Letter from Leonardo

I began sponsoring Leonardo shortly before his 8th birthday in April.  I immediately sent a gift and a card. 

I chose Leonardo because he and two siblings live only with their father, and he looked so poor in his picture.  (I know they're all living in poverty, but considering that the children usually wear their best clothes for picture day, and Leonardo looked soiled and disheveled, I thought he looked worse than most.)  I sent more money than usual because I wanted him to get some new clothes.

Today, I received a letter to thank me for the gifts with a picture of what he bought, minus the cake. He purchased clothes, shoes (two pairs in the picture!), and a cake for his birthday.  The item that made my heart smile the most is the cake.  I'm SOOOOO happy that Leonardo had a cake for his birthday!

He says that he is happy to have a picture of me and that I am beautiful.  (The translator left that part out, which I think is rather important!  lol)  I love when my children tell I'm beautiful.  Not many people have done that in my life.

Leonardo's tutor says he is a very happy and kind boy.  Aw.  

The picture was faded, so I enhanced it a bit in Aperture.  Aquí está con sus regalos.

This Week's Letter "Jack"pot

Jack

I received yet another letter from Jack (Peru) this week.  This letter was to thank me for his birthday gift.  He turned 16 on April 15th.  He sent a picture of the clothes he bought with the money I sent and asked if I like the clothes.  He said he will only wear them when he goes out with his friends.  He's such a teenager!  I love it.  He also said he is praying to meet me one day soon.  This is the fifth letter I've received from Jack since January (that's a lot), and in four of them he has said that he is praying to meet me.  It's so amazing to me that he says that since I am planning to see him in October.  He has never said that until now.
Here is the picture of his slick new clothes.

I purchased a Bible to take to Jack when I meet him in October.  It's a Spanish Study Bible for teenage boys.  It just arrived today.  I looked at some of the topics, and I am so excited about how good it is.  One topic is "Why does God allow bad things to happen?"  That is one I will point out to Jack because his father died two years ago, and he still writes about how sad he is.

Francis

The day after I received Jack's letter, I received a letter from Francis (Nicaragua).  She turned 8 on April 7th, so her letter was also a thank you for the gift I sent.  She went shopping with her sister (always), her mom, and the secretary from the Compassion project.  She bought underwear, socks, shoes, milk, popcorn . . . and the obligatory cookies and candy.  I have sponsored Francis for two years, and she always, always buys cookies and candy, and I LOVE that.  She usually buys corn flakes, but I guess she decided to go for popcorn instead this time.  She said that she loves to drink milk for breakfast.  Gosh, how many parents have to make their kids drink milk, and Francis loves it?  :)  Here is the picture she drew for me.  See if you can count the fish she drew.  :)

Nancy

Yesterday I received a letter from Nancy (El Salvador).  The really cool thing about it is that she wrote it herself, and she just turned 7 last week, so she wrote this letter when she was still 6!  That's mind-boggling.  Some of the children I sponsor who are older than she cannot write as well as she does.  She is definitely advanced.  I was shocked when I saw the letter in first person in her hand.  She ran out of room, so her tutor finished for her, but I'm still very impressed.  This letter was about her house, so she drew a picture of it, and to the right in the picture is the living room--la sala.  She says that she likes Christmas because she can spend time with her family and asks that I pray that she finishes the school year well.  She also says that she prays that God blesses me and multiplies what I do for her.  :)  In every letter she tells me that she gets more letters than any other girl at the project and thanks for me all that I send her.

Yuleisy

On the same day, I received a letter from Yuleisy (Dominican Republic), who is one of my correspondence children.  Her letters are short, but she also writes them herself, although not as well as Nancy even though she's older.  Her letter was a form letter where she has to list her favorite things.  She says her favorite hero is Dora, so I will certainly be looking for some Dora stuff to send her.  :)  Her drawing is awesome.  My friend who sponsors a boy in the DR received a letter from him this week and sent me a picture of his drawing.  His mom has the same hair style that Yuleisy has in her drawing, but his mom's hair is not green.  She says that her favorite colors are rojo y amarillo--red and yellow--but she certainly went heavy on the green in this very cool drawing.

Katiusca

The last letter I received this week was from Katiusca (DR), who turned 18 in May.  I just began sponsoring her, so this is her first letter.  She introduced herself, telling me that she is doing well in school and would take the exams in June to see if she passes from 11th grade to 12th.  She asked if I would ever like to visit her community.  :)  My dream?  To begin in Mexico and go through Central America to South America and then to the DR and back home, having visited each child (or teenager) that I sponsor.  I need a lot more money for that!

