Project Letter: ID-231

Here's a letter from Ecel's center in Indonesia! All the photos come from Compassion's website.

I am pastor Stenly K. I am the lead pastor of the protestant church (ID-231) where we are ministering to Ecel. I want to sincerely thank you for your kind heart to support Ecel and this ministry. Your support and that of all the other sponsors has helped us to run the program and helped over 300 of the neediest children at the center. Without you, we wouldn't be able to do this.

There are many activities that the children do at the center. All of their activities are based on the holistic development curriculum from Compassion. The program is centered on the four holistic areas of development, including the spiritual, physical, intellectual, and socio-emotional areas. Our curriculum is very good, for it allows the children to study in a fun way whether it is indoor activities or outdoor activities. We also care for the children's physical health. We give them nutritious food that is needed for them to grow.

The center's mission is to raise up a generation of young Christians blessing our community. Currently, we are compiling a program to help the children's families to earn some money. It is a kind of income generating program. We raise pigs nearby the area where the center is located. Pork meat is very competitive in business. There is quite a lot of space with waters and unused pens. So this is a good place to be done. The progress is quite good. Through this program, we are positive that we can help the children's families to add more income to support the families so that the children can focus on studying.

From our deepest heart, we are thankful to you and pray that God will bless you. In these difficult days, we really appreciate your contribution and support of Ecel. You have changed his life from a very bad situation into a better one. Before, the children at the center had no health care and could not go to school. They could not play or interact with other children their age. They did not attend church and did not know Jesus. Now all of that has changed. Because of this, it is a joy to see the enthusiasm of the children and the families. May Jesus bless you abundantly!


If you are interested in sponsoring a young man in Indonesia, please consider Nando! Coincidentally, Nando attends the same project as our guy Prayer! :) You can read more about him here.

Project Letter: ID-204

Here's a letter from Enal's center in Indonesia! All the photos come from Compassion's website. 

My name is Belly K. I am the pastor of (CENTER) that is attached with the child development center attended by Enal. We are located in Minihasa, North Sulawesi of Eastern Indonesia. Most of the people in our area are from low economy and have limited resources. The daily needs and education cost are getting expensive each day. That is why most of the parents ask their children to help them work. There is a need of an institution that can help the children without burdening the family. The presence of the center is a perfect answer for our community.

With the presence of the center in the community, parents are more aware about their children's education. Beside the parents, the staffs are also benefitted. They learn how to teach children and learn about administration and finance. Most of the staffs have low educational background. Moreover, the impacts toward the children are various. We try to balance their development in terms of spiritual, physical, and intellectual and socio-emotional. In terms of spiritual, they get to know Jesus more. In terms of physical, the children eat nutritious food and get medical check-ups twice a year. We thank the Lord Jesus when we see them become best and smartest students in their class.

As part of the center we are determined to change the way of thinking of the people in our community. We believe that when we educate the children holistically in the name of Jesus Christ, we are building the next generation that will bring blessings toward their family and church.

There are 215 children at the center and 205 of them have sponsors while 10 of them are waiting to be sponsored. This year we are trusted to recruit 20 new children. We are grateful to God for this opportunity to help the children who are in need in our church and community. The people in our community are also encouraged to help us building new rooms for the center. This is purely a local contribution.

So far, we have received many sponsor letters. They have made the children eager to study harder and are motivated to do the best. Letters are very important in building communication between sponsors and children. We want you to know that we can see the positive impacts of your relationship with the children. They are motivated to do the best when you give them advice, gift, and pray for them. Please make time to write to Enal. A sponsor's letter is a living proof of love and care for a child. We aren't being visited this year, but we hope that next year, we will be trusted to host any sponsors who are willing to come. We believe that by coming here, you will give even more encouragement for the children.

Please pray for the children so that each day they can learn deeper about the truth in the Bible, get smarter and be able to reach their dreams. Please also pray for our church. There are external challenges in our ministry such as gambling, dispute among villages, alcohol and family problems. We pray that our community can change into a better one for the children to grow to become future leaders. We are planning to build more classes. We renovate our church building so that there is a better and spacious study room. Wish us success in this building process! Thank you for reading this letter. We pray that Jesus Christ blesses you.


