Letter from Divine

Compassion told me that this girl's name was Mushimiyimana Divine and so I have been writing "Dear Mushimiyimana," which I seem to be unable to memorize.  However, her lovely letter came today and it refers to her throughout as Divine...so I am happy to now call her "Divine," which I can spell!

Dear Beverly Sykes,

Your daughter Divine greets you in the name of Jesus Christ.  She is doing well with her family and they are blessing God.  She is doing well at school and currently in her 3rd and final academic term of this year 2014.  We are still experiencing a long dry season, but it is sooin starting to rain.  We are preparing to start planting crops.  In which season are you?  Please keep praying for us to stay healthy and the Divine may maintain good school grades.  May God's peace and blessing keep being with you.

Divine is thankful to you for the letter which you sent her of recent.  She was happy to receive it and hear from you.  Thank you for having updated her on how you were doing.

New Kiva Loan

Continuing to build my world-wide cattle herd!

From the district of Korca in Albania, Aferdita is a 41-year-old mother of two children, a 21-year-old and a 15-year-old. She currently has four dairy cows. She also grows lucerne (alfalfa) barley and corn.

Aferdita has found dairy cows profitable, and the farm that she sells the raw milk to is not far from her home, therefore minimizing her transportation costs. She has requested this loan to add two more cows to the herd.

Says Aferdita: “I love animals and many times I find myself talking to them non-stop and it is funny. I love looking after them and their babies when they’re born. I have been doing this for a long time now and never get bored.”

New Photo from Anjali

Anjali is my very first compassion child.  I took her in 2009 and she has grown from a chubby little girl to the beautiful young woman whose photo I received today.

I always love getting photos of her because I think every single photo I have received shows her smiling, which doesn't happen with many of the other children.

This is Anjali, from 2009 to today (blue is definitely her color!)

Letter from Annie Rose

Dear Beverly Sykes,

Good day to you, sponsor!  Can I call you Auntie?  Auntie, how are you there?  I hope God will give you a healthy body and safe always.

Well, for me, I'm very much fine with my family.  I'm so glad and thankful to God that he give me a sponsor like you. I study hard my lessons to fulfill my goal and ambitions in life.  I'm doing my assignments every night. 

We done a lot of activities in our school.  We make a sentences in our English class.  We draw different types of animals and I draw a butterfly this time.

My house tasks are feeding of piglets, washing plates and others.  I want to work as a teacher when I grow up.  I want to help and teach children to learn more knowledge.  I'm not yet experienced to use chalk for drawing.

Rainy season starting in our place.  In fact, last July 16,2014 there is a typhoon here in the Philippines.  Now Henry typhoon is past by in our place.  I keep on praying to God that he will always protect us from typhoon and he will stay beside us always.

Thank you for supporting me and guiding me through all the way.  How nice you place to go because you have snow season.  Psalm 23:1.  The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

Love,
Annie Rose

Letter from Henrique

This form letter discusses what he learns in the Project --

-- to say "thank you" and "excuse me" is appreciated by others.
-- playing soccer
-- wash our hands
-- brush our teeth
-- afternoon snack
-- the classes
-- The Bible

My dear sponsor:  Hello.  Are you well?  I like to play soccer.  Do you like sports?

Bible verse for meditation:  Psalm 23:1  (The Lord is my shepherd...)

Letter from Fred

Dear Auntie Sykes

To God be the Glory!!

Hi, hello to all of you.  Hope that you are in good health.  Thank God for his faithfulness in my family.  Last July 19 we brought our eldest brother to the hospital because of dehydration and stomach ache, but he's okay, by God's help.

What is the favorite song of Brianna?

Continue to pray for my studies and my health.  Thank you very much.  God bless you.  Thank you for your letter that you send to me.

Love,
Fred Cardinal.

Letter from Anjali

Dear Beverly Sykes,

Greetings to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  I received your letters.  How are you?  How is your health?  And how is your family members?  I am fine here, my family members are all fine.

I like horses.  Thank you for telling about horses and thanks for sending Abbie and Friday pictures to me.  I have a dog in my house.  That dog's name is Tommy.  I play with Tommy.

Belated happy birthday to Brianna.  I pray for you and your mother in my daily prayers.  My favorite thing is also books.  I saw the picture.  It was very nice to see.  The balloon looks like very colourful.  I like spring season.  I am living in Andhra Pradesh at Kunool district in Nandyal.

