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."

My daughters Mini-Me

Sitting here along in my house a few nights ago and skimming through the children on the Compassion International site when a little cutie caught my eye... first off, she is blond.. second off, she has curly hair.. and third, she looks almost identical to what my daughter Joanne looked like at that age.

I resisted one night.. the next morning, she was still there, so I gave in and sponsored her! Please welcome Camila Andrea into my compassion family. She lives with her mother and father. She enjoys telling stories, playing with dolls and playing group games. She attends preschool and Bible classes. She lives in the coastal city of Barranquilla

Here are pictures of Camila and an old black and white picture of my now 19 year old daughter.

To write, or not to write...

That is not the question at all! Of course I will continue writing each and everyone of my compassion kiddos.. if there is any question at all, it is how often!

I have heard how important letters are from the most important source of all, former compassion children. Each and every letter, even if it just a sort note like "Thinking and praying for you today.. " along with some tidbit about my daily routine. I may not think something is all that interesting, but some of the kids might think its funny that I get woken up every morning my a rooster crowing outside my window.. or some crazy thing my dog or cats did.

So, I write. The templates on the Compassion website are awesome! They make it so easy to write a nice, fairly short letter to the kids and attach up to three photos on it. And to top it off, no trips to the post office are required at all!

When I get letters from the kids, I put together a "care package" filled with crossword puzzles, coloring pages, stickers, etc etc. Lately I've been taking a 8.5x11 piece of cardstock and scrapbooking three photos or so onto it.. Hopefully it will be a little longer lasting that way. Then I write a personal reply letter and send the package merrily on its way to Colorado to begin its journey to the far reaches of the world.

Somewhere out there, according to Compassion, there are at least eight letters floating around in the postal system from Divya, Sangeetha and Suhasini in India; Cesia in Bolivia, and from Grace, Elisa and Florien in Rwanda. And so the cycle of letter writing continues..

A Letter from the DR!

At long last I received my first letter from Jeison in the Dominican Republic! I was beginning to worry that I wouldn't get one before I left at the end of January to go visit him on my very first ever Compassion Sponsor tour! I can't wait to meet this boy in person! Here is his letter...

Dear Sponsor... How are you? It's a pleasure to me to find out you chose me. Thanks...I was born on January 9th, 1997. I live with me father. I have 4 siblings. I'm the 3rd.  I'm in 1st grade High School. My favorite subject is language. My favorite food is Moro de Hapichuelo with potato salad. I live in an area called "Brisas del Este". I would like to know if you are married. If you have children. What your favorite food is? I ask a prayer for my family and my studies. Goodbye.. with love... Yeison

Not bad at all for a first letter! *melts into a happy puddle*

Of course, I had to search out a recipe for his favorite dish.. Here 'tis!

Dominican Moro De Habichuelas

 ( Rice and Beans)

Ingredients

• 2 cups rice
• 4 cups water ( the water you boiled the beans in if possible)
• 1 cup cooked red beans
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste ( not sauce)
• 1/4 cup cubanel green peppers or 1/4 cup green bell peppers, finely chopped
• 1/2 medium red onions, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 fresh garlic cloves, mashed ( or pressed)
• 1 sprig fresh cilantro ( with stem)
• 1 teaspoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1 chicken bouillon cubes or 1 chicken stock cubes
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat and add the garlic, onions, oregano, pepper, parsley, and salt. Sautee for a minute then add the bouillon, stir until dissolved. Add the tomato paste and stir until heated.
2. Add the beans and stir with your base. Heat for about a minute stirring constantly. Don't let it stick or burn. Increase heat to maximum and carefully add 1 cup of the water and allow it to simmer. When it starts to simmer, add the rice, stir and add the rest of the water. (at this point you should test for salt, it should be a bit saltier than you'd prefer because the beans and rice will absorb most of it). Bring to a boil.
3. When it starts to boil reduce heat to the lowest possible and cover with a lid.
4. After 15 minutes remove the lid, most of the water should have been reduced. Throw in the whole spring of cilantro and give everything a good stir from bottom to top. Cover again and let it cook for 10-15 more minutes.