great start to the month of November!

I think I'm actually having a hard time keeping up with how much Kalpesh writes me! Haha. Of course, I love every word of what he writes.

This time, my comments will be in bold print inside of the letter, I don't feel like typing up the paragraphs at the end.

 

 

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Dearest Kayla,

Greetings to you in the wonderful name of Christ Jesus. Thanks a lot for writing me and happy to know about your journey from Illinois to Texas. How far is it from your place? How is sister Rosie? (I went to Texas to visit my friend Rosie). Say hello to her from me, my uncle, aunt, and my sister. Thank you so much for your pictures and happy to see them. In next month, we will have first semester examinations, so I am doing hard for it. Please continue to pray for my study. Once again, thanks a lot for doing everything for me. I missed to you a lot. (Okay, my heart officially melted. He misses me and he's never met me. Ironically, I feel the same way. I miss him so much. I need to go visit him sometime) Take care of yourself.

Your Friend,
Kalpesh

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Dear Friend Kayla,

Greetings to you in the sweet name of Jesus Christ. I am very glad to know that you are sponsoring other children around the world. And I am proud of that such kind of sponsor I get. (He's proud of me. Love!) How kind you are! And I am very happy to know that I am a member of your sponsorship family. I am very grateful to God for leading you in such kind of work. And may God help you in your work and I wish you may have good health. Say hello to brothers Eric and Abu and sister Celeste. (He calls the other kids I sponsor his siblings! Love!) I love you very much and praying for you and new siblings. (Love again!)

With lots of love,
Kalpesh

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Dearest Kayla,

Greetings to you in the loving name of Lord Jesus Christ. I am very glad to write this letter to you and also very happy to receive your letter and to know about you are doing well. By the grace of Lord and your prayers, we are all well. My school is and study is going on well. Also I am attending project regularly and learning there about Jesus and our regular school syllabus. At the school I am learning languages: Marathi (state language), Hindi (national language), English (international language), maths, science, social science, and drawing. (He certainly learns a lot!) I like to write and to read at the school. My younger sister and me are registered in same project and by the grace of God, she has also got sposnor. (Good! I don't even sponsor Kalpesh, but I would totally sponsor him and Sheela if they ever lose their sponsor.) I am also very grateful to God about it. I would like to know are you teaching in govt. school or taking tuition at home? I am praying for you, your job, and students. Wish you may have good health and help in your job. Thanks a lot for writing and praying for us.

Your Friend,
Kalpesh

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I'm linking up with Blogging From the Boonies!

One More Week With Kaushal

I have one more week to find the super handsome Kaushal a sponsor. Next Friday, November 9th, his packet will expire. Don't worry, he'll still be up for sponsorship, I will just no longer have his packet. It will be sent to another advocate or sent to an event.

I urge you to prayerfully consider sponsoring Kaushal:

 

 

Kaushal lives in India, in the Ganpat Patil Nagar slum. This large slum has over 200,000 people living in it! Typical homes are put together with scrap materials that can be found lying around, materials like plastic, tin sheets, plastic, and scarp wood. This slum is full of drug lords and gangs trying to lure people into the world of drugs. Many people in this slum have substance abuse problems.

 

Kaushal's birthday is April 25th and he's 7 years old. He makes his home with his father, mother, and two siblings. His father is sometimes employed as a day laborer and his mother maintains the home. Buying/selling in the market is Kaushal's household duty. Playing group games is his favorite thing to do. He is getting average grades in school.

 

If you would like to sponsor Kaushal, please email me at Groth.Kayla@mail.ic.edu and let me know. I will fill you on what you need to do next to start supporting him!

Touching Thursday: East India Edition

 

I just got three new packets in the mail! I asked for three children from India and Compassion sent me three kiddos from EI-103.

I don't know too much about thier project, but I will share with you what I do know. Their community is called Park Circus (sounds like a lot of fun, except for slums aren't fun at all).

Park Circus is home to approximately 32,000 residents. Typical homes are constructed of dirt floors, wood walls, and tile roofs. The primaty ethnic group is Bengali and the most common spoken languages are Bengali and Hindi. The reginal diet consists of rish and rice. Common health problems in this area include malaria, typhoid, and malnutrition. Most adults in Park Circus works as day laborers or rickshaw pullers and earn the equivlant of $32 a month. This community has water and electricity, but needs proper sanitation, increased incomes, and adult education.

If you are interested in sponsoring any of these children, please email me at Groth.Kayla@mail.ic.edu .

Here are the child packets I have from this project:



This is Sonia. She is 9 years old and her birthday is May 21st, 2003.

Sonia lives with her father, mother, and 3 siblings. Her father is sometimes employed as a laborer and her mother maintains the home. Sonia helps at home by cleaning. Playing house, art, and playing with dolls are Sonia's favorite activities. In primary school her performance is average and she also regularly attends church activities.