I saw the Brianna photo playing a ball game.  Now we are in rainy season.  We have some fruits in this season, like custard apple, apples, etc.

In summer season my project conducted VBS (vacation bible school).  In VBS I learnt many songs, memory verses and about Jesus.

On August 15th we will celebrate Independence Day.  I will participate in essay writing.  I am studying very well.  I promoted 5th grade to 6th grade.  I have new friends in my class.  I pray for you and your family members.  I hope you also pray for me and my family members.

Thank you for your support.

Your loving child,
Anjali

Letter from Samuel

I think that 9 year old Samuel is the best child I have for answering questions, either that or the person who writes for him is good at it!

Dear Beverly Sykes,

Receive warm greetings from your friend Samuel.  He hopes that you are doing very well together with your family.  He says that he is very grateful for the letters you have been sennding to him.  He says that he usually feels very happy and close to you.

He says that when you sneeze in Kenya, you cover your mouth to avoid infecting others and say "excuse me."  Then someone next to you will say that he/she is sorry.  What about in the USA?

He says that he has never known someone who is 100 years old and that he has never met a pirate before because he does not know who a pirate is.

He congratulates you on your anniversary.

He says that he uses chalk for drawing on a blackboard.

Thank you for being my sponsor and a friend.  Goodbye, Samuel says.

Letter from Wainaina

Dear Beverly Sykes,

Hello.  Tolday is another wonderful and beautiful day in my life. All over are clouds covering the sun.  It seems like some few days to come it will rain.  I hope you are fine together with your family.  I always pray for you whenever I want to go to bed.  I hope you are still praying for me.

I am so happy for these letters because they make my day wonderful and beautiful.  Whenever I read your letters I get inspired by the good news you send me every time.  Remember that you are always in my heart.  May God bless you and your family.

Receive my love and prayers.

Erick

New Kiva Loan

Hello World! Meet Rebecca. She is a true definition of a strong, spirited, young, dark, Kisii lady from Kenya. At only 32 years old, the single mother of one is a Branch Manager leading the oldest and most established office at Juhudi Kilimo. Passion, respect and integrity are the key values she upholds and that have got her this far. Her achievements have also been catapulted by her impeccable people skills. In the office, she is well-liked and respected.

Rebecca, however, hails from a very humble and traditional background. It is amazing how far she has got herself today. She is from Riabamanyi, a small remote village in the Central Kisii district of Kenya. Most of the people there are smallholder farmers who occupy small plots of land and practice subsistence farming.

Rebecca grew up fighting so many social and personal battles that only few can relate to. For example, Riabamanyi village has a social codification that invariably colludes with patriarchy to oppress women, through cultural identities that advantage men and disadvantage women. Rebecca was really determined to move against this and to thrive in a community where girls are regarded with less value and not given equal opportunities to succeed.
In her life’s journey, she has dealt with the pain of losing her mother, an elder brother and an elder sister. The two deceased siblings left behind four orphaned children. Being the only employed member in the family, she took the responsibility of looking after these children. Just recently, Rebecca’s world came crumbling down again after her father became paralyzed. She is grateful to God, however, that she still has him as part of her life. She is doing her best to provide him with the best medication she can afford. With all these burdens on her shoulders, Rebecca still manages to keep herself together and strive for excellence in life.

She is seeking a loan of KES 438,100 for higher education. A degree in Business Management will help her to increase her business skills: leadership, interpersonal communication, technology and other valuable hard skills in the business environment.

When Rebecca joined Juhudi Kilimo in 2010 as an Office Assistant, she was still a student. She used her monthly stipend to contribute to the tuition fees for a diploma in Business Management. In no time, she was promoted to become a Business Development Officer. She did a superb job as a BDO which led management to entrust her with more responsibilities of leading a Branch. Joining management has exposed her to a set of new challenges that have enabled her to identify some gaps which she seeks to fill through furthering her studies.

Rebecca says; “My zest is in helping farmers to become more productive and successful. By helping them to improve their enterprise, I am changing their lives. With your loan investment in my education, I promise to use the acquired knowledge and skills to become a better manager and deliver the promise of a better life to our farmers.”

Letter from Israel

Israel, from Bolivia, is turning into my best, most interesting, letter writer.  One of the advantages of sponsoring older children.

Hi, dear Beverly Sykes,

I greet you with much love and a hug to all your family.

