Passing The Torch

Those of you who have followed my sponsorship journey for a while, know that I place a big emphasis on discipleship. I long for my children to grow into men and women of God, and who become adults with a passion for learning and a passion for helping others. I love sending letters with a moral or lesson that they can apply in their everyday lives.

With this in mind, I recently sent a letter to all of my children, telling them the famous "Starfish Story" and including the graphic above. If you are not familiar with this story, you can easily do a web search for it!

Along with the Starfish Story, I included this paragraph:

"The lesson behind this story is that every person has been gifted with the ability to make a difference in the world. Maybe your gift is telling others about Jesus. Maybe your gift is teaching and mentoring children. Maybe your gift is caring for the sick, or praying for others, or encouraging leaders (pastors, teachers, and others) or maybe your gift is making friends with people who have no friends at all. No matter what your gift is, I hope you know that no one is too small to make a big change in the world! 
I love you and I am so proud of you! God has big plans for your life!"

Of course, as many sponsors do, we tend to wonder if our children are grasping the lessons we try to teach; if we are making an impact at all.

And yesterday, I received this letter from my young man Papi, in Indonesia.

I sponsored Papi when he was 19... he is now 22 and preparing to graduate, if indeed he hasn't already. I am expecting to see him disappear off my account any day now, which is why I was so thrilled to receive a new letter from him! Papi was my first child to ask if he could call me sister, and we share a love of sunsets, the ocean, long walks on the beach, and the Newsboys.

I am always excited to hear from my Papi... but this letter, brought me to tears.

Dear Hannah,

Shalom. I am thankful for writing my sister again. I am blessed with your letter told me about the starfish. I see starfish here often. What you told me made me realize that God has a great plan for me through what He gives to me to make a big change in this world. I find out now that I am precious. I want you to know that what He gives to me is being a teacher. I want to be a teacher, not only to teach knowledge, but also to build a character building of my students, to make them to be a leader who fear of God. May God be with you and bless you my sister. Love, Papi.

Floored. Speechless.

If you have ever wondered if our letters make a difference, if we are really changing our children's lives... this. This is it.

I cried when I read his letter... because I felt that in someway, I had passed the torch. My greatest desire is to see my sponsored children, grown up and making an impact in other children's lives. And now, I am seeing that come to pass, right before my eyes. And by the way, Papi is an above-average university student who is just completing his courses in Civil Engineering... I would not be surprised at all to see him become a professor some day. And I could not be more proud of this wonderful young man, and amazed at the fact that God has allowed me to influence his life in some small way through sponsorship.

This is what makes the sacrifice ALL worth it!

A Plethora of Letters

There's a quote that my Dad sometimes uses when things are gearing up or getting interesting. He says, "Hang on to your ears!"

That's about how I feel right now... after receiving nine (yes, you read that right, NINE) letters from my Compassion kiddos recently! After a system-wide glitch that caused letters to be "stuck" for several months, the floodgates have finally opened and the letters are pouring through! So be prepared for a long post... because there's been a LOT of happiness arriving in my mailbox!

I'm actually going to divide this post into two parts because it would be too long to read in one sitting!

Let's get right to it shall we?

First up were two letters from Papi, my oldest boy in Indonesia who will be graduating this month!

I also got a photo update of Papi... isn't he looking happy and handsome?!

A while ago, Papi had written that people were staying away from one of the beaches in his area because a crocodile had been cut loose in the area. I questioned him on this further, asking whether crocodiles were common in his area and were people afraid of them? His reply is, "There are many crocodiles here. Actually the crocodiles in our place are not disturbing, but since they are disturbed by people they turn fierce." Papi also said that he got the picture of the Cardinal I sent him and "it is very beautiful. Yes, God's creation is very beautiful." He then told me that the weather is "in transition here now. Sometimes it rains and some other times it is dry and hot." He also said, "I really hope we can meet one day." Me too Papi, me too!

In his second letter, Papi talks more about his family and said he enjoyed reading the letter I sent about my uncle who plays the saxophone. He says, "I know saxophone but I don't know how to play it." He then lists his uncle, aunt, and cousin who live in the area and how much he enjoys seeing them. He says that he most likes spending time with the children of his cousin because "they are active and smart, they are also dancing hip-hop, and I am very glad when they call me Uncle J (First letter of his real name) I feel as I am adult." (This made me chuckle for some reason, especially the part about hip-hop and feeling like an adult when he is called uncle.)

Next up are Ada's letters!

I love this girl so much.... she always squeezes as many words as possible into the writing space, and these letters were no exception!

In her first letter, she greets me in the name of Jesus and says she is doing well with her family. She says she has completed her Primary education and advanced to Senior 1! She also asked for prayers that she pass with good grades when she reaches Senior 2. Then she says, "I thank you so much for the letter you wrote to me, telling me about your news with your parents." She also says that she is praying for God to continue protecting me in the name of Jesus Christ.