This bald beauty is Sone. She is 9 years old and her birthday is October 21st, 2003. (She just turned 9!)

Sone makes her home with her father, mother, and 1 sibling. Her father is sometimes emploeyd as a laborer and her mother maintains the home. Sewing, caring for animals, and washing clothes are Sone's household duties. As part of Compassion's ministry, Sone participates in church activtiies. She is also in primary school where her performance is average. Playing with dolls, reading, and running are her favorities activities.



This seriously handsome boy is Sajal. He is 9 years old and his birthday is September 18th, 2003. Can we find him a sponsor? Yes We Can!

Sajal lives with his father, mother, and 2 siblings. His father is sometimes employed as a laborer and his mother maintains the home. In his home, Sujal helps by caring for animals, washing clothes, and making beds. For fun, Sajal enjoys playing with marbles, bicycling, and playing hide-and-seek. He attends church activtiies regularly and is in primary school where his performance is average.

Letters to My Kids: October 2012

Each month, I like to share the letters that I wrote to my sponsored children. I do this for a few reasons. One, is so I don't forget what I wrote about and two, so maybe I can help others when they are feeling unsure of what to write about.

So, without further ado, here are the two letters that I wrote to my kids this month:

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The first letter I wrote to my kids was telling them about how we celebrate new year's here. I also told them about setting goals for the new year and I asked them if they wanted to set any goals that I could pray for them to accomplish in 2013.

I'm not sure when you'll receive this letter, but I want to talk about how we celebrate the new year in my country. In the United States, a new year beginning is a celebration! We think of a new year as a new opportunity to try something new and set new goals for ourselves.

On December 31st, people tend to get together with family and friends to celebrate. I usually spend the day with my family. We have a good meal, play games together, and we like to talk about what our favorite parts of the year were. It's a good time to share memories of the year with each other. When it gets dark outside, people often set of fireworks to light up the night sky. I love fireworks and I think they are so bright and colorful. People stay up until midnight to countdown until the new year. At midnight, people cheer and clap and celebrate that it is now a brand new year!

How do you celebrate the new year in your country?

One of my most favorite parts of our New Year's celebration is making what call New Year's Goals. In my family, we like to choose just one big goal that we hope to accomplish in the next year.

In the year 2013, I really want to work on trusting God more. It may sound silly, but sometimes I have a hard time trusting in God's plan for my life. Sometimes I think that I know better and can follow my own plan. I have learned that this just isn't true and God always knows what's best for me, even when life seems hard at times. Will you pray that I will trust God will everything in my life, both big and small decisions?

After reading my letter, can you think of a goal you would like to make for the year 2013? It can be anything you can think of. I would love to hear what your goal is so that I can pray for you to meet this goal.

I love you very much.I hope you have a good new year

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The 2nd letter that I wrote (to my older children) was a letter about the parable of the Prodigal Son. I love how this letter turned out!

(I wrote a Noah's ark themed letter to my younger kids and sent it along with coloring sheets and stickers. I didn't take a picture of this letter, sorry)

Today I want to share one of my favorite parables that Jesus shared in the bible. This parable is the story of the Prodigal Son. Have you ever read this before? You can find this story in Luke 15:11-32. I encourage you to read the parable before you read the rest of this letter. I hope you have a bible close by.

My favorite verse from this story is verse 24 that says, "For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was dead and now is found."

Throughout the parable, the youngest son made many mistakes. He used the money that his father gave him in bad ways and he was not able to afford food and other things he needed to survive. Because he was so hungry, he wasn't able to do good work in order to make money. After living through many hard things, the young son realized that he needed help and he decided to go back home to his father. The son was worried, though, that his father would no longer love him because of the mistakes he made. He returned to his home, ready to be a slave for his father because he thought he no longer deserved love. However, when the son returned home, his father greeted him with a big hug and a lot of love.

I like this story because it shows exactly how God feels about all people. God loves you and me very much. No matter how many mistakes we make, God will always love us. Nothing you or I do will ever make God not love us. Sometimes, we are going to make bad choices in our lives, and God is going to be angry at us. Just like a good parent, God gets angry at us when we make mistakes or bad decisions. But, like the loving Father he is, God will always forgive us and he will always love us. He will greet us with open arms and a lot of love when get to heaven someday. Just like the father said in this parable, when we make mistakes and walk away from God, we are dead and lost. But when we confess our sins and come back to God, we are alive again in the spirit.

I hope you know this to be true. I love you very much

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Two More Letters from Kalpesh (Believe it or Not)

I received two letters from Kalpesh today, and Compassion told me there are actually two more on the way from him! Kalpesh is actually writing to me MORE than I am writing to him.