So it was certainly a banner week for letters.  Now I need to answer all of them, which I love.  I am so happy when I receive letters from my kids because that's how we develop our relationships.  I am blessed to have them all.

Letter from Camilo Alberto

Oh how I LOVE letters with photos of children with the gifts they've purchased with the money I send.  It's not the things that are so important, but that look that lets me know I have helped that child to feel treasured and worthy.

This is Camilo Alberto (he sometimes uses "Camilo" when he writes, sometimes "Alberto") from Colombia.  His birthday was at the end of March, and he wrote to me on that day. He was very happy to be 8 years old.  :)

In the photo, he's holding shoes, a shirt, and socks that he purchased with the gift I sent.  I wish the photo were in color because those shoes look quite spiffy.

Camilo is a very special boy.  Even though he just turned 8, he has been writing his own letters for a few months, and he writes very well.  His letters are quite long for one so young.

Camilo has a very sweet heart.  He calls me "my dear Mindi"--"Mi querida Mindi"--and says he wants to share John 3:16 with me where God expressed His love for us through the sacrifice of His son for us.  He tells me what he does at the Compassion project, what he eats there, and that the person he likes best there is his tutor Adriana because she teaches them many things.  He thanks me for being so nice to him.  (That melts my heart.)

At the end of his letter, he asks me to pray for him and his family and says that he will pray that God guides my every step.  He seems much older than 8.

Camilo had been waiting over 6 months when I chose to sponsor him.  That was before Compassion posted the exact number of days, so I'm not sure exactly how long this sweet, special boy had to wait, and although I am not happy that he had to wait, I am thankful that God kept him for me because he is a blessing.

He also draws very well.  Below is the drawing he sent with this letter.  The front of the building says "la iglesia"--church.  I'm assuming that's his family going to church.  How awesome to see that this little boy has such a heart for God already.  

I see a visit to Colombia in my future.  :)

Birthday Card

Here's a cool idea I got from a post on OurCompassion.  I'm making a birthday card for Nancy, who will be 7 in June.  I added a picture of me when I was about her age.  I think it will give her another sense of connection with me, and I know she will like it because Nancy is so sweet.

I made the background of the card pink only because Nancy loves pink.  I do not.

I was at Cedar Point when my picture was taken.  I'm pretty proud of those saddle shoes and the outfit that my mom made herself.  (My mom made most of the clothes for my sister and me when we were kids because it cost less than buying them and we didn't have much.)

I can't wait to do this for Mindy, whose birthday is in July.  I think it will be funny to have Mindy on the left and Mindi on the right.  :)

Cute from Colombia

I received a letter this week from Alberto in Colombia.  The letter is about his family, so he drew a picture of his siblings.
I love the babies, and I love the special features on his sisters.  LOL.
Alberto is only 7, but he's quite good at drawing.  Maybe one day he will be a famous artist.

María Fernanda

I finally received a letter from María (not sure why she uses the accent there) only to find that she goes by her second name, Fernanda.  I should just begin calling my new Hispanic children by their second name because that always seems to be the case.
Fernanda lives in Honduras and is 14 years old.  (I feel like I should be typing all this in Spanish instead of English.  Ha!)
Her favorite food is three milk cake.  I think I would like to try that.  Sounds yummy.
Her favorite thing to do is to go shopping.  I love that!  I am reminded over and over that these children have the same interests and desires as other kids even though they live in poverty.  
She is my correspondence child, so I really hope that her financial sponsor sends her money for her birthday so that she may go shopping.  
I think Fernanda is beautiful and that she needs beautiful ribbons for her hair.  
Here is the very cool picture she drew for me.  I wish I could draw this well.

Writing Too Much? Seriously???

First, I wish I could post here every day, but time just does not allow.  Mothers often tell me that they wish they had the free time I have.  HA!  Not only is that a slap in my face, it's so not true.  Don't get me wrong, being a mom is tough and takes a ton of time, among other tons of things, but a lot of moms seem to have more time to work on blogs than I do, and I really do have important things to do even if I'm not a mom.


Anyway, that's my first soapbox.


Second is that I've been having a discussion, begun first by phone and continued online.  I called Compassion to inquire about a correspondence child.  I had heard nothing from her in the five months since she had been assigned to me, which is okay, except that I wanted to assure that I was still supposed to be writing to her.  In checking the records, the lady on the phone told me I write to my children too often.  She also gave me a rather lengthy explanation of letter timing, which I already know (I do sponsor more than one child).


