Compassion Joys: February

We have a lot to be thankful for this month!

Letters!

This month, we received letters from Gloria, Tasya, Rose, Victor, Christine, Michel, Patricia, Mary, Reine, Jayid, Elifagason, Carlos, Bonifas, Prayer, Anahi, Angelina, Elisha, Brenda, and Nkoyio! Six of those were first letters. I also got an envelope that should have had a first letter from Motempa inside, but there was a mix-up and instead I got a letter for another sponsor. :) So hopefully they will get Motempa's to me for next month's Compassion Joys post!

Birthdays!

In February, we celebrated Sharifa's 11th birthday, Patricia's 13th birthday, Christine's 14th birthday, and Elifagason's 10th birthday! It was a big birthday month!!

New Kids!

This month, we gained several correspondents!!!

Laura in the Dominican Republic

Norma in Nicaragua

Yekersew in Ethiopia

Habimana in Rwanda

Wendy in Guatemala

Benji in Haiti

Tamirat in Ethiopia

That's a lot of new correspondents!! I had said that I would take on some older teens who were close to graduation, to send lots of love and encouragement during their final year or so in the program. But a few extra kiddos snuck in there, too. :) 

Gifts!

Emily H. graciously offered to take a gift to Ecuador for my mom's child Jessika- she has been trying to get a gift to her for a while, because she really worries about her and wanted to send her a Bible and some other gifts. And then she extra-graciously agreed to take another gift when we found out we got Erick in Ecuador, too. :) So this month, a lunchbox/purse thing for Jessika and a gallon bag of gifts for Erick made their way to Emily! Erick is getting a shirt, a handmade scarf, some candy, school supplies, a new toothbrush and washcloth, toy cars, a ping pong set, a hat, and a stuffed panda bear! I can't wait to hear what he thinks!! 

We were also able to collect $100 for a family gift for Merlyn in the Philippines! Merlyn's home was badly damaged in Typhoon Ruby, and we couldn't send much on our own (not even for the minimum family gift amount!) But with the help of friends and family, we raised a hundred dollars! I'm excited to find out what Merlyn's family is able to do with the money- that's by far the largest financial gift we have been able to send!!!

Sponsor-versaries!

This month we celebrated one year of writing to Sharifa in Bangladesh!! I remember very clearly receiving her as a correspondent, because I was about to leave for my trip to Tanzania! I had her photo printed in a hurry and had it added to my album, so I could show her off. :) 

Photo Updates!

We had two very special photo updates in February! First, we got an update from Mishel in Peru. We have had Mishel for almost 2 years, and in that time have never received a new photo of her! I made a little collage with her new photo. 

Second, we got a photo update of our very first sponsor child, Tasya in Indonesia- the one that started it all! Tasya's photo updates are very few and far between, and her project doesn't have easy access to a camera (Compassion staffers have to take a boat to get to them!) so I flip out when I get new pictures of her. She has grown up soooooo much!! 

Guest Posts!

In February, I featured two guest posts on my own blog- Hannah shared about hosting letter-writing parties, and Sherinah shared about her ministry in Uganda! Hannah also hosted me on her own blog, in a series of guest posts she is doing about sponsors traveling to meet with their sponsor kids!! It was so much fun to write. Thanks, Hannah!