I just love him so much.

 

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Dear friend Kayla,

 

Greetings to you in the loving name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Once again, it is my great pleasure to write this letter to you. I am very glad to receive your letter and thank you very much for picture of flowers, ducks, and your class children. Really very nice pictures. I like it very much. Here also different kinds of flowers found like rose, lily, cosmos, marigold, Jasmine, Mogra and so on. I like to play cricket with my friends. Once again, thanks a lot for your letter and pictures. I am praying for you. Love you so much.

 

Kalpesh

 

First of all, my heart almost melted. This is the first time he has said, "I love you so much." I have a feeling it's because I say it to him, but I just know the feeling is mutual.
 

I know it may sound silly, but I've never seen a jasmine or mogra flower before, so I looked up some pictures. Here they are:

 

 

 

Jasmine

 

 

Mogra

 

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Hi Kayla!

 

How are you doing? Praise the Lord! Once again I get such opportunity to write and share with you. I am very happy to receive your seven letters at the same time. Really, it is a great surprise! Did you get much time for to write? Because there are others in your sponsorship family. How could you manage it? Whatever, but I am very thankful to you for it. I am not playing cricket in a team, just playing with my friends. My uncle and aunt are doing well. My mom and brothers will come for Deepavali Festival. In summer vacations, me and my sister went where my mom and brothers are staying. Love you so much and thanks a lot for your love.

 

Kalpesh

 

 

It is so good to hear that I don't write too often! I write each of my kids a planned topic letter twice a month. Then, on top of that, I also write response letters. Since Kalpesh writes to often, I often have a lot of questions to respond to, so he gets probably about 4 letters a month. He receives them in bulk, I think about every 6-8 weeks, depending on what's happening at the project.

 

I love that he asks me how I find the time to write so many letters. I could totally ask him the same question! I love that he says "whatever" like it doesn't really matter, just keep writing, haha. I intend to!

 

I am so happy that he and his sister got to go stay with the rest of their family over the summer, since they are living so far away from each other. Yay!

 

I love hearing about the Deepavali Festival. It's always so fun to learn about holidays and festivals that my kiddos celebrate. From what I have researched, the Deepavali Festival is also known as the Festival of Lights. It sounds like families light candles and clean their houses to make it welcome for good spirits. At night, they set off firecrackers to scare off the bad spirits. Then everyone in the family eats and shares sweets. Sounds like a fun time...except for the cleaning, haha.

 

 

 



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Fantastic Letter From Abu!

I opened my mailbox today and saw that famous World Vision orange in there! I saw Abu's ID number on the front and started jumping down the stairs to my apartment. I love reading letters from this sweet boy!

 

 

Dear Kayla,

 

Abu and his grandmother received the bright, lovely photos you sent for him with the letter.

 

They thanks a lot and always remember you in their prayers.

 

His grandmother says she has never seen the clarinet before and likes the photos of you and your two friends standing with the instruments in your hands.

 

Abu loves music, only that he has not been able to get any musical instruments. He joins his friends to sing and dance to praise God.

 

His grandmother and her friends have a set of drums which they play occasionally to praise and worship God and sometimes at death ceremonies.

 

Abu has gone back to school after the long holidays. He is happy to be back to school to meet new and old friends.

 

Abu-Bakarr

See Your Impact Results: October 2012

Each month, I donate to an organization called See Your Impact.

With this organization, you donate money to a specific cause. The money goes to one person. When that person receives the item that the money paid for, you are emailed a picture and a story about the person who received the item.

It really is just amazing.

This month, I chose to donate $10 so a person in Uganda could get a mosquito net. The $10 doesn't pay for the whole net, but it allows the person to purchase the net at a severely discounted price, which is still awesome. Here's who I was able to help this month:

 

Kawesa's children get a net!

Dear Kayla,

Kawesa is a 35-year-old father of four children. He lives in the Bunio Village of Uganda, a village that Uganda Village Project has been working in for the past three years. Kawesa is a carpenter and subsistence farmer while his wife sells vegetables to make ends meet.

When asked why he bought nets, he said, "This season the harvest was good and we had enough money to purchase nets for the children. I have bought nets because this area has many mosquitoes and I want to keep my children from getting bitten by the mosquitoes, as they cause malaria. I am very grateful that UVP and their donors sell nets at a subsidized affordable price. Thank you very much."

Thank you, Kayla, for helping to keep Kawesa's healthy!

Wordless Saturday: Farm Field Trip Edition

So, I usually do Wordless Wednesday posts. Today is not Wednesday (in case you didn't know, haha). But, we did go on this field trip on Wednesday, so I feel like that counts. It just has taken me a little time to upload the pictures.

We had so much fun!