Man, did I feel stupid!!!  I write to my children every week.  I used to write twice a month until Jack asked me to write more often because he felt so sad and lonely and wanted to get to know me better, so I began writing every week.  
Let me clarify a few things:

1. My letters do not need to be translated because I write in Spanish, except for my boy in Haiti and my correspondence girl in Uganda.
2. I do not always ask questions in my letters.  Many of them are to explain holidays and customs in the US.
3. My letters are not long, except when I answer a child's letter.
4. I often (like today) just send a card with a picture I've taken (usually of the Atlantic Ocean).
5. My children thank me for writing to them so often.
6. Jack says, "Sus cartas son hermosas."  "Your letters are beautiful."

Some people have said that my letters would be overwhelming to the children because there are so many.  So I asked myself, "If I were a child in poverty, and I received mail once a month, would I rather receive one letter or four?"  I don't know.  Somehow I just can't accept the "overwhelming" idea.


I have decided to be sure that I stick to short letters and to send cards perhaps twice a month without much more than a scripture and a reminder that I'm praying.  I also told the children that I do not expect them to answer every letter I send (just to make sure I'm not overwhelming them).


But I will not stop writing every week unless Wess Stafford himself knocks on my door and tells me to.  For one, I think the children would be hurt if they suddenly received fewer letters from me, and even more importantly, in all my prayer about this situation, I am confident that I am doing what God wants me to do with my letter writing frequency.


So that's my second soapbox.  I don't expect anyone else to write every week, but as an Advocate, if a sponsor asked me if writing every week is too much, I certainly wouldn't say it is.  These children need all the love they can get.


If you're a sponsor and you don't write for whatever reason, please read this post:
http://blog.compassion.com/the-real-ministry-of-child-sponsorship-lies-in-letter-writing/

Letters are important, even if you send too may of them.

From Francis

I received a letter from Francis on Friday, which is perfect because I write to my children every Friday.  I've had a bit of an online discussion with other advocates about whether writing to my children every week is too much, but I just can't wrap my mind around "too much."  Since I write in Spanish, only two letters (Haiti and Uganda) need translated, and even if the children only receive letters once a month, I'm sure they love receiving four at a time instead of one or two.  Or none, which is tragic.  So I will continue to write every month until I know God wants me to stop . . . if that day ever arrives.

I did tell them in this week's letter that I don't expect them to write to me as often as I write to them.  Since Peru is reciprocal, I don't want Jack to feel obligated.  But Jack is the one who asked me to write more often, so I would never cut back on my letters to him.

Francis tells me about her little brother who was 9 months old when she wrote in May.  She said he has two teeth and smiles a lot.  :)  She really loves her little brother.  She also has two older sisters, and she is very sweet with them, too.

She said she is learning about working as a team and how that can help her to accomplish more.  She also has had a cough, but has syrup to help her with that.  Even though I don't want her to be ill, I like knowing that my sponsorship is providing her with that medical assistance.  She writes much more, but those are the highlights.  Her letters are always long for one so young.

I'm posting the picture she drew.  Her pictures are so detailed and always very happy.  I'm fairly sure she includes a butterfly in every drawing.

I love my Francis

My Sweet Isaac

I received a letter from Isaac in Mexico today with this picture enclosed.
Oh my goodness!  Don't you just want to squeeze him?
Isaac just turned nine, and I love his cute smile.  Boys always have a hard time knowing how to smile for pictures, but they come out looking adorable.  
On the back, he wrote, "Estoy en jardin de mi mama, hay flores, platanares."
That means (although not written perfectly), "I am in my mom's garden, there are flowers, bananas."
I will not correct his comma splice. After all, I just learned his language.  :)
I'm so happy to receive a picture of him other than the official Compassion pictures.  He is only the second out of my eight children who has sent a picture.  I love the fact that I can see him at his home, and I totally love the banana trees, being the fan of all things tropical that I am.
Isaac wrote a rather long letter; I've always been impressed with how well he writes even though he's so young.  He's been writing his own letters ever since I began sponsoring him, which was about 18 months ago.  It's unusual for one so young to write himself.  The cool thing about that is that I've been able to see him mature as a writer.  Oh brother, there I go being an English teacher again!
I write very often to my children--once a week.  At first I was afraid that was too much (how crazy is that?), but they thank me often for sending "muchas cartas."  I pray the letters help them to feel loved.  He says that it is the rainy season where he lives and wants to know if it ever rains where I live.  Hmm--there's a tropical storm headed this way at the moment, so yes.  
This is the part I like the best:  He says his family is happy because they know me through my pictures.  I often think of just the child and me and forget that the family is also involved.  I imagine how good his parents must feel to know that someone in another country loves their son.  :)
Sponsorship rocks.  That's about all I have to say about that!
Even though Isaac writes his own letters, he always draws a picture.  This is the first one without a mountain, but he always has a horse (or maybe it's a donkey), and I think this one might also include a rabbit.  I love it.  I'm glad to see that he has drawn a sun.

