Catching Up...

Lots of things have happened in 2014. Here are a few highlights.

First off, I was blessed beyond measure to be able to go last April to the Philippines! I love that country and would go back in a heartbeat.

In June, my daughter Joanne graduated from Central Washington University Magnum Cum Laude. We are so proud of her! She also won the Judge's Award for her designs in the CWU fashion show, a regional award for costume design for a play, and the grand prize in a cosplay contest at a convention down in Vancouver, WA.

In August, my birthday was celebrated up in the mountains at our churches annual Family Campout. I was so surprised!

Coming up, my 40th wedding anniversary road trip! And next year, Gary and I hope to go on a medical mission to Honduras where I will be able to meet my Compassion kids there!

Will post more when I can!

A New Face in the Crowd

One of the most awesome programs that Compassion has available if that of being a Correspondent Sponsor. There are many reasons why a financial sponsor might not be able to write the child they support, and if so, they can agree to let someone else do the writing for them! Anyways, I had put myself on the list for another correspondent child and lo and behold a few days later, a new face pops up! I am pleased to introduce Dhiner Moisés Plúas Vera, a charming seven year old from Ecuador. He attends EC318, Barranquilla Student Center. This poor lad has never received a single letter, even though he has had a sponsor for the last three years. Well, that is going to change!

         

Going Camping!

I will going camping with my husband this coming weekend to the FCF Family Camp up in the mountains. I ordered six packets to show around and hopefully find loving and good letter writing sponsors. You can also sponsor another child of your choice at Compassion.com

This is one of the children I am trying to find a sponsor for.. His name is Edwin and his birthday is on Jan 2, 2006. He attends ME991 Dios de Promesa Student Center, which is located right on the border of Mexico and Guatemala. Edwin lives with his father and mother and 2 siblings. He enjoys soccer, playing with cars and running. If you are interested in sponsoring this wonderful young man, please contact me! ME991 is where my Gema attends. Isn't he the cutest little boy? I love his smile.

 Beautiful Acsa from Haiti turned 15 on Jun 10th and she needs a loving, letter writing sponsor. She attends the Cite des Jeunes Child Development Center near Port au Prince. She lives with her father and mother and 3 siblings, enjoys singing, walking and jumping rope. She is above average in high school. I sponsor 2 wonderful teens in Haiti, and it has been a really good experience for me. If you are interested in sponsoring Acsa, please contact me for further information.

Say hello to Miguel! He is 15 years old and has a birthday on Jun 4th. This handsome young man has been waiting for 14 months for a sponsor!!!! He lives with his father, mother and one other sibling. He enjoys swimming, bicycling and playing group games. His performance in high school is average. If you are interested in being Miguel's sponsor, please contact me!

I have three lovely young ladies from a wonderful project in India available, IN443 - the Bishop Azariah Girls Hostel. These girls are not orphans, but they live at the Hostel so that they can attend school and have a safe place to stay while their parent work, usually as agricultural laborers. This is Manjula. She will be 8 on Sep 3rd. She enjoys playing hide-and-seek and playing group games.

This little cutie is Nikhila and she turned 7 on her birthday on July 31st. She also lives at the Bishop Azariah Girls Hostel along with her sister. She enjoys playing hide-and-seek and playing group games. She has been waiting for a sponsor for 9 months! If you are interested in sponsoring her, please contact me!

The last packet that I have is for Akhila, who turned 9 last May 4th. She is Nikhila's sister and she has also been waiting 9 months for a loving, letter writing sponsor. She enjoys playing house and hide-and-seek. I sponsor a little girl named Shirisha at this project, and I'm really impressed on how fast the letters are coming from her.

Happy 17th birthday!

Today, my precious girl in India, Divya, has turned 17 years old. I just love her to pieces! She has been my best letter writer out of all my sponsored children. I have received 8 wonderful letters from her since she was sponsored by me last June.

Here are some birthday traditions common in India..

• In India children wear new clothes on their birthday. A child may rise at daybreak and get dressed in new clothes. The child kneels and touches the feet of their parents as a sign of respect. They then all visit a shrine, where they pray and the child is blessed. In the afternoon there might be a meal that includes a spicy vegetable stew called curry and chutney which is a spicy fruit relish. The dessert is a treat known as dudh pakh, which is a rice like pudding. They might also stir in pistachios, almonds, raisins, and a spice called cardamom. To receive a birthday present wrapped in black and white is considered bad luck.  janmadin mubārak ho is how you can say Happy birthday

Compassion Scrapbook Part 1

I love scrapbooking! I tend to do it in spurts, and since I was sent a lovely Compassion Scrapbook I thought I would fill it up with pictures of all my kiddos... I just finished Section One, which features all the kids from Africa that I either sponsor or correspond with. They are from Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. Enough talking, here they be!

I am really starting to love Bolivia!

Today, I received my first letter from 17 year old Samuel. He lives near Cochabamba, Bolivia. My other sponsored child from Bolivia, Cesia, also lives near that town! Here is his letter..

"Dear friend Donna...
I greet you with the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ. I am very happy because you accepted to help me. I will be asking God every day to bless you. I am happy and I like being very friendly; I dream about being a good politic leader but I also like soccer; every day I am learning a lot. All this time I am reading. I like very much eating pique, a traditional food of my town and I have my dog Coqui and I spend my time with it when I am bored. Sometimes I go with my mother to the church services, it is very nice to serve God. I have lots of curiosity about knowing you. I would like you send me a photo of you. Love, Samuel"

He also drew me a really nice drawing. I can tell he is very proud of his country. Maybe someday he will be president of Bolivia and I can say, "That's my boy!"

Both he and Cesia mention Pique, so I had to look it up. According to Wikopedia, Pique macho (pronounced pee-kay maacho) is a typical Bolivian food said to come from Cochabamba. It is a mountain of marinated beef strips mixed with fried potatoes, onions, and peppers with a few sausage links for flavoring. A single portion is often enough for two people.
 

Happy Birthday Irene!

Today, Irene is 21 years old. This lovely young woman is from Kenya. Her mother is the only parent she has. Her dad died in 1997. She has 2 older brothers and an older sister. She enjoys athletics, netball and table tennis. She enjoys gospel songs, light and delicious food. Her best subjects are biology and chemistry. Her favorite bible story is Joseph and Potipha's wife. Her favorite color is pink. This is her first letter that she sent to me... *smiles happily*

"Receive holy and joyous greetings from here hoping that you are still doing fine. I first appreciate your concern about my life in this world. I am happy to know about you and I am happy for your family. May God grant your family good health and skills for life. In our family am the last born of four, two girls and two boys. We live with our only mother who has been caring for us all through until when I completed my form four last year. I like reading novels, inspirational books and doing some physical exercises. We love going to church especially every Sunday. I also take part during Christmas carols.
Here in Kenya the weather is cool. It rains almost daily and we also have the solar insolation moderately. We also have the preparations for the next president. The campaigns are very stiff and I will also take part in voting. I am happy about Joanne. Tell her to keep up! I see you also like pets. I do. Especially cats. Your photos are nice and I feel good when I see them. Thank you very much.
I have been looking forward to joining campus. I want to study for Bachelor in Education Science. This because I love Biology and Chemistry. I request you also pray for me to have a chance at the university and to have a prosperous future. I get all inspiration from the book of Jeremiah. I love it."