Pleased To Meet You: Papi

Welcome to the second installment of my new series... Pleased to Meet You!

Today I want to introduce you to my most recently sponsored child!

Name: Papi

Age: 21

Birthday: June 24

Country: Indonesia

The first photo of Papi that I saw on the website.

OUR RELATIONSHIP: I first saw Papi's picture on the Compassion International website. He looked like an intelligent young man, and when I clicked on his profile, I wasn't surprised to learn that he was an above-average university student! I started sharing his photo and information on Facebook, hoping that he would find a good sponsor to help him finish out his time in the program. After a while, Papi disappeared from the site, and I celebrated; he had been chosen! But a few weeks later, he appeared on the site again... his child info packet must have just been pulled to send to an event. I began circulating his photo again... and weeks went by. I couldn't understand why this handsome, studious young man was waiting so long! Finally, I began wondering if I was meant to be his sponsor. I struggled with it for a while... knowing that I couldn't afford another child. But it would only be a short sponsorship... three years at most... and I couldn't explain why I felt so inexplicably drawn to him. My "yes" came in the form of my parents, who offered to share his sponsorship with me! Now I know why Papi waited so long to find a sponsor.... he was meant to join my family!

ABOUT PAPI: Papi lives in an urban area of Indonesia, where he attends one of Indonesia's top universities to study for his degree in civil engineering. When not attending classes, he spends his time at home with his mother, who is a domestic worker, and two older sisters. In his free time, he loves to visit the nearby beaches and play with his two dogs! Although I don't hear from him as often as my other children, he is a great writer and his letters are usually several pages long!

Papi's current photo

LETTER EXCERPTS:

"I thank you very much for your willingness to sponsor me, Hannah."

"Each morning I must struggle to ride on the campus bus because public transport to campus is not many. It is one of our town cultures."

"My hobby is watching animated movies, walking around, and hanging out with friends."

"May I call you sister? When is your birthday? What do you do? How is the culture there?"

"Shalom. I am so glad writing you letter again. I really like to get and read your letters. I reply, How are you?"

"I am so pleased that you have given the whale photo and some data about them and I found it very nice. I haven't ever seen real whales yet like you have. I only see them from TV and pictures. How many years life of a whale?"

"I like reading books that tell about the life of a person (biography) who inspired many people. I like to know their struggle to reach their success. By the way what kind of books do you read?"

"I will always remember you because our mothers' names resemble. I also like blue color, pink, and green. I am feeling lucky because my family love me much, care, and support me all this time."

"I don't sing because my voice is not good and I don't know how to play music instrument, but I like listening to music, that is why I want to hear your band."

A drawing of Psalm 91:11 in Indonesian, by Papi

"I like being at beach especially when sun sets. It always becomes my favorite moment."

"Indonesian traditional food is Se'i. Se'i is smoked beef or pork. Really delicious."

"My dogs' names are Avril and Digo. They are so cute. They act cuddly while welcoming me everytime I got home."

"The beach here is made of rocks and sands. I couldn't swim. Here we have many beautiful beaches. But lately, many people were afraid of going to the beach because there was a wild alligator that was cut loose around the beach."

"I am happy to hear your story about Ken Taylor. I never heard about him before. I hope you can send me other stories from The Faithful Man and Woman that you know."

"By the way, I like Newsboys and I also like Planet Shakers. I like their song lyrics. This is my letter for now. Lord Jesus blesses you."