I Thought I was done Lord!!!

But apparently not.. Let me introduce to you Irene Adero from Kenya. She just has a little bit over a year left in the program and softy that I am.. I couldn't let her go that last year without someone writing and encouraging her.. Now I know where the bonus check from work will be going..

She is 20, likes to sew and lives with her mother. She is part of the KE414 project..

And this lovely young lady is Mariam. She is 13, and lives in Burkina Faso. She is very special because she is an above average student! I'm looking forward to getting to know her and to encouraging her to continue her studies...

Happy Birthday Rossy!

Sweet Rossy from Colombia is 13 years old today! She lives just outside of Cartagena. I received a wonderful letter from her last month that informed me of her parents names and that she has a brother named Ramiro Jose. Her favorite hobby is designing clothes, her favorite food is "arroz con pollo", her favorite subject in school is art (mine was too!), her favorite animals are dogs, and her favorite color is fuchsia (no ordinary pink for this gal!) Her letter went like this..

"Hello, I am grateful for choosing me as your sponsored child. I hope God will reward the work of your hands. I am well, thanks to God, and my family too. From now on I will keep you in my prayers. Also pray for me and my family's wellbeing. On the other hand, I want God to greatly bless you. We will soon be in touch, with love, Rossy Tamara." 

She drew me this awesome drawing..

And this is my beautiful Rossy..

Twenty and Done?

I now have a grand total of twenty children that are part of my Compassion family and that shall be all until someone graduates out of the program or God changes my finances. I have a burden on my heart for the older children that for some reason or another, have found themselves without a sponsor for the last year or two of their time in the program. And those of us who have raised teenagers know how difficult those years can be even without throwing poverty into the picture!!

Let me introduce you to the final two members of my family (for now!)

This is Suhasini from India. She will be 20 years old in September and is a very lovely young woman. She is attending college now and her performance is above average. She enjoys singing, art and walking.  She is part of IN678, the Mullai Child Development Center which is located in Oorgaum which is 90km east of Bangalore. She will be graduating out of the program in Sept of 2014.

It was a struggle to pick my 20th child. I kept looking at other children from India, mainly from what I'm afraid to admit were somewhat selfish reasons. First off, they write in English usually! And secondly, I have heard from other sponsors, the children from India tend to be rather prolific writers, and who doesn't want more letters from their sponsored children? But the good Lord gave me a nudge and asked me if I was doing this for me, or was the need of the child more important? When I admitted that I was wrong and the need was more important, I felt the release to go ahead and sponsor this wonderful young lady.

May I introduce to you Janette from Haiti..  She is 17 and above average in school despite the conditions she lives in. Reading the Pastor's letter from her project, HA288 Capene Child Development Center, I found out that her community has over 90% unemployment and the most families there can cook "hardly one meal a day"! Needless to say, that broke my heart! Sweet Janette loves to play jacks, tell stories and art and I love her sassy little smile.

Increasing my Territory, Jabez style...

"Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, 'Because I bore him in pain.' And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, 'Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain.' So God granted him what he requested" 

 (1 Chronicles 4:9-10) 

I believe that God is using Compassion so that I can "enlarge my territory" by being an influence to the children that I sponsor and their families. Well, yesterday and today my territory expanded yet again. I don't see how it can get any bigger, but God knows and he will provide!

Let me introduce you to the two newest members of my family. First, there is Samuel Pajari, a handsome young man from Bolivia. He is 17 years old and enjoys soccer, art and singing. 

And just sponsored this evening, is a lovely young woman named Mary Paul from India. Mary will be turning 20 in a few days, and that means I will only have her as part of the family for one year. I plan on making the most of that year that I possibly can! Mary enjoys singing, art and walking. She is attending college and her performance is above average!

God has blessed me indeed, and surely my territory has been expanded to a sphere of influence that I would have never expected at any time of my life. I am praying that God gives the now the ability to encourage and to influence these young people that are now a very important part of my life..

Anderson

I got a really nice birthday present on the 10th - a letter from little 4 year old Anderson in El Salvador!

He lives in the countryside of San Luis la Herradura, which is 19 km S of Zacatecoluca. His favorite things are his toy cars, his favorite color is purple and when he grows up, he wants to become a doctor! Isn't that awesome? I will do my best to encourage any dream this little boy has, that is for sure.

Anderson's favorite food is a regional dish called Pupusas. An El Salvadoran treat, these homemade tortillas are stuffed with cheese and are great with a traditional coleslaw called curtido. To serve, slice open one side of a pupusa, and spoon curtido into the opening. Farmer's cheese or mozzarella can be substituted for queso blanco. Mix 2 cups maso harina with 1 cup of water, mix until it is a firm, moist dough. Let rest 5-10 minutes then cut into around 8 pieces and then shape into a ball. Make an indentation with your thumb and insert the desired filling, then seal the dough over the filling. Flatten the ball with the palms of your hand until it is about 5-6" round. Heat a greased skillet over medium-high flame. Cook each pupusa for about 1 to 2 minutes on each side, until lightly browned and blistered. Remove to a plate and hold warm until all pupusas are done.

• Pupusas de Queso: With a cheese filling. Use grated quesillo, queso fresco, farmer's cheese, mozzarella, Swiss cheese or a combination. Add some minced green chile if you like.
• Pupusas de Chicharrones: With a filling of fried chopped pork and a little tomato sauce. A reasonable facsimile can be made by pulsing 1 cup of cooked bacon with a little bit of tomato sauce in a food processor.
• Pupusas de Frijoles Refritos: With a refried bean filling.
• Pupusas Revueltas: Use a mixture of chicharrones, cheese and refried beans.
• Pupusas de Queso y Loroco: With a cheese and tropical vine flower filling. Loroco can be found in jars at many Latin markets.
• Pupusas de Arroz: A variety of pupusa that uses rice flour instead of corn masa.
• Other Fillings: Cooked potatoes or finely minced, sautéed jalapeño peppers are also tasty fillings. Try a mixture of different fillings.

First Attempt at a Blog

I'm not sure what I'm doing here, but I am going to attempt to make a blog.

My name is Donna and I live on a farm in the central part of Washington State. God has blessed us and now I am doing what I can to bless someone else. Ever since I was a young Christian, I have wanted to go out to the Mission Field. That is obviously not going to happen! So, my mission field now are my Compassion International kids.