If you are interested in sponsoring a young man like Enal in Indonesia, please consider Hendri! Hendri is 18 years old and lives with his aunt and uncle. He likes playing soccer and is attending vocational training! Read more about Hendri here.

Project Letter: ID-216

Here's a letter from our Prayer's project in Indonesia! All of the photos come from Compassion's website. 

Dear Jessi, 

Greetings to you in the love of God! I am Lydia P. I am project director at (ID-216.) We are located in Langowan District, in the Province of North Sulawesi, Indonesia, where your sponsor child attends. Thank you for sponsoring Prayer. 

Child development in each age group has been very good. In the spiritual area, group of children 3-5 years ld, have learned to mention the characters from the Bible and memorize Bible verses. Then most of the children also have learned and can tell the stories of Bible characters and can tell simply about the positive experience of the love of God. Most children also can pray alone and can tell about the Bible story using their own words. They have been involved in the routine of worship with their parents. It becomes the result of spiritual development, not only for children, but also parents.

In the area of physical development children have to do the movements of the body and can figure out the functions of their own bodies. Some children have started to take care of themselves, such as bathing. They understand how to live a healthy life, for example brushing teeth and washing hands.

In the area of cognitive development, most children are able to spell the letters A to Z and have also been able to construct a sentence. Children also have started to count numbers and they can choose the activities that they like. 

In the area of socio-emotional every child has begun to make a daily activity schedule. Most of them can also do their daily schedule well. Children are also able to keep and maintain their own goods.

Children aged 12 and above all have been able to witness to others and they can tell how the miracles of Jesus in their lives. They are able to lead activities including worship whether done in the center or outside the center as well. Teens are able to demonstrate an appropriate understanding of their physical and can show interest to develop their talents in a professional manner. In the socio-emotional area, they have been able to show sympathy and empathy for others well. Many teens are also interested in a painting course, learn music and English. This makes them forbear staying to do activities in this center.

Other programs at the center are the distribution of gifts, obviously they are very happy because children feel that someone has attention and care. Those gifts are very useful and help them to have tools for schools and health checks. All the help of the center is helpful to them and are a very big impact for children in need. For some children the gift they have received already can help to increase the family income.

Children feel very happy when they receive letters from their sponsors. It is gratifying to see them so excited; smiling and telling their friends about their sponsors. The news about sponsors is so important for the children so we encourage them to continue to write to the children. They feel very happy to know they have a sponsor somewhere in the world that cares for them.

The thing that inspires me to continue to do the task in this center is that I want to see children become useful for everybody and can have a personality that imitates Christ. Please pray for our children, their families and the community that we grow in wisdom, knowledge, and understanding so that we can release children from poverty in Jesus' name.




If you are interested in sponsoring a boy from Indonesia, please consider Dimas! He has been waiting over a year for a sponsor, and that is just heartbreaking. He's 8 years old and his birthday is November 12. Read more about Dimas here.

Project Letter: IO-560

Here's a letter from our little Anggi's project in Indonesia! 

My name is Sora T., the pastor of (IO-560) in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia. We are ministering to Anggi at the center, which is located in the area of Medan Petisah. I am grateful for the Lord's grace and kindness and for all the support that you have given to Anggi.

There are 440 children that we are serving here at the center, and they have shown development and transformation in the past 7 years. Most of the parents of the children work as scavengers and pedicab drivers. They live by the railroads and by the rivers. The transformation in the children has given positive influences on their parents and their community. Many of their parents have been born again. They come to church regularly and are involved in the family discipleship program.

In May 2014, we did a couples' retreat (for husbands and wives.) Seventy-seven persons attended the retreat (19 counselors and 58 participants.) All of the participants experienced the Lord in the retreat. The Lord brought restoration to many of them. Our ministries are not only for the children, but also for their parents because the development of the children also depends on the Christian lives of their parents.

Some of the children are entering their teen years. Our biggest challenges is about the teenagers' social lives and the influence of the media. We took better approaches in our discipleship ministry to them. We want them to know that they have best friends who will be there for them when they have problems.

