A Graduation & 10 Year Anniversary!

It is not very often that a sponsorship graduation coincides with a 10-year anniversary! Back in February, I celebrated ten lovely years of correspondence with Jenny by hearing about her graduation!

And not only did she graduate Compassion's program, but she also graduated from the university with a degree in social work! I am so proud of her and look forward to seeing how she influences people and communities in the future. Jenny's unwavering faith and devotion to our Lord Jesus even during hard times is an encouragement and inspiration to me!

I write mostly online, but final letters, especially graduation letters, need to be handwritten (not only per Compassion's rules, but because I think a final letter is definitely a good reason to handwrite a note).

Since we can send 6 paper items, here's what I usually send:

1) handwritten letter
2) pretty notecard
3) photograph
4) sticker sheet
5) bookmark
6) artwork from my kids

And as far as the goodbye message, I like to encourage my kids to glorify God in all they do (1 Corinthians 10:31), to remember that God is always with them (Joshua 1:9), and that God will finish the good work He's begun (Philippians 1:6).

Happy writing!

Project Highlight: IO-722 in Indonesia

I am working on sharing about my favorite projects. If I had to choose a top ten, PH-278 and IO-722 would definitely be on the list!

Jenny and I will celebrate her graduation from Compassion in January 2020, which will also be the 10th year anniversary of our correspondence!

While this project doesn't often send extra photos (like Earl John's does), the support and love is evidenced all through the pages of Jenny's letters. This project has loved her, supported her, answered life questions, and has not only embraced Jenny, but also her entire family.

In the project description, Compassion shares, "[The] staff of [IO-722] provide your sponsored child with Bible teaching, Sunday school, picnics, health screenings, supplemental food, indoor and outdoor games, hygiene and health education, retreats, talent development, leadership training, service opportunities, educational assistance, life skills training, computer classes, mentoring programs and educational field trips."

Currently there are four children available from Jenny's project. I highly recommend choosing to sponsor one of these precious kids!

*Andrea is 8 and enjoys art, singing, and swimming! You can sponsor her here.*

*Risal is 15 and enjoys bicycling and soccer! You can sponsor him here.*

*Jai is 11 and enjoys soccer and learning vocational skills! You can sponsor him here.*

*Rian is 13 and enjoys bicycling, reading and soccer! You can sponsor him here.*

Thanks for reading! And I highly recommend sponsoring a child from IO-722!

Country Director's Letter: Indonesia

Today's letter is from Indonesia, where we correspond with Jenny. The original letter and photo can be found here.

~~~

Dear Friend,

I am Sarah Jeanin Rahardja, Compassion Indonesia country director. This is my 15th year working with Compassion. Compassion Indonesia started its ministry in 1984. Today, we minister to almost 70,000 children, nearly 800 mothers and babies in the survival program, and 87 Leadership Development Program students through more than 315 church partners.

Thank you for your commitment, love and contribution to your sponsored child. You have changed everything for your child. Sponsors’ financial support not only provides school tuition, healthy meals, and medical intervention, but it gives the children confidence, since they know they are loved, known and protected.

In Indonesia, 13.8 million children live below the poverty line. Children who live in rural eastern Indonesia have more disadvantages in access to clean water, schools and health care. However, children in western Indonesia have their own disadvantages due to the concentration of population. In Indonesia, increasing numbers of parents must work outside their village or even out of the country. Only 10 percent of children see both their parents daily, and 20 percent of children do not see either of their parents.

One of our focuses for the coming year is youth development, which will provide programs and opportunities for youth to be disciples, develop their leadership, and develop their interests and talents to become self-sufficient. We are also expanding our ministry to more extreme-poverty areas. This year, we will expand into Alor Island, East Nusa Tenggara province, and North Sumatra.

Last year, we implemented Qavah, a method to empower church partners. We help church partners to identify their resources instead of identifying their needs. The process has a significant result when church partners start to access resources around them and mobilize their communities to respond to their own needs. Church partners have been able to mobilize communities to build toilets or bridges and clean the streets. We used a similar process with youth, and they came up with some great ideas and programs; empowering youth also helped the church partners maintain youth participation at the child development centers. In one center, the youth developed a program to pick up the younger children and serve them during the activities at the center.

Children value their relationships with their sponsors. They not only appreciate the financial support, but especially the sponsor letters. Some children study harder because of encouragement from their sponsors in letters, some children feel valuable because their sponsors say they pray for them and love them, and some children meet Christ through sponsor letters. Through letters, children feel the love and attention that some of them cannot get from their parents, who are too busy to meet their needs. Please write as often as you can.

These achievements in children’s lives could not happen without sponsors’ support and commitment. You play an important role. Through the relationship between sponsor and child, two different people from different countries, different languages, and different cultures can know each other and see the kingdom of God in wider perspective. The sponsor-child relationship is not limited by program, but it is a lifelong relationship. I am thankful to be your co-worker in this most effective ministry to bring children to rise from poverty and to know Jesus.

I humbly ask you to pray that we can have the courage and commitment to do our best; also pray for the process of expanding our ministry to more impoverished areas in Indonesia.

Please let me express my gratitude again for your commitment, love and heart for your child in Indonesia. May God bless you abundantly.

In Jesus,
Sarah Jeanin Rahardja