I am very grateful with God because he allowed me to have a sponsor like you.  I also want to thank you for telling me the story of your family.  Also, the pictures of your dogs, Sheila, Lizzie and Polly are beautiful.  I think we have the same likes.  I love dogs too.

Dear Beverly, you are a very lucky mother for having children that love music and love playing musical instruments.  I like music too.  I like playing instruments.  When I was 15, I learned to play the electric guitar (bass) and when I was 16 I learned to play the electric guitar. My brother Javier bought an electric guitar and a pedal. Do you know what a pedal is?  It helps the electric guitar to have effects and distortion.  Javier plays the acoustic guitar.  Samuel is my youngest brother and he likes the piano, but he plays the keyboard.  My father is thinking of buying him a keyboard because the one he used got broken.  My brothers and I belong to the Praise Ministry of our church, its name is Casa de Dios.

The sports I like are basketball, soccer and volleyball.  My favorite sport is volleyball.  After my classes my friends and I play volleyball.  It is fun because I have friends who love this sport.

Let me tell you that this is my last year at school.  After I finish it I am thinking of going to college and I want to study civil engineering because I like constructions and structure of buildings like bridges and so, since I was a little kid.  I always liked the numbers, not theory very much.

When I read your letter, I knew that your granddaughter turned 6 years and I read that she likes reading books.  That is very good because she could be a novel writer.  The pictures you sent me are nice.

We only can trust that the Lord will supply our needs.  I read that your mother is not doing well and I will be praying for her health.  I hope your mother trusts in the Lord because God is our strength, shelter, and protector.

I see you like baseball because you watch your granddaughter's matches.  Brianna's pictures are beautiful.  She looks wonderful with her sport outfit.  I am about to learn what baseball is all about.

I aso saw the pictures of little Friday and his mother Abbie.  The pictures are so good.  Thank you for letting me look at them.

I loved reading the letters and the pictures.  I'll say goodbye with a hug.  May God bless you.

Israel

Please, pray for my family so God will bless them.

New Photo of Samuel

There was a new photo which appeared on my account, of Samuel in Kenya.  He looks healthier in this photo than he did in the first picture I saw of him.  I hope he is healthier!

They say the new photo was taken November 2012.  They say I'll get another one in 2 months, since they update every 2 years.

Letter from Josphat

Josphat, who is 8, writes about his latest dental check up.

My last dental checkup waas in August.  The dental checkup was done at the project.  I went for my dental checkup on foot.  I went for my dental checkup with mother.  I felt afraid about going to my dental checkup.  One thing that was done at my dental checkup was to open my mouth wide.  At my dental checkup, the doctor/nurse said [I think he means not to eat sugary foods like sweets]  At my dental checkup I learned to brush my teeth after meals.

Josphat is saved and sends his greeting to you.  He thanks God for such a friend like you.  He received your letter and was happy to know that Madonari is used to area artists.  Josphat says that he rarely uses chalk to draw, but draws using pencils.  He was happy to hear that you celebrated your 50th [actually 49th] anniversary of marriage and wishes you good healthy and happyness.  He also liked the picture of your wedding, as he has hanged it somewhere to always see you.

God bless you and your family.

Bye Bye

Letter from Brayan

I received my first letter from Brayan, apparently written  before he heard from me.  This is a form letter giving me the basics about himself.

I live with my mom and my dad and my little sister (this was a surprise since Compassion told me he lived with his grandmother, that his father was unknown and that his mother was living elsewhere.  No sister was mentioned!)

I also learned that his favorite food is hamburgers,he's 140 cm tall, weight 80 lbs and that his eyes are dark brown.  His favorite song is "I have Joy," his favorite subject is math, his favorite game is (no surprise), soccer and the things he likes most about himself is his hair.

He then asks if I am a man or a woman! and sends this drawing...

 

I take the two smiling suns as a positive sign of his outlook on life!

Letter from Briana

Dear Beverly Sykes,

Today I feel happy to write to you this letter and to answer your questions.  How are you doing with your family and your activities?  As for me, things aren't too bad by the grace of God.  For your questions, I feel well.  What I like to do is reading.  The spring seasons where I am living is so nice.  All the trees [have leave the green leave]? also the nice color flower on them.  What I like to do as art is flower, all kinds of color.  I like to draw, and you, what do you like to do?

When I'll become older I would like to become a doctor, a gynecologist.

