Mary's letter was titled "My Christian Learning" and she shared that her favorite Bible character is Mary, she's learning about God's love, and her favorite verse is Philippians 4:13! Mary's note on the back said, "Congratulations Eric for your graduation! He looks handsome as a nurse…Mary would love to be a doctor in the future."
And then Mary drew this cute picture of Eric, Juanito, Rosie and I with Mary!
Mary also included a beautiful card:
Inside she responded to many of the letters we sent her. It's pretty neat to hear so much feedback on letters we've sent. Here's some of what she shared:
*Hilario's history is so sad. At the end, God changed his life for good! It is good that he is founder from Emmanuel [the children's home].
* It is good that your friend Jenny likes Garuda Bird. It looks at so nice in the photos! It is a very interesting bird.
* Mary also likes Fanny's history, even though she was blind, she did not avoid living and following God.
* It is good that you traveled to Colorado. It seems that you had a good time! Your friend Debora is so pretty! Mary's friends are Alison and Lisbeth.
And then she included another fun photo inside! She is with her older sister Marianela.
Next we received three letters from BR-417! First, I'd like to share Estela's:
Estela's letter was titled "My Project" and she shared that she attends the project twice a week in the mornings. She goes to study and listen to praises, but her favorite thing is playing with her friends! Estela's favorite food that is served at the project is soup. And she also enjoys watching movies and playing at the project.
Estela then thanked us for our letters, shared that the project is "very cool," shared Psalm 100:1, and drew this beautiful picture!
Gizelle also sent a "My Project" themed letter.
Gizelle also attends twice a week in the mornings and she said she goes to play, learn about God, eat, dance, sing and to do homework, but her favorite part is playing and talking with her friends. Gizelle's favorite food served at the project is chicken. And she added, "Project is small but is very nice, everyone treat me well. There I can be a child, I play and learn."
Gizelle's note aid, "I am very happy to know you remember me even so far," and she shared Psalm 23:1. Here is Gizelle's lovely picture:
And then we received our first letter from Jadson, who's 18.
Jadson's letter was so sweet. He said, "I want to thank you for your love and care. You are very precious to me." And then Jadson shared that he spent his vacation by going to the beach, playing soccer, visiting Iracema Beach and hanging out at home. He also went to a water park with his friends and said that he and his friends were very excited about the "nice rides" at the park! In closing, Jadson shared Psalm 30:2.
Then we heard from 15-year-old Earl John of the Philippines!
Earl John shared that his project celebrated Nutrition Day and they learned about maintaining good health. He enjoyed the letter where I shared Iring-Iring (a Filipino game) and he said that he plays the game, but they call it "Dropping the Hanky." Earl John also responded to the letter about Kakopi, a Ugandan game, and shared, "Thanks for sharing about [Ugandan] country. I also loved watching the birds, the bird that I loved seeing is Kiyaw [a talking bird], because it is speaking and likewise the Pikoy, or parrot, these are my favorites because the color is beautiful."
Earl John responded to the letter about Tim Howard and shared this: And it is inspiring about the story of Tim that although he is sick, he was blessed by the Lord. I also have known an athlete who is sharing the Lord [to others] and he is Manny Pacquio, he is being admired by many because of this."
In closing, Earl John sent his congrats to Eric for graduating and asked if Eric's new ICU job was exciting. Earl John wants to be a seaman in the Navy when he finishes high school!
Finally, we heard from both our teenage girls in Tanzania! First, here is Magreth's letter.
Magreth shared, "I am very happy to receive letters from you very often, its really makes me feel connected to you two, you such good family to me." Magreth also shared that she is happy for our friendship and asked for prayers for her mid-term exams! And she asked us to read John 16:20-25.
And the last letter we received was from Maria of Tanzania.
Maria said her studies are going well and asked for prayers for her upcoming exams. She also thanked us for the letters!