Nancy or Michelle?

I received a letter from Nancy Michelle on Saturday.  Her first name is Nancy, but when she first wrote to me (her mother writes for her), she called herself Michelle.  In this letter, she called herself Nancy.  Haha.  When I replied to her, I said, “Hola, Nancy Michelle.”  That way, I’ve covered both names.

So . . . any guesses about what the animal is in the picture she drew?  I say a pig.  A very classy pig with false eyelashes.  :)

She thanked me for her birthday gift again.  She also thanked me for writing to her a lot and said that she receives more letters than the other girls.  YES!!  No, this isn’t a contest, but I am glad that my letters make her feel special.

She (her mother) also said, “Te felicites por esforzaste mucho en las clases de español ya que lo haces por ella.”  That means that she is thanking me for my efforts in Spanish classes because she knows I am doing it for her.  How awesome is that?  What a blessing this little girl is to me!  To think that I can make someone feel so special so many miles away is beyond my comprehension.  Only through God is this possible.

She also sent a picture of her singing in school.  She’s in the back left.  All these little girls look so sweet, “pero mi Nancy Michelle es la más hermosa.”

First Letter from Alberto

Alberto can draw well for one so young.

I received my first letter from Alberto this past week.  It is the introductory letter that is always the first letter.  The picture above is what he drew for me.  He’s only 7, so I think that’s really very good.

His first name is Camilo, so that’s what I’ve been calling him, but he goes by his second name, Alberto.  He lives in Colombia.  He has two sisters and three brothers!  I’m excited to be his sponsor because he had been waiting over six months (which could actually mean a couple of years) for a sponsor.  He’s SO cute; I’d like to squeeze him.  :)

His teacher says that he is “muy juicisoso y obediente”--very wise and obedient.  

I really look forward to getting to know Alberto better.  I hope I can be a blessing to his very large family.

Los Zapatos

I’ve seen many people on OurCompassion.com post pictures that they’ve received from their sponsored children who are holding gifts they’ve purchased with money sent by the sponsors.  I just posted on the site on Friday that I wish I could receive pictures of my kids with gifts.  They always thank me for them, but I don’t get to see pictures of them with what they bought.

On Saturday, I received a letter from Michelle, and on the back are these two pictures of her!   (Trying to decide what else to wish for with results like that!)  In the first she is holding a backpack that she received at the Compassion project because of my support.  The backpack has Minnie Mouse on it.

Her birthday isn’t until June 13^th, but she already received the money I sent for that and went shopping.  She bought three pairs of shoes and the pink socks she is holding in the second picture.  Notice the glitzy pink shoes.  I love it.  It warms my heart and makes me smile to see her with the shoes.  With the money I sent for Christmas, she was given a pair of shoes, so now she has almost as many shoes as I do!  (Okay, I’m SO not a typical girl where shoes are concerned.)

Michelle is definitely a GIRL’S girl.  

It’s not that I think sponsoring is all about enabling the children to get material things, but just think of how good you feel when you wear something new—or drive something new.  Now imagine (although we really can’t) living under the oppression of poverty, where many children have no shoes at all, and being able to have three new pairs of shoes (well, really four, counting Christmas).  

Hope—that’s what those shoes represent to me.  Michelle has hope that she can break the chains of poverty and one day not only buy her own shoes, but help others to do so.

I love the picture that she drew, although I’m wondering why the book is floating in the sky.  LOL.  I’m guessing that’s a Bible.  I can tell that Michelle is a perfectionist because she erased and redrew so many things.  I love the heart.  That’s an awesome thing.  

She will turn 6 next month, but she seems to include a lot of details for one so young, especially all the different colors.  I can imagine her painstakingly picking up each crayon to make the picture just right.

I can’t stop thinking about the look on her face—not just the happiness, but the sense of accomplishment, that a little girl in poverty can be just a little girl … with pink shoes and pink socks and a pink backpack.

My Ripple Effect

Yesterday was a jackpot for me.  I received a letter from Gethory (Haiti)--my first one besides the introductory form--and another letter from Jack (Peru)!

The drawing is from Gethory.  He’s only 4, so he clearly is not able to write his own letters yet.  When children are too young to write, they draw a picture to certify it’s actually their letter.  Gethory’s uncle wrote his letter for him.

The letter is full of thanks from his family for my support of Gethory.  They clearly view it as support for the entire family.  I can’t even begin to imagine the conditions that most of these children live in, but in Haiti, I know the conditions are exceptionally bad.  It must be amazing to them to have the financial support from Compassion.  I really can’t comprehend it.