We have planned some activities for the teenagers. Thirty-three of them have joined the EE Kids (Evangelism Explosion) program, where they learned to share the gospel with the children of the evacuees of a volcanic eruption in April 2014. They went to the evacuation center to comfort the children there. They did some entertainment, gave lessons, and shared the gospel. These teenagers have helped 70 children at the evacuation center to accept Jesus. The teenagers at the center also receive a leadership training in a program we call Boys Brigade. In this activity, they learn to be disciplined in marching, responding to instructions, etc. They are also trained to be pioneers in children protection, and in movements against narcotic use and promiscuity.

Another program that we do is Faith Garden. The children learn to grow chili, mustard greens, spinach, kale, and so on, utilizing vacant spaces around their houses. They also learn some culinary arts and about healthy food at restaurants. There are still many other programs at the center that are beneficial to the children.

All of the children are very happy when they receive letters from their sponsors. When writing letters to their sponsors, the children can express their feelings. In the past three months, we have received 156 letters from the sponsors. They were really happy when they received them. They were motivated by their growing relationship with the sponsors.

Please pray that the children will come to the center more diligently, and that the programs at the center will have more impact on the children and on the community, even the city. Please also pray for our vision to reach 1,000 children to join the center in the next five years, so that more children will be won for Jesus, and they will grow in character to be like Daniel and Esther. We need your prayer support because we realize that this is not an easy task, but we really dream of it. We thank you again for your blessings and support for Anggi.


If you are interested in sponsoring a child from this amazing project, please consider little Lena!! Lena has been waiting over six months for a sponsor. She lives with her mom and dad, and she helps them by running errands! Read more about Lena here. 

Project Letter: ID-141

We got a HUGE stack of partner directors recently. It was great to read about what's going on at our kids' centers! Here's the letter from Tasya's center! 

Dear Jessi,
I am Joseph G., project director of (ID-141.) We serve your sponsored child, Tasya. Thank you for giving financial support and prayer for Tasya. Once again I thank you.

At the center, we spend time on a wide range of activities beneficial to the growth of the children. The daily activities at the center teach the curriculum and extra-curricular activities such as sports, arts, environmental cleanup, worship, and others. Every year we have special celebrations, including the birthday of the center, Easter, Indonesian Independence Day, and Christmas. We also do a child-protection advocacy campaign each year.

Children 3-11 of age very quickly adjust to others and become gregarious and helpful. The 3-5 year olds have begun to pray before meals and at bedtime, say thank you, distinguish between good and bad things, and be obedient to parents and to God.

Children ages 12-14 already lead daily worship, birthday services, and Christmas worship. As teenagers, they are taught how to prepare for their life ahead and become independent. They learn to manage natural resources. They can make cakes, banana chips, candied nutmeg, and sweet walnut snacks. We hope their abilities continue to grow and they can do business and earn income with these skills.

The sponsor relationship with the child through correspondence is very close. The children are very excited when they receive a letter from their sponsor. Sponsor letters encourage children to have more enthusiasm in their activities. Children are always waiting to write a letter so they can tell all they experience to the sponsor. Although it is only through the mail, communication between the sponsor and child can work well. Correspondence between older children and their sponsors takes place very smoothly, because they can write on their own. Smaller children get help from parents, siblings, or tutors. Gifts from sponsors also have a huge influence on the children and make them more diligent in following the activities at the center.

I want to give special attention to the children and the environment of the church and the community for the name of the Lord. I feel compelled and responsible to serve vulnerable children who have few resources. I hope I can encourage children to live close to the Lord Jesus in every circumstance. We hope that someday they became outstanding witnesses for the glory of the Lord.

I personally feel delighted with the support prayer from the sponsors. Children, parents, and the center staff are also very excited  for the sponsorship. We pray for the sponsors. We ask for your prayer for the children, so that they have strength and health. Please pray that the center can develop, increase in quality, and always help children who are less able. Please pray also for the community surrounding the center so together we can help to serve and care for the children.

I am grateful for your willingness to support Tasya. Jesus surely bestows his blessing for you. Our staff, tutors, and children say many thanks to you.



There are currently no children at Tasya's center who are available for sponsorship, but Puput doesn't live to far away! She is 16 years old and her birthday is November 20. She lives with her mom and dad, and two other children. To learn more about Puput, click here. 