~~~
If you would like to sponsor a child from Indonesia, please consider sponsoring

Project Director's Letter: Indonesia (IO-722)

Thanks to the Compassion App, I have discovered some additional project director and pastor letters! I'll be sharing them over the weeks! Enjoy!

~~~
This letter is from Jenny's project! And the photos are from Compassion's Indonesia Flickr Album.

Dear Sponsor,

I am Paris E. B. I am the Project Director of the Child Development Center, Betlehem, which affiliates with the GMIT Betlehem in Kupang, Indonesia and is attended by your sponsored child.

Thank you for sponsoring a child.

At this center, there is a girl who can memorize more than 20 Bible verses. Together with the others she plays in a music ensemble. She plays violin. Once a month, this ensemble performs in different churches. I am very proud of watching them worship God through music. Some parents and congregations even cry when they watch their performance.

Some teenaged children study at college and work as they use the abilities they learned at the center. One girl is studying at college. She is also teaching her juniors at other centers how to play tambourine. They are very good in dancing. They often dance in some church events, in organizational events, and in some weddings. They also get some money. The congregation has chosen her and some other center teenagers to minister as the Sunday school teachers.

In 2008 we had a dream to build a community radio station. We have received the approval for Complementary Intervention funds. We are now preparing a community radio station, which has some programs, such as advocacy of children and women, the media of study, and the media of community sourcing. The teenaged children are prepared to run this media. The community is very excited and they support us.

Letters become tools for children and sponsors to share experiences, to strengthen one another, and to pray for one another. The children who seldom or never receive letters from their sponsors often feel sad and disappointed when their friends receive letters from their sponsors. The children are very excited to write to their sponsors. These children are very passionate to build a close relationship with their sponsors.

One girl is very proud of her sponsor, who always shares scientific knowledge in the letters. She gets so much knowledge from her sponsors’ letters. Most of the sponsors bless children with their letters too. The children feel appreciated. They often pray for their sponsors. They also have a desire to meet their sponsors one day.

I love God and children and that is the reason why I keep ministering at the center.

At the center, the children regularly pray. They learn to trust God. We always start and end every activity by praying and praising God. It has been a lifestyle of these children.

Each child is equipped with a talent. We believe that these talents will increase their life quality. The children also meet many kinds of people. They are guided to build healthy and harmonious relationships. They learn to be a peacemaker wherever they are.

There are 527 children at this center. They are divided into 23 classrooms. The church is trying to prepare more rooms so that the mentoring and tutorial program runs well. The church also plans to commit to support the center children financially.

Dear Sponsors, please pray for the church and Compassion that we can serve beyond the borders of time and place, so that we can reach more children. Please pray that God give us wisdom and integrity. Please pray for the center programs and please pray for the teenaged children who seldom come to the center because of their school or college schedule, etc. Please pray for the new pastor of the center, that he will be passionate in the children ministry. Please pray for the Betlehem Young Generation Community Radio that it can operate well and become an effective media for children advocacy.

Thanks, again, for sponsoring a child.Thank you for everything. God bless you.

Sincerely yours,
Paris E. B.

~~~
If you would like to sponsor a child from Indonesia, please consider handsome 8-year-old Rian who's been waiting over 300 days for a sponsor. His birthday is September 25.

Rian enjoys soccer and bicycling. His favorite subject is language. Rian lives with his grandmother. To sponsor Rian, click here.

Jenny in Indonesia

We have been Jenny's correspondents since April 2010. I will continue to update this post as we hear from her.

We have received 39 letters while corresponding with Jenny, one project director's letter, one pastor's letter, and one country director's letter. Her birthday is January 21. Jenny lives with her parents, Adam and Ester, and two younger brothers, Rivaldo and Zamson. Her dad is an elder at the church and he works nights as hotel security.

~~~
Project Info and Activities:

Jenny attends IO-722 in Kelurahan Oesapa Barat, Kupang

* Home to approximately 9,700 residents
* Primary ethnic group is Rote