In Ada's second letter, she asks how we are doing and says, "In the last semester I got good marks, 61%. I keep on praying for good marks. Please keep me in your prayers to improve on my marks." (This girl is taking her education seriously!) She also adds, "I thank you so much for the letter you wrote me with all the beautiful touching words. I also thank you for the decorations you sent me. (Stickers, coloring pages, etc.) I had a wonderful Christmas and my family was all well."

Moving on to Isimbi's letters! I am so grateful that Isimbi is sounding a little more "chatty" in her letters... I've been a bit concerned for her for a while now!

In Isimbi's first letter, she tells me that she is on her school holidays and is helping around the house by sweeping and fetching water. She also says that they are in the rainy season in Rwanda, and "we are preparing for commemoration period for our fellows who died in genocide 1994." (All of my Rwandan children take part in this commemoration and I'm so glad they do!) Isimbi also says that she is doing well in school and adds, "We are preparing for the Easter. I wish you a happy Easter. I love you so much." She then says, "I thank you for the letter you sent to me, it pleased me very much. I loved the calendar you sent me."

In her second letter, Isimbi shared that her school break went well and she has started her second term in school. She then says, "It is rainy here in Rwanda, it is so cold, how is weather over there?" She also adds, "I know you pray for me. I always pray for you to be protected by God with your whole family." She closes her letter by saying, "I thank you for the letter you sent to me, thank you for the toys you sent to me, I was happy for it, it is really good, thank you."

I am so glad that all the letters I have sent for the past six months have gotten to my kids safely, and it feels like a rainshower after a drought to finally hear from my beloved kiddos again!

Have you heard from your kids lately?

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."

August Anamneses

Three letters to share this month!! I just adore getting letters from my kids!

First up was a letter from my dearest brother Mbula. I love what a fantastic relationship I have with this young man.

He began his letter, as he does almost every time, with "Hallo my sister!" He told me that he was glad to hear about my parents' recent visit, and that I "took time talking with them." He sent them his greetings and told them that God loves them. He also shared that he was glad to hear that I really appreciated the photos of him with the gift bag I was able to send him through a visiting sponsor! (I had told him that I was so happy to see a picture of him smiling that it made me cry. ) He says that he keeps on "praying to Almighty to encourage you to keep sending these gifts." Mbula shared that he's happy to hear that I'm praying for him and his family, and on their side, they're "keenly" praying for me too!

I recently sent Mbula a letter about my most recent correspondence child, Miriam, since she's also in Kenya. I told him that he had a little Compassion sister and that I was so blessed to be able to write to her. He wrote back and said, "I am grateful to have a small sister in Compassion, since I only have an older biological sister. I am really blessed. When you write to her send my regards to her."

He also shared how he is doing in school and encouraged me to keep praying for him. Lastly, he closed with Isaiah 41:10, which says "Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God."

Next up is a letter from my beautiful Ada!

She is always so sweet and grateful in her letters. She says, "Thank you for taking care of me in my daily life. Thank you for keeping me in your prayers." She also shared that she is in grade five and is preparing for end of term exams. Then she thanked me for the letter I sent to her and said that it pleased her and she was glad to hear from me. Then she thanked me a couple more times!

Lastly, I got my first "real" letter from Papi! His first letter was just a very basic intro, so this one was exciting... it was two pages long!

He greeted me with "shalom." and said that he was happy to receive my letters and photos. He then thanked me for my willingness to sponsor him. He shared a bit about his family and told me that his mother works as a domestic worker. (I guess that's like a maid or house servant?) He told me about the university he goes to and said that he is studying building techniques and said, "Each morning I must struggle to ride on the campus bus because public transportation to campus is not many. It is one of our town cultures." Then he shared his hobbies with me, which are watching animated movies, walking around, and hanging out with friends.

Papi then shared that this month he is hoping to go to Poe Town, which is a community about 175 km away from where he lives. They will be commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Holy Spirit pouring down. (Google "Indonesian revival 1965" like I did... it's very interesting and I'm so glad he is interested in that sort of thing!)

He then asked, "May I call you Sister?" (Awwww!) When is your birthday? What do you do? How is the culture there?"

He also asked for prayers for his studies, that he'll be able to finish "in the right time." And he drew this illustration of Psalm 91:11 for me!

What letters have you gotten this month?  

June Joys

June was a CRAZY letter month for me… I heard from five of my six kids! (Which means that July is going to be very boring letter-wise, unless I get an unexpected surprise or two!)

First up was a letter from my dear brother Mbula in Kenya! 

He greets me with “Hi! my sister.” (I love it when he calls me sister, which happens in every letter. I feel so close to this guy you wouldn’t believe.)

Mbula received the soccer card, world map, and other items I sent for his birthday and “greatly appreciated” them. He says he’s doing well with his studies and is getting good scores. He hopes I am praying for him to do well. He then shared, “I also wish to give thanks from my relatives who have really appreciated your support very much. I hope that you will appreciate them.” Mbula also said they are doing well in church, and he hopes I will keep on praying for them as they continue serving the Lord. He is also praying for me as I continue my activities.

