Sweet Greetings from Bangladesh, Uganda, Ghana, Haiti, and Burkina Faso

Happy Mail Call Monday!!

This week, we received five letters! Three even came in one day! It was very exciting.

The first letter was from Sharifa in Bangladesh!

Sharifa was given a letter prompt of writing about her school, but she basically had a big blank space in which to write. She told me that she goes to school and the project every day, and she has her lunch there. She's learning dances and songs at the project- I have seen pictures of Bangladeshi dancers, and they are stunning! Sharifa also said she likes to sing and play with her friends, and when she wrote the letter, her country was experiencing autumn. One neat thing about Sharifa's letters is that they are written in her language, Bangla (which is very pretty) but she writes "Dear Sponsor Jessi Jones" in my language! It's interesting because her English letters still have some subtle style resembling Bangla. It's so cute! :)

Next we heard from sweet Caleb in Uganda!

Caleb's letter included a description of what he got with the birthday money we sent: they got a mattress, soap, and cream! Caleb shared that his parents are busy gathering ground nuts, and the people are planting and harvesting. His family grows maize and cassava. He must live in a very agricultural community, because he talks about farming in all of his letters! When telling me that he is now in 6th grade, he said "how I wish God gives me wisdom!" He also said that in the project, they are "enjoying life," and he liked the little prayer book I sent to him. He also shared a few Bible verses, and said "it is so nice to see how God has cared for us!"

Next up, a letter from Angelina in Ghana!

We found out for sure that she prefers to be called Angelina- that's what she asked her project worker to write in one of the sections of her letter! She also said that she has never heard of walruses (I remember writing about them in some letter this summer!) She asked how we were preparing for Christmas, and said she is praying for God to shower blessings on us. She asked that we pray for wisdom and prosperity for her family, and shared a verse with us, Proverbs 8:13.

Later in the week, we got our first letter from Marc in Haiti!

Marc's letter was written a couple of months after we received him as a correspondent, so my first letter may have just been arriving in Haiti for him. This letter was addressed to his financial sponsor. He opened it by saying "it is with much smile that I am writing to you." He asked a lot about our health, activities, and how things are going here (or rather, asked his financial sponsor!) and said that his family is doing well and he passed his first trimester exams. He also said that he wished we/his financial sponsor had a nice end of year celebration! Hopefully we will get another letter from him soon, and see his responses to my questions and stories. :)

Finally, we heard from little Barry in Burkina Faso!

Barry's letter was a form letter about his medical check-up. He went to the project for a check-up, and walked there with some of the workers from the project. The doctors said he is doing well, and he learned that "if I don't wash my hands before eating, I will have a stomach ache." Smart! This is something that all the projects were working with the kids about in Tanzania- we offered to share hand sanitizer as a time saver one day, but they explained that it would be best for the kids to continue practicing the habit of washing up with soap and water! Barry also told me that he has an ox and a chicken, and he asked that we pray that he will be first in his class!!

I'm sad that we don't have any mail coming today, but hopefully there will be more letters coming tomorrow!!