Sweet Greetings from Kenya, Mexico, and Peru

Yay for Mail Call Monday!

This week I got four letters! That's more than I've been getting in a month lately. One day I got one letter, and then another day I just had a stack of three letters in my mailbox!

The first letter I got was from Mary. 

12 October 2013

Dear Jessi, 

How are you? I hope you are fine and your family. My family is fine and also I. I am also doing great because of God's grace. My favorite songs are Gospel and especially worship songs. Examples include "God will make a way", "Everyone needs compassion", "You are alpha", "Come and Rain", "How wonderful is your name", "May the spirit of the Lord come down" and others. 

At school I am doing great because it is a golden opportunity. At church we are all fine. We are lifting His name high because we have seen His mighty hand upon our lives. I will pray for her and also her family because God makes a way where there is no way. I always pray for you because you are such a great friend in my life and also I treasure you. 

The photos were great and I am proud for the photos because there are other animals I have never seen. Thank you very much for the book because it gives me hope. The book also strengthens my faith whenever I feel desperate. I also received the photo- it was such a great person and also your friend. The child is wonderful as I saw him on the photo. 

You also have a great name- when you take the first letters it becomes J² and also when you take the first letters of my name it becomes M². I also received the diary. It is such a beautiful one. Thank you for the support you have been giving me and may the Almighty bless the work of your hand. Remember that you are a friend among a thousand and I treasure you because I can't measure the support you give me because of the pleasure you give and the compassion. 

Yours faithful, 

Mary 

I love love LOVE receiving letters from Mary! She's always so detailed and friendly. She's also very responsive- I sent her pictures from our zoo visit, and also pictures from my little buddy Anell's homecoming at the airport, and she wrote about both of these things. It was also good to know that she receives the extras I send to her. The book she's talking about is a little "Jesus Calling" devotional I got on clearance at Lifeway. I love that book- I hope someday I'm able to bring her or send her a copy of the full book! I'm glad she liked it, too. And it was good to know she received the journal I sent her for her birthday. It was pink and had a little songbird on it, along with a verse from Psalms about singing praises. Mary loves to sing, so I knew that journal was for her! And it was really cute how she discovered that little fact about our initials. : )

On Friday, I got letters from all of my Spanish speaking kids, which I thought was a neat coincidence! We got letters from Brenda in Mexico, and Carlos and Mishel in Peru. 

Here's Brenda's letter, which was called "My Community":

5 October 2013

My community is called Chimalhuacan

The population of my community is 800,000

A common job in my community is builders

A common type of transportation in my community is  buses

In my community the weather is typically it changes

People in my community speak the language Spanish

One fun thing to do in my community is to play outside in the parks

I want to thank you for the letters you sent me, and for praying for me and my family

In response to your last letter My family is well and yes, I'm going to pray for your family

Please pray for my family and my dad, my mom, my siblings, and my grandparents

Dear Jessi, 

I want to tell you that my birthday is on October 22. I will turn 6 years old. I'm going to spend that day with my family. I'm doing well at school. I will go to Kidzania on October 21, because the pastors are giving me that trip as my birthday gift. 

It was great to learn more about Brenda's community! I have read a little about her city before because her project was profiled in a blog post on Compassion's website. When I wrote to her this weekend, I told her I was glad that she is able to go to parks in her neighborhood. And it made me happy to learn that she got to go on a fun trip for her birthday!!

Here's Carlos' letter: 

2 September 2013

Dear sponsor Jessi, 

I greet you in the precious name of Jesus Christ. I want to tell you that my family and I are fine thank God. I have three siblings named Marcos, Zarahi and Samir. I also want to tell you that the weather in Lima is cold and rainy. In the zoo I saw a tapir. It is really nice. I will pray for your brother to be in good health. I would like you to pray for me to do well in my studies and in my communion with God and for my family. Well, I say goodbye with a big hug hoping to get to known you more. I wish you blessings. 

Carlos

When I wrote to the kids about my trip to the zoo a few months ago (my first since my surgery), I mentioned that we saw the tapir, which is one of my favorite animals. Most of the time it's not out when I'm visiting! Tapirs live in southeast Asia and in South America- some even live in Peru, where Carlos lives! I asked him if he had tapirs where he lives, and it was nice of him to write back that he saw a tapir at the zoo. He's really sweet! This is our second letter from Carlos. He graduates from Compassion's program next November, and I hope to get many more letters from him before that time. 

And last but not least, here is our letter from Mishel: 

16 September 2013

Dear sponsor Jessi, 

I greet you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Things are going well for me and my family. We do celebrate Father's Day at home and we make "Pachamanca" in the oven. We buy a present for my dad. Thanks for the letters you send. Do you celebrate Father's Day in your country? I wish you and your spouse a Merry Christmas. I say bye with a big hug and many kisses. 

Mishel

Mishel's last letter told me about her Mother's Day celebration, and it was nice of her to tell me a little about Father's Day in this letter! She also mentioned another Peruvian dish. Pachamanca is meat (poultry, pork, or guinea pig) cooked in a pot in the earth! I've learned quite a bit about the food in Peru thanks to Mishel's letters! 

I'm so thankful I heard from my kids this week!