Letter from Theresa

Theresa is 8

This is a form letter about "My Christian Learning."

11 July 2015

My favorite thing I learned about Jesus is:  Jesus is the Saviour of the world.

I learn the most about Jesus Christ from the Project.

My favorite Bible verse is:  Psalms 23:1 (The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.  Amen.)

My favorite Bible story is the story of God's creation.

When I pray  to God, I pray about the health of her family and her sponsor.

Thank you for your
X Words of Encouragement
X Pictures
X Prayers and sponsorship.

Child's prayer request:  She wants you to pray about her academics.

I would like you to know more about my Christian learning:  She watches educative movies about Jesus Christ on screen at the project center.

Child's response to the sponsor's question(s):

She said the oil is for cooking and also the family sell some of the oil to earn a living.  She said the oil is red in color and add great flavor to their food.

Letter from Theresa

Theresa is 8

19th May 2015

My project's name is New Ebu Child Development Centre.
I go to my project four/five days in a month
Typical activities I do at project are:
   Devotions
   Cleaning
   Fun & Games
   Hand Washing  - Learning curricular lessons

When I am at the project, I typically eat rice and stew, Jollof Rice

My favorite activity I do at the project is taking her lunch.

Thank you for your
   words of encouragement
   pictures
   stickers
   prayer and sponsorship

Please pray for her academic success and excellence.

There are lots of trees planted around her project centre.

Theresa and her family are all well.  Theresa laughed and said you look amazing without hair.  Theresa does not cook and Joshua and Peter are twins.

Letter from Theresa

Theresa sends a form letter and then someone at her center writes a letter for her, which is kind of weird, in spots, when she answers my questions.

I get water from the tap
My house is made of mud
The floor of my house is made of earth
The roof of my house is made of tin
Do I have electricity in my house?  Yes
Thank you for your letter and sponsrship.
Child's prayer request:  Theresa wants you to tank the lord for her life.

I would like you to know more about my house:  Theresa's mother makes palm oil from palm fruits in their house.

Theresa says they grow food and vegetables for the family and also sell to get money.  She said no, because she has not seen some before (I am guessing this is in reference to my asking her if she had ever seen snow...but I'm not sure!)  

Theresa said she is doing well.  She said she do not know what is bowling.  She said the helpers they have in her community are the only health center.  She said it only happen a while which she did not know it was earthquake.  She said no.  She has never experienced any of them.

Theresa said Ghana is very hard and struggling.

Letter from Theresa

MY FAMILY

My siblings:
Joshua, 20 yrs
Peter, 20 yrs
Daniel, 18 yrs
Samson, 8 yrs
Theresa, 6 yrs

I spend most time with my parents
My family lives in a village
My family's faith Christian
My favorite way to help my family Cleaning

Thank you for your prayers and sponsorship

Child's prayer request - Pray for God's protection against the family

I would like you to know more about my family:  The family have a farm that they farm on every Saturday.

New Photo of Theresa

This is the latest updated photo from Theresa/Kukuwah, from Ghana, the saddest of my Compassion kids.  I originally chose her because she was I think 4 or 5 and she looked so sad I wanted to take her in my arms and make her feel better.

But the continued sad pictures arrive.  Other sponsors tell me that children from West African countries tend not to smile in photos because of a cultural taboo against smiling.

I hope that is the reason she continues to look sad.  She has grown tremendously since I first sponsored her.

Two letters today

From Theresa

This form letter is about Theresa's hope for the future.

I hope to learn about science

I hope to visit my home town

When I grow up I want to be a nurse

I hope to help my parents

In the future I hope to meet my sponsor

Than you for your words of encouragement, pictures and prayers.  She says God should bless her family and her schooling.

She said she would like to be a nurse in the future.

She said she is doing well.  She said she likes going to church and farm with the family and chat with them to have fun also.

From Briana

Dear Beverly Sykes,

It's a real pleasure for me to write you this letter in order to greet you and answer your questions.  How are you, your activities and your family?  As for me, everything is doing well.  My family and I are doing very welll, thanks to God.  Yes, I know someone who is 100 years old.  Her name is Luma Maryanne.  She is my great grandmother, the mother of my grandfather.  No, I am not used to seeing pirates, except in books and movies.  Please pray for me to have more intelligence and patience in all I do.  I am also praying to God to bless you more.  I leave you with psalms 1and I encourage you to read it.

Letter from Kukuwah

The people in Ghana are making me crazy.  My letters from this 7 year old come from "Theresa," but Compassion has told me that her name is Kukuwah and one time I asked and they said she preferred "Kukuwah," but in this letter, written by someone else, she is referred to by both names!  The first part of this is a form she filled out and then there is a narrative later.

3/22/14

The name of my community is New Ebu.
My community is localted in a village
A common job in my community is farming
A common type of transportation in my community is Taxi
People in my community speak Fante
One fun game in my community is Ampe. (it seems that all the girls in African countries play Ampe, so I looked it up on Wikipedia and actually fund the game rules)

Thank you for your words of encouragement, pictures, stickers, prayers and sponsorship.

Please pray for a long life for me and my family.

The common crop my community grows is tiger nut (which is not a nut, but a tuber, like a potato)

Child's response to questions
Theresa says yes her country celebrates something like Easter within the year.  Kukuwah says Easter is her favorite holiday because it is school vacation and family come around.  Kukuwah says they go to church and prepare food for them.

Kukuwah says her project Christmas party was enjoyable to her.  She says they sing, run, and act, eat fried rice which she eat once while at the project center.  She said her Christmas party was fun.  She said they had their Independence on 6th March, which was holiday for all schools.  She said all the various schools in the country match on the Independence day.  She sad she did not know fireworks.

Letter and New Photo from Theresa

I received a form from Theresa, dated 1/18/14 along with a new photo.  It hurts my heart every time I get a photo from her.  Each time she has such a terribly sad look on her face.  This year I notice that her eyes also have a "dead" look in them.  the day I receive a smiling picture--even a hint of a smile--on the face of this little girl, I will be very happy indeed.

The form this month is about her hobbies and pets.  Her hobbies are cooking in cans and tins, singing and watching television along with visiting her friends.  She does not have a pet.  She says the hobby she would like to learn is reading (she is only 6).

She also tells me that her parents raise sheep, but they are not her pets.

Her coordinator writes for her, answering questions that I asked in a couple of my letters.

Theresa is very fine and has never in her life heard about having a big party for a bathroom wall.  Moreover, she is yet to come across any thing silly or fun about where she lives that makes her happy.  Yes, some families over here share their homes with pets, but there is no celebration like your Thanksgiving in this country.  She prays for good health for Ned.

Letter from Theresa

This is a check-off letter titled "About Me."
It is dated 22/07/2013.
Theresa is 6.

1. My name means   Theresa means love   

2. I am the last child in the family.

3. I am 108 centimeters tall.

4. My weight is 17.5 kg.

5. The colour of my hair is black.

6. The colour of my eye is black.

7. When I grow up I want to be a teacher.

8. One thing I really do well is singing.

9. Thanks for your words of encouragement, pictures, stickers, sponsorship and letters.

Theresa wants you to pray for her to be humble.

Theresa has six brothers and two sisters and she is the 9th and last born of her parents.  Theresa and her family are fine.  She says she like colouring and she does every time she comes/attends project meeting and sometimes at school.  The new birth in her family was a new baby who has been born by her aunty.

Theresa's self portrait

Letter from Theresa

This was another of the check-off forms for little kids.  This one concerns the weather.  It is dated 13 June 2013.

1. We have two seasons in Ghana, namely the rainy season and the dry season.

2. Right now the weather is wet.

3. When the weather is sunny, I like to rest and cook with friends

4.  My favorite weather condition is hot.

5.  One thing I like about the weather condition is Theresa spends much time with her grandmother at the kitchen during the dry season.

She thanks me for words of encouragement, pictures, sponsorship and prayers.

I would like you to know more about my weather
The rainy season starts in March and ends in October every year.

Child's response to sponsor question(s).
Theresah usually has a birthday party or a birthday gift and song for her birthday celebration.  She says happy belated birthday.  Theresah gets her mails on Saturdays at the project centre where names of children who have received mails are mentioned and their mails given to them at assembly.  She really loves everything about your letters.

Letter from Theresa

This letter is dated 11/23/2012 and is another fill in the blanks note.

My favorite food is:  rice and stew, Banku (a fermented corn/casava mixed and cooked in hot water to a paste and served with soup, stew, or a pepper sauce with fish), and Okra stew.

My favorite color is red.

My favorite sport is Ampe (most of my young girls in African countries play this game)

My favorite animal is cat

Things happening in the family:  a new birth

My favorite friend is Martha Gijamah.  A note is added that the two girls play ampe in front of her house every day after school.

Theresa says pray for her to get strength.

From Theresa

This is Theresa with the gifts she received from her Christmas gift.  I"m going to write to her about how now that she has Charlie toothpaste, I would sure like to see her beautiful smile!  I'll get a smiling photo of this girl some day or die trying!

Along with the photo came one of those form letters, this one about her latest medical checkup.

Dear Beverly Sykes,

My last medical checkup was on 2nd June 2012.  For my medical checkup, I went to the project.
I got to my medical checkup by foot. The following people went to my medical checkup with me: Volunteer, Project Worker, Grandmother

I feel happy/good about going for my medical checkup.

At my medical checkup the Doctor/Nurse advise that I.... The nurse advise her that she should eat well every day.

Thank you for your words of encouragement, pictures, prayers and letters

Child's prayer request:  Theresa's prayer request is that may the Good Lord protect her all the days of her life.

