Sweet Greetings from India, the Philippines, and the Dominican Republic

Happy hot-as-heck Mail Call Monday!

A few more letters came in this week, including two first letters! The first one we received was from Jayid in India. 

Jayid's letter was so sweet. His letters are always written by a staff member, and they usually just share what he's been up to and a few prayer requests. This letter was full of "he loves you" and "he misses you and wants to see you." It was so cute! He responded to my letter about missionaries, saying that he has met one who came to the project, and he had the opportunity to go on a "spiritual retreat!" 

Next, we got our first letter from Laura in the Dominican Republic! 

Laura's letter was so cute! She seemed really excited to finally get some letters! She said "I am so glad to receive your letter. I look forward to continue writing to you. Whenever you want to write to me, please do it!"  Laura shared that she was finishing high school this spring, and she is heading to university! Wow! She responded to my letter about new baby traditions, and said that in her country, people also have baby showers for expectant mothers. She asked if we have recovered from the snow, and said that she loved the "American style" photo. I don't know what that means, but I'm glad she liked whatever it was! :) 

Then we got our first letter from Carlos Daniel, also in the Dominican Republic!

Carlos Daniel's letter was written for his financial sponsor, but it was interesting to see how friendly and kind he was in the letter, even though he never heard from this person. I think that's a sign that he's going to be a good correspondent. He asked questions about his financial sponsor's family, and said he was praying for her. He said he wasn't going to church right then (but would go in the summer) and even though he couldn't go to church, he was still reading his Bible at home. He also said "Thank you a thousand times for sponsoring me. Please pray for my family so that God will guide them in a good way. I send you my regards with much love."

Later in the week, we also heard from Merlyn in the Philippines! 

Merlyn's letters are so cute and sweet. She's very responsive and always sounds excited. She said "you're so generous in writing to me" and she was glad to learn about my grandparents. She also responded to my letter about names, saying that my full name is "long and had a beautiful meaning." Merlyn also said that she really enjoyed learning about Edwin, the head elephant keeper at the sanctuary in Kenya. She was happy to learn that he was a Compassion graduate, and said that she has never seen an elephant. She also asked if it was still cold where I live, and said it is really, really hot where she lives! She also asked about Brandon, checking in to see if his back is still hurting. She calls him Kuya Brandon, which means "big brother" (and she calls me "Ate", or big sister!) She also wrote some sweet prayers for us, and asked that we pray she and her mom don't get sick. 

Thanks to a heads up from some very kind Compassion staffers, I know I have a bunch more letters on the way, including more first letters! I'm excited to see what this week has in store!