Sweet Greetings from Haiti, India, Honduras, Burkina Faso and Uganda

Happy Mail Call Monday! My letter drought is over!!!

This week we got several letters, starting with a letter from Kevenel in Haiti! 

Kevenel sent a form letter about his summer holidays, but didn't fill out any of the form! That made me laugh. The back of the letter was filled up with a message written by his dad though. Kevenel asked how we are doing, and said that he hoped we would pray for him to have more knowledge at school and at church. He also shared Psalm 23  with us, and said that he hoped I had a good summer vacation. Then he drew a really cute picture! 

Next we heard from our princess Kajal in India! 

Kajal is our most recent sponsored child, and it was very exciting to get a first letter from her. The front of the letter was a form which shared about her and her interests. She has a mom and a dad, a brother and a sister, and her favorite color is red. Her best friend's name is Moman and her favorite game is playing with dolls. In the freeform part of the letter, which was written by a CDC staff member, they said that Kajal was very happy we sponsored her and were "showing love on her." Kajal likes to visit the center and likes hearing Bible stories. Her dad is a farmer and her mom takes care of the home, and they live in a rural community. She is also studying "1st standard" in school. 

Next we got a letter from little Sandier in Honduras!

Sandier's letter was about his medical checkup! He shared his height and weight, and said that he walked to his medical checkup with his mom. He also got vitamins, medicine, and dewormer at his checkup. The letter was written by a CDC staff member, who said that Sandier is doing really well in kindergarten and knows his ABCs. He also said it is very hot where he lives, and he was glad to read that some storms in America were not where I live. He also said now he knows the "vocals", which is a mystery to me, and he's glad that we know each other. And he also said that he's never visited a library, but he wants to see one sometime! Sandier also drew a cute little picture of some spiky-haired people getting rained on! 

Then came a letter from Caleb in Uganda.

Caleb wrote a very beautiful letter. He started by telling me how lovely things are in his country at the date of his writing. "The place where I stay is good and attractive because of the cool and fresh air from the trees around and the beautiful flowers at home." For the rest of the letter, Caleb replied to my letter back in March telling him about my mother-in-law's kidney cancer diagnosis and her surgery. He encouraged me not to worry, "because our God is a living God. I believe that the Lord who created heaven and earth is with her." Then he shared a memory verse for me, from John 14: "Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give as the world does. Do not be worried and upset, do not be afraid. You heard me say to you, I am leaving, but I will come back to you. If you love me, you would be glad that I am going to the father, for he is greater than I." Then Caleb says, "this memory verse teaches me always to stay strong in Christ in whatever challenges I pass through." He is such a wonderful kid! It is hard to believe that he just turned 13! 

Then came my first letter from Reine Anna in Burkina Faso! 

This was the first letter I received from Burkina Faso. We got Reine around the same time that we got Barry, so hopefully a letter is on its way from him, too. I'm not sure what name Reine prefers, but I usually call her Reine in my letters. It is her "second" name out of three names. But Barry goes by his "third" name. I asked some other sponsors which name they would guess she prefers, and the general opinion was to wait and see what she wrote on her letter. Well guess what? She didn't sign it! Oh well. We'll figure it out someday. 

Reine wrote a very brief letter saying that she is on vacation and is helping her family at home. She also likes to play with friends. Under the prayer requests section, she asked that I pray for her  and for her grandmother. As for her questions for me, she wants to know about the seasons where I live, and how many people are in my class! : ) 

My last letter to share is not a letter at all, but rather an email from Compassion! In my last letter from Said, he mentioned hurting his leg. I was concerned because the letter was written this summer, after I saw him, and I knew that he broke his leg last fall and had surgery to repair the break. I was concerned that he may have injured it again. I checked with Compassion and they recommended sending a copy of my letter so they could do an inquiry. When I sent it in, I also wrote quite a bit bragging on the Compassion Tanzania staff and going on and on about how wonderful they were. : ) Here is the reply I received this week: 

"Dear Jessi,

Thank you so much for bringing your concerns about Said to us.  We have heard back from our Tanzania office with the following reply.

“We have communicated with the project workers concerning Said’s situation and this was their response.  It is true Said injured his leg in October last year and after initial treatment he was supposed to go for surgery.  On the other hand the letter which Said wrote was to inform his sponsor concerning his leg before she came to visit him.

Moreover in October last year Said went for leg surgery and we thank God it was successful; he is doing fine, but in winter season he feels pain because of the pieces of metal plate which was placed in his leg.  We thank God in March this year 2 pieces of  metal plates were removed and it has remained only one which will also be removed very soon from now.

He is doing fine in school as well as family and project.

Kindly pass our thanks to our dear sponsor for her caring heart.”

Praise the Lord that Said is doing well, and that he will soon be 'metal-free!' And I am so thankful for the caring staff at Compassion who helped me gain this information!