Compassion Joys: December

It's time to count our blessings for the month!

Letters! 

This month we received letters from Bijay, Brenda, Caleb, Christine, Erick, Juan, Maribel, Mary, Sandier, and Sukumar! There are many more letters on the way, but the mail has been a bit slow due to the holidays. Hopefully they will show up soon! :)

Birthdays! 

We just had four birthdays this month, but last year we only had one, so that's a pretty big increase! This month, Motempa in Kenya turned 18, Festus in Kenya turned 16, Sandier in Honduras turned 7, and Rachelle in Togo turned 13! I hope they all had lovely birthdays!!

Photo Updates! 

We had one photo update this month. Our lovely Mary P in Ecuador had a photo update! I kind of like the fact that she looks like she's about to growl in her picture. :) In the first photo we had of her (the one in the middle) sometimes our friends and family thought she was a boy, because of her strong features (which I think are gorgeous) and shorter hair. I think the bun and the pink top will help them out now!

New Kids! 

This month we lost our Mercy in Kenya to early graduation, but a few days before that happened, we got another Mercy in Kenya!! Some of my mom's kiddos were also transferred to my account (I wrote about that last month- it was finalized at the beginning of this month.) So I am now writing to Christina in Tanzania, Eyo in Burkina Faso, Frainelyn in the Dominican Republic, Jaki in Togo, and Jessika in Ecuador. AND we started sponsoring a girl from Honduras through another organization that a friend helped start, Manna 4 Lempira. While our lovely Zoila may not be a Compassion kiddo, Kim is a Compassion advocate, and I think that her involvement in both these organizations makes everything nice and interconnected!

Sponsor-versaries! 

In December, we celebrated three years of writing to Mary, two years of writing to Patricia, and one year of writing to Motempa, Nkoyio, Christine, Gloria, and Rose!

Gifts! 

We found out that we will be able to send some gifts to our girlies in India!! While they will technically be mailed to the sponsor that is visiting that country next month, they are all packed up and ready to go now. :) My mom and I have three teen girls there, and they will each be getting a pencil bag with a toothbrush, some holiday soap, knee socks, a pretty necklace, some brightly colored chalk, a pack of hair ties, some lip balm, a little bit of candy, and a small Bible! We also have three little girls there, and they are each getting a little doll, a princess tote bag, and a stuffed animal. I can't wait to hear what they think of everything!!

Trip Updates! 

The first week of the month, I hosted an online fundraiser to raise money for my trip. Friends and family donated several new or handmade items, and in the end, I made a few hundred dollars for my trip! I'm really thankful for the generosity of everyone who donated and bid on items, and hopefully my fundraising efforts will continue to go well!