Next up was my first letter from Papi in Indonesia! Papi also celebrated his 20th birthday this month!

It was written before I sponsored him, so it wasn’t really personal, but I did learn some interesting information about him. He lives with his mother since his father is deceased, and he has two older siblings. (I wasn’t sure from the names whether boys or girls.) His favorite food is fried rice, his favorite color is green, his favorite Bible story is Daniel, his hobby is reading, he lives in a city (My first urban child! Yay!), and he seems to have several best friends! He thanked me for sponsoring him and said he prays for God to be with me in everything. He also asks for prayer for his studies, family and friends.

My third letter was from my “chatterbox” Ada in Rwanda! She always has something interesting to say in her letters.

She begins her letter with “Your child Basomingera Ada, I am greeting you and I wish you peace of Jesus Christ.” She thanks me for being a good parent and says, “I was happy for the good things you always do to me.” (heart melt!) Then she adds, “I believe to have a better future.” (THIS is why I sponsor!) She shared her school grades with me and said she had a happy Easter with friends and family. They had food and drinks. She then tells me she likes to study mathematics (good girl!) and she is happy to receive my letters supporting her life. She thanked me for sharing Philippians 1:3-4 with her and said, “We pray for you to be blessed and to drive well the lorry.” (A reference to a truck-driving job I told her I was hoping to get.)

Just two days later, I got a very special letter; my first from my cute 3-year-old Miriam in Kenya! It was written by a project worker on the “My School” template.

I’ll just share the whole letter with you, since it’s pretty adorable! “I am in nursery school. My school is one kilometer from my house. The name of my school is E------ Primary school. I go to school by foot. The color of my school uniform is green and yellow. My teachers name is Miss Ndumu. My best friend in school is Matheka K------. The games we play in school are netball and volleyball. The other activities in school this term are ball games. What I like best about my school is playing football. My favorite subject in school is numberwork. After school I like to take care of baby.

Miriam salutes you with love. She was happy to meet you and hear from you. Miriam says you are a special friend in her family. She says she likes rice and beef as her favorite food. She has not seen ocean and has not eaten fish any day. Miriam informs you that her favorite Bible verse is Proverbs 3:5. She says it is not so much windy in Kenya and especially where she lives. She thanks you for encouraging her through Psalms 145:9, 'God is good always.' She wishes you a wonderful Easter and blessings."

She also colored me this adorable picture:

And drew me these pencil scribbles!

My last letter of the month was from Isimbi in Rwanda.

Isimbi began her letter by greeting me in the Name of Jesus and asking me if I’m doing well. Her mother, grandmother, and brother are doing well “and they love you.” She told me how her studies are going and what position she got in school, and asked, “Are you getting rain over there in your country?” She then asked me to continue praying for her to pass well.

It’s unusual for me to hear from all of my Compassion kids in one month! Have any of you ever had that happen?

...And Then There Were Six.

I spend a lot of time on Compassion International's website, looking at all the beautiful children available for sponsorship. Every so often, I’ll see one that particularly touches my heart, and then I will often post their picture and story on my Facebook page, to help them find a sponsor.

Several weeks ago, a young man from Indonesia really jumped out at me. A very intelligent-looking young man with dark, compelling eyes. I clicked on his profile and discovered that he was an above-average college student, and my heart went out to him. It’s not too often that I see college students on the site, and even more unusual to see one with above-average marks. My first thought was, “Now here’s a young man who is working hard to lift himself out of poverty and he’s not letting it hold him back!”

I immediately started posting his picture around, waiting for him to disappear off the site, which would mean he’d found a sponsor. After weeks of waiting, he finally did disappear, and I celebrated… he’d finally been chosen!

Unfortunately, (or fortunately for me!) that wasn’t the case. A couple weeks later, he reappeared on the site… somebody must have requested his packet and then changed their minds. I couldn’t believe it… I was so sure that he would be snatched up quickly!

So I started posting his picture around again… and grew heartbroken as time went by and he remained on the site. Finally, I started battling with myself. Is there any way possible that I can afford to add a sixth child? Followed by my common sense telling me, NO. This is NOT a smart move. I grew more and more frustrated, realized that even if he WAS chosen by a sponsor, I would still be heartbroken, because I wanted to choose him.

And then my parents stepped in and decided to make it possible. They have a wonderful child of their own, and constantly encourage me in my endeavors to encourage as many children as I can. So, they decided to make it possible for me to encourage, and be encouraged by, one more child.

So now I know why nobody was choosing this young man… because he was meant to join my family.

So without further ado, may I introduce Papi, my sixth child (and my second boy, and my first from outside Africa!) He is 19 years old and lives with his mother. His hobbies are art and singing! (Like me!)

Papi also got his picture updated the DAY after I sponsored him, which is pretty cool! Here’s his newest picture:

Welcome to the family Papi… my “Mr. Miracle”! You were most certainly destined to be here!