The letter says that Gethory and his family are happy to greet me, my whole family, and all of my friends.  So anyone who is reading this has just received greetings from Gethory and his family in Haiti.  That’s awesome.

Gethory says he “goes to church in order to praise the Lord.”  Wow.  Picture that little 4-year-old boy praising God in Haiti.  Sweet.  He asks how we celebrate Easter in the U.S. and if I like that holiday and why.

He will be graduating to kindergarten soon.   :)

Jack writes his own letters because he’s 15, so I don’t get drawings from him.  I can pretty much read his letters since they are in Spanish, except that he doesn’t have the greatest handwriting.

Jack wrote to thank me for the money I sent for his birthday, which by U.S. standards is not much.  He was able to buy a pair of sneakers, a pair of sandals, and a pair of shorts.  He wore his sneakers to school, and all his friends were “asombrados y maravillados”--amazed and surprised. :)  I love imagining how proud Jack was to go to school with his new sneakers.  Just think of how we feel when we wear something new that we really like.  It must be even greater for a child in poverty to have that experience.

Jack asks how we celebrate birthdays in the U.S.  (I sense a theme here.  Ha.)  He always ends his letters with some sort of “abrazos y besos”--hugs and kisses.  This time it is a “strong hug and a beautiful kiss.”  I pray that I can one day give Jack a strong hug in person.

The sermon at church on Sunday was titled, “One Little Pebble in the Big, Vast Sea,”  a part of the theme, “What is your ripple effect?”  I sometimes feel as helpless as a little pebble when I see the many needs in the world--earthquakes in Haiti and Japan, the flooding Mississippi, horrific tornados in the Midwest . . . what can I possibly do?

Well, I can make the family of a little boy in Haiti happy because of my sponsorshp, and I can provide a new pair of sneakers for a proud and loving teenage boy in Peru.  There are a couple of ripples.  I’ll keep working on more.

Letter from Isaac :)

I got a letter from Isaac today.  I love his letters because he’s always so straightforward.  (Clearly, we will be great friends if we ever meet in person.)  

He has always written his own letters (and I think it’s cool that no one corrects his spelling errors), even though he just turned 9, but he still draws a picture.  His pictures crack me up.  I’m not exactly sure what everything is since he’s young (and you know how you to have to make generic comments about what kids draw just in case you have “interpreted” the drawing incorrectly), and because I have to try to apply it to his culture.   It’s pretty cool, though.

He says that he’s learning to divide by 4 in school, and that in church he is learning to respect others.  He writes about several other things, and at the end he asks me to pray for his father because he is working in another place.  That saddens me, but I know that happens often with these children.

He asks me how old I am.  That really cracked me up.  Should I be honest?  LOL.

I’m pretty excited that I was able to read his entire letter without looking at the translation.  I mean, he’s only 9, so it’s not too complex, but when I first started sponsoring him, I had to go directly to the translation.   I guess the mucho dinero I shelled out for Spanish 101 was worth it.

Jack Again!!

I'm so excited!  I had a cruddy, cruddy day at work today.  It seems that everyone is mad at someone else, and since I work in the biggest school in the city, that's a lot of people.

Sometimes we humans are just SO stupid.

But when I got home, I had another letter from Jack!  I've never gotten letters so close together before.  I'm so glad.

He said that he bought a tee shirt with the money I sent him for Christmas, and he wore it on Christmas day.  Wow.  I got an iPad for Christmas.  Jack got a tee shirt.

He sent me "a beautiful kiss and a big hug."  So sweet.

Finally!! A Letter from Jack!

I was so happy to open my mailbox today and find a Compassion envelope with the wonderful words, “A letter from your sponsored child” on the outside.  I ripped open the envelope and immediately looked at the bottom for the country code——-PE!  Yes!  Peru.

That means I finally got another letter from Jack.  The last one I received was written in October.  I know that they do not have school in Peru during our winter months, so I’m sure that’s why it took so long for me to hear from him again.

Jack says that he is studying “logic math” and is doing very well.

In his previous letters, he has asked me to write him often because he is lonely, and he has talked about not having a home.  This time, he thanked me for my letters and said that they are beautiful.  :)  He did not mention not having a home, so perhaps that is not a problem now.  I did call Compassion about that after I received his last letter.

I’m so happy to hear from him.  His letters are always so sweet.

And the cool thing is, I can read most of it in Spanish, except that his handwriting is a bit sloppy in places, so I can’t get every word exactly, even after I look at the English translation.

Happy, happy, joy, joy!