Sweet Greetings from Ecuador, Honduras, India, Thailand and the Philippines

Happy Mail Call Monday!

A few more letters rolled in this week! The first we received was our first letter from Mary Paola in Ecuador! 

Mary P says it's an "honor" for her to send me letters, and she says she's doing very well with her family. She is also very happy in school. She wants to know if there are lots of trees where we live, and told me there are lots of trees and "rich flora" where she lives. She asks that we pray for her studies so she can continue to do a good job, and she wishes us success and she will always be praying for us. On the back page, she drew a really nice scene with trees, mountains, and birds! I am looking forward to hearing more about Mary P's jungle home. I also noticed that she has really nice handwriting, that looks a bit like my own! 

Next up, a letter from Thanakan in Thailand!

Thanakan is such a sweetheart. I was so happy to hear from her! She wrote a form letter about her family. She doesn't list any siblings in the space provided and says she lives in the mountainous region. She likes to help her family by cooking and cleaning, and her family has a Christian background! Thanakan had help writing her letter, because she's still pretty small. Her helper said she wants to hear from me often! She asked how our family is doing and said that she is living with her older sister right now because her dad had an accident and lost his leg. :( So her dad and mom are staying in another village. I hope that they are reunited soon. I am thinking about doing an inquiry as to why exactly she can't be with her parents right now, but I am assuming that they are just staying closer to the hospital or a rehabilitation center. Regardless, I am going to try to send a small family gift to Thanakan soon, so she can maybe use it to buy food for her family while her parents are away. The project helper was sure to tell me that Thanakan is a very good girl, and she is always thinking of me! She also drew a very pretty picture of a river with some flowers.

Next was a letter from Amisha in India!

It was so good to see a letter from Amisha- we haven't heard from her often and her first two letters were written by project staff, in English. This one appeared to be written by Amisha herself, in her native language! Amisha's letter was a form letter about the future. She said that in the future, she wants to learn about computers, and she wants to dance or sing or act. She wants to be a teacher when she grows up, and she wants her community to be alcohol-free. And she called me Aunty!!! Yay!!! I have been waiting forever for an Indian sponsor daughter to call me Aunty. :) I love it. It's so cute. She said that she and her family are fine, and she hopes that uncle Brandon and I are fine, too. She sends her love regards to my whole family, and the people in her village recently celebrated Ramadan. She wanted me to know that her favorite pet is  cat, and there are lots of kinds of people who live in her community and she will tell me more about them in her next letter- but in this letter she did say that when Christian couples get betrothed they exchange rings and a "wedding string." Which sounds fun. She says she is praying for us every day! :) 

We also heard from Eduardo in Honduras! 

Eduardo says that he and his family are doing really well. He shared that his favorite months are May and December because those are "very beautiful days for me and for my family." He asked about my favorite month, and said baby Lilly is "so beautiful" and he is praying for her and wants to know how she is doing now. He also said that where he lives, it is so hot they can barely stand it, and he remembered from one of my letters that it is cold where I live. Not anymore, buddy! :) He said goodbye with much love. 

Lastly, we got a very exciting letter from Merlyn in the Philippines! 

Merlyn's letter addressed the family gift we crowd-funded for her back in February, because her family lost many belongings in Typhoon Ruby. Merlyn shared that with the gift, she and her mom got rice, groceries, shoes, new clothes, a backpack for school school uniforms, a grooming kit, school supplies- and ice cream! She said they were so happy! Merlyn also asked how Brother Brandon is and what he is up to now, and she said "Thank you very much for not getting tired in writing me. I'm happy every tie I received a letter from you." She also agrees that baby Lilly is so cute, and she is praying for her health! Merlyn said "sister Jessi, my prayer for you is may God keep you and may you have peace. Please also pray me to Jesus to keep me and guide me in going to school and going back home." She also promised to take care of all the new stuff she got. And I got pictures of her and her mom with their gifts! :) :) :)