Sweet Greetings from Bangladesh, India, Honduras and Indonesia

Happy Mail Call Monday!!

We didn't receive any letters until Saturday this week, and I was so thankful that some finally showed up!! The first one was our last letter from Sharifa in Bangladesh. 

I say this was our last letter because about a week ago, we found out that Sharifa and her family had moved away to a new city which did not have a Compassion center. I'm sad to lose this sweet girl, even though we hadn't had the chance to get to know her very well. We've had Sharifa for almost two years, but for the past year haven't heard from her because of some program issues in the country. Now that everything is back on track and the children are returning to activities at the project, it stings a little to lose Sharifa after not hearing from her for so long! Sharifa did tell us that her family is well and that she got all the letters, stickers, and cards that we sent while the projects in Bangladesh were closed. She said "Because of your support I am doing my study nicely." She said that she is always praying for us. 

Next was a letter from Jayid in India! 

I am looking forward to the day when Jayid starts writing his own letters again, as he did before some letter-writing changes took place a few years ago. As things are now, his project workers feel compelled to write his letters for him because of his age, and because of that, we kind of hear the same thing from him in each letter! He's studying well, he's a good child, and he's learned new action songs and Bible verses at the project. :) I am glad to learn that he and his family are well. His dad struggles with TB and since there was no mention of that in his letter (they usually tell me when he is sick and unable to work) I assume he is doing ok with it right now!

We also got a surprise non-Compassion letter from our Manna 4 Lempira child, Zoila!

Zoila's letter was a short form letter. She lives with her mom and dad and has one brother, and she said that she is happy we sponsored her and she loves us very much! She also drew some pretty flowers! I can't wait to see what her next letter has to say! :) 

Finally, we got a super awesome letter from Tasya in Indonesia!

I say Tasya's letter was super awesome because it was enormous, and she included a lovely papercraft!! Tasya said that she got nine letters from me at once, dated May through August (she wrote the letter in November) and she reads them over and over again. She said "thanks, mom- among your busy days you always find time to write to me!" She also asked Brandon if it was ok if she calls him Dad, even though she has been doing this for several years now. :) She's so cute. Tasya shared that it is finally raining where she lives, which is good because when there is drought, nutmeg doesn't grow (it's apparently a primary source of income for people in her area) and there aren't many coconuts, either. She also said at night, when the ocean is calm, her family goes to catch fish to eat. She shared a lot about the income-generating activities of people in her neighborhood! Tasya said she really liked reading about our trips to the farm this summer, and she is sure she'd have fun if she could see it. She asked about our cousins and wondered if there are any cousins her age that she could play with. Tasya said there isn't a public library near her, but she borrows books from the school library and project library all the time- she loves to read! She also wrote quite a bit about a fun experience she had recently- the kids from her project had a camping trip over a weekend. They set up tents right after school, and got up at 4 am the next morning (she didn't get much sleep.) There were lots of fun activities on the camping trip, and on the last night they had a lovely devotional and prayer session. She wrote "In the evening we followed the worship where we were lead to put our plan, dream, and everything in God's hands. We sat around the campfire. One tutor was standing in the middle directing the activities and the other tutors were standing behind us and kept praying for us. We were relieved when we finished the worship. No more things burdened our minds and hearts." She also said that the preacher at the campout was very funny and they laughed a lot when he spoke. Near the end, she said "I'll always pray for you, and dad Brandon. I hope you get a baby soon so I'll have a little brother or sister." She is so precious to us and I love her so much!! 

Sweet Greetings from Indonesia, Peru, Uganda, Burkina Faso, and the Philippines

Happy Mail Call Monday!

I was so glad to hear from some of our kids this week! Our first letter is from our sweetie Merlyn in the Philippines!  

Merlyn is such a cutie and I love her to pieces. She puts lots of smiley faces in there. Merlyn said she is glad that I'm sending her so many letters. She also said she was glad that we made Christmas cards for the kids who don't have sponsors! She asked about "friend sister Hannah," and wants to know how many kids she sponsors, and sent her regards to her and the rest of our family and friends! She asked that we pray for her mom to have strength and energy to do her job, and asked that we pray for her because her eyes hurt. I asked in my reply if she needs glasses! She also said that there was a typhoon that hit her country recently, but Jesus protected them! She closed with "please take care always, sister Jessi! I love you! Bye!" 

We also got a surprise letter from Carlos in Peru! 

We have been hearing from Carlos a lot lately! This was a special letter that I had not received before- there was a printed letter from the project saying that they were celebrating Sponsor Appreciation week, and there was supposed to be a photo attached in an envelope (the envelope was empty- hopefully we will be able to get another copy!) Carlos also wrote his own letter, saying that he was thankful for all the things that I was able to send in his little backpack over the summer (he called the candy "snacks" which I thought was really cute, for some reason.) Carlos also mentioned El Nino in his letter, making him the third or fourth kid of ours around the world to talk about it. Carlos also said that he just finished up his first semester of technical college!!!! I am ridiculously proud of him! 

Earlier in the week, we heard from Reine in Burkina Faso! 

I like the BF letter templates- there's a free writing space, and then some prompts on the back! One of the prompts is a "question for my sponsor" and Reine always asks which country I live in. :) I will tell her again that it's the United States! She said that she is enjoying wearing her glasses and she would try to send me a picture of her wearing them (I hope she's able to!) She also sent her congratulations to my friend Jess on her baby, and said that her favorite animal is a dog. She especially enjoyed reading the letter I wrote about the Kentucky Derby, and seeing pictures of the horses! 

This week, we also heard from Caleb in Uganda! 

I knew this letter was from Caleb before I opened it, because I saw the word "crops" written in there. :) Caleb told me that his family only grows enough to eat themselves, which is an answer to a question I'd asked him. It's always nice to get responses! With the small financial gift he received recently, Caleb purchased rice, a new shirt, a hen, a dress shirt, and a soda! He also told me, in response to a letter about Bibles, that his family shares a Bible! Caleb's letter was written in August, three months before my friend Amy traveled to Uganda and dropped off some gifts for him and Amelia! Hopefully in his next letter I will get to hear what Caleb thought of his gifts, which included a Bible of his own. :) 

We also heard from our Indonesian kiddos, Prayer and Tasya this week! 

Prayer wrote that his family is doing really well, and he's always happy to hear from us! He said "I am so thankful to have you who always pray for me and my family." Prayer said that his family celebrated Easter at church, and they took eggs to church and wrote Bible verses on them! He also got to watch an Easter concert on TV at the project! Prayer said that his favorite food is "jagur" porridge, and he's never had pizza. He said his favorite animals are dogs and chickens, because they are really funny! Prayer also shared that he likes playing guitar, and asked that we pray for rain for his region because they are having a water crisis. 

Tasya said that her family is also doing really well. She said "I don't know about your friend, but I do love that baby Lilly. That baby is sooo cute!" How sweet! Tasya said she enjoys babysitting and has even babysat for her neighbor's little kid before. She has also watched her cousin's little baby (who smiled a lot!) but she can't watch it right now because they are away at their grandfather's house! She said she is praying for Lilly and for me and my parents. 

Sweet Greetings from Haiti and Indonesia

Happy Mail Call Monday- the last in November! Wow!

Only two letters came this week- my mailman has been slacking a bit, but I also know not many have been processed for me in Colorado! 

On Saturday, we got a letter from Marc in Haiti! 

We hadn't heard from Marc in a few months, so it was really nice to hear from him! Marc opened his letter with "I greet you with great joy in my heart." He also liked my letter in which I explained "all the nice programs" (that might have been about summer reading at the library) and said that he is praying for my food allergies! He also said that it was very hot in Haiti and asked me if I liked hot or cold weather better. He closed by thanking me for my letters and pictures, and told me he is proud of me. :) 

The other letter we received was from Tasya in Indonesia! 

It had also been about three months since we heard from Tasya, so it was lovely to hear from her as well! She asked about our family's health and told me about celebrating Passover at the project. One neat thing about Tasya's village is that they have a "torch parade" around Easter, which she has told me about before. She wrote about it again this year, and said that they searched for Easter eggs and had a party in the street! She and her little sister Celia (who is now in 1st grade) participated because it was "so lively," says Tasya. She also said that she and her friends went to the beach on Valentine's Day! What fun!