Help me pray so that I will have more intelligence and patience in all that I am doing also I will help you pray for God to bless you with your family abundantly.

Letter from Mushimiyimana

Your child Mushimiyimana Divine is greeting you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  She is doing well and her family.  She is studying well 

In Rwanda we have a lot of sunshine.  Our crops have dried.  How is the weather in those ends? 

She requests you pray for her and her family to have a good life.  She concludes by wishing you God's peace and God's blessing

She thanks you for the letter you sent her to tell her news of your family.  In Rwanda people do not live with animals.  My family was very much pleased to receive your letter.

Letter from Anjali

I  received a very disturbing letter from Anjali, the child I have sponsored the longest (5 years).

Dear Beverly Syes,

Greetings to you in the name of our lord Jesus Christ.  I am very happy to receive your wonderful letter.  I am fine.  I hope the same with you.  In God's grace, all my family very healthy and happy.  How is your sweet family members?

Your friend Nancianne is very great person.  She shaved her head and donated money for child cancer research.  That is a great thing.  You are avery great person to me.  I am very thankful to you.  You can no longer write to me, but I can save all your letters so your letters aways with me.  All your letters.  So your letters always with me all of my life and I don't forgot you.  I know sneeze.

You are a very special person of me.  I love you and your family.  Please send greetings to your family.

Now I promoted to 6th grade.  Please pray for my studies and my family.

I remembering you and your family in my daily prayers.  Thanking your love and support.

Yours loving child.
M.Anjali.

I had received notice from Compassion that "Our staff in India indicated that the child development center Anjalli attends has not been able to meet all of Compassion's standards for inistering to children in need.  We've been working to address these issues over the last 60 days but have yet come to a resolve.  However, we are hopeful that we will come to a resolution within the next 90 days."

They said that my monthly money for Anjali cannot be sent to her center, but will go into the general fund until the problems are resolved.  But they didn't say anything about not being able to write to her.  I was distraught at the thought of losing her.  But Compassion has since assured me that during the resolution process I can, indeed, continue to write to her.

I hope that this is not going to be the end of my relationship with her.  She literally changed my life.

Letter from Wainaina

June 9, 2014

Hey, Beverly.  How are you doing together with your family?  I hope you are all right.  I always pray for you day and night.  I hope you always do the same for me.

Here where I live we have been receiving some rains and the grass are turning greenish.  I hope you have been receiving rain in your country.  In school I am doing well and I hope life will always be good when someone views it with a positive attitude.  We pray for our people who are in need and ask them to go to the church.

May God bless you and I always get your nice and enjoyable letters from Compassion.

Letter from Annie Rose

What a delightful first letter from Annie Rose, in the Philippines

May 18, 2014

Dear Beverly Sykes

Hello!  Have a nice day to you, Grandma.  How are you?  Me, I'm always playing with my friends after helping my mother in the house chorse.  It's already summer here in our place and it's too nice always swimming in the river.

The season here is very hot.  Do you have summer in your place?   We don't have spring season here in our country.

I love music, new songs now.  I don't have a good voice but I love to sing.  I took care pig and chicken.  I'm the one who feed of it.  I do my best to finish school to have a good job.

I'll pray to God that we are all safety and happy always.  I'm so happy in the book and letters you've sent.  Thank you very much.

Song of songs 2:32:  "And you, my love, are an apple of tree among trees of the forest."

Love,
AnnieRose

Meet Brayan

After I finished reading "Enrique's Journey," about a boy from Honduras whose mother had left him when he was 5, who made a perilous journey to the U.S. to find her at age 15, I felt so discouraged by the way our country is treating children fleeing poverty and violence and trying to come as refugees to this country.

I knew that as one person there was nothing I substantial I could do, but I could add a child from Honduras to our family.

Brayan is 12 years old, the age Enrique was when he decided to try to earn enough money to make the dangerous trip to the U.S.  He lives with his grandmother, like Enrique's sister did (Enrique lived with his father) after the mother left.  And he has been waiting for a sponsor for nearly a year.

Compassion tells me that he had one sponsor for about five years, but they only wrote to him once a year.  He then had two more sponsors who were assigned to him, but didn't want him.

Both parents are alive, but the father has never been in the picture, and the mother does not live with Brayan and the grandmother.

I had to take on the sponsorship of this child.  I hope to get to know him and maybe make a teeny part of his life a bit better.