I would like you to know more about my medical checkup.
It was her first time of seeing a nurse and a doctor working together.

Letter from Theresa

 

Photo of Theresa

I saw that Theresa had a new picture posted on my Compassion web site.  They sent me a .jpg.  My happiest day will be the day that I get a picture of this little girl smiling.

Letter from Theresa

Dated November 23, 2012

This is another check-off page, because Theresa is so young.

My favorite food is rice and stew, Banku and Okra stew.

My favoritecolor is red

My favorite sport is ampe (this is a game popular in Ghana.  These are the rules: The leader, or "it", and another player jump up at the same time, clap, and thrust one foot forward when they jump up. If the leader and the other player have the same foot forward the leader wins a point. If they are different then the other player become "it" and plays against the remaining players. If the players are in a circle, the "it" moves along the inside of the circle, playing against others in turn. If they are in a line, the "it" moves on down the line. If only two players are playing, they keep score until a certain number of points determines a winner.)

 My favorite friend is Martha and Gijamah.

Things happening in the family:  a new birth (this was a surprise to me!  I must get more information!)

Thank you for your pictures.

Child's prayer request:S  Theresa says pray for her to get strength.

Theresa and Martha play ampe in front f her house every day after school. 

Letter from Theresa

This is the kind of "fill in the blanks" that the little kids send to sponsors. Theresa is only 5.  This letter was written September 14, 2012.

On the back she adds:

Theresa prays that God should help her to be intelligent and lead her class in exams.

She loves singing songs about Jesus at project on Saturdays during project devotion time.

Theresa says she is fine.  Theresa says yes, she wants to know how to read so that she can be a news reader.  Theresa says she has never eaten a cherry.

Letter from Theresa

The Compassion kids in Ghana, especially the young ones, write letters on a certain theme, when they write.  Two letters ago, Theresa wrote about her house, last time she wrote about her project.  This time she is writing about her dreams (though since she is only 5, I suspect there is a lot of prompting about what to write.  The front page of the letter was just multiple choice questions to answer.  She would like to visit America. She wants to help expand the family business, she wants to give me a gift, she wants to be a teacher.  On the back there is more detailed information.

Theresa says God should help her to get money to help her family when she grows up.  Theresa says her dream is to visit her senior sister at Kumasi in the Ashanti region some day [I am assuming this refers to a sister who she says is 30]

Theresa says her favorite thing to do during the day is to fetch water and wash the utensils for her family.  She says the song she sings with her friends is  ABCD, EFGH, IJKL, MNOP, QRST, UVW, XYZ, XYZ.  She says the special thing to do is draw for her mother.

Letter from Theresa

Today I had a letter from Theresa, along with a photo of the things she was able to get for Christmas, with the money sent by sponsors.  While I love the photo, how I long to see a picture of this little girl smiling.

Again, I have more information about her since she is only 5 and not able to write (or dictate) letters by herself.  So I know that she gets water from a tap instead of the river or well; her house floor is made of dirt.  She does not have electricity in her house.  Her house is made of mud with a tin roof.  The comments by her coordinator are:

Theresa is living in a mud house in which all the brothers, mother and father are in one room.  She is well and today, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Theresa says she will play ampe today and will be playing with friends.  She says she will like to play ampe and making rounds with her friends. to make them enjoy their games.  She says thank you so much for your love and prayers.  She loves you too. 

Another Letter from Theresa

Maybe this explains why there have been so few mail deliveries--the letters are being written, but not sent.  The letter I received from Theresa in Ghana yesterday was dated January 10 and the one I received today was dated January 25. 

For Child's prayer request it is written:
Theresa says God should give her long life and strength.

I would like you to know more about my house
Theresa would like to tell you they have mango, banana, plaintain and flowers around their home.

Child's response to sponsor's question(s)
Theresa plays ampe, which is played with two or more people and also sings and drums with friends.  She becomes happy on that day.

Letter from Theresa

It has been 3 months since I received a letter from Theresa, in Ghana.  Since she is only 4, the length of time between letters is really determined by the staff of the center where she goes to school.  But it was lovely to hear from/about her finally.  According to this letter, she has I guess 3 siblings (4 are listed, but as one is 30, I suspect it is a parent!).  She is the youngest, with siblings 6, 8, and 10.  (no indication of whether they are brothers or sisters).  
Her letter thanks me for words of encouragement, pictures, stickers, and a Christmas gift and then goes on to talk about her life.

Theresa would like to tell you she is in her second term at school and family are happy.

Hey, Theresa says she enjoyed your story (I told her about my son Ned losing his two front teeth and I asked what the custom is in Ghana when a child loses his/her baby teeth).  It really made her laugh out loud.  In Theresa's culture, children throw their lost teeth on the roof of their house.  They believe when this is done it would make the permanent teeth come out early.

And then there is a picture of "Theresa's backyard flower."  Looks like a cactus.  It also looks like it has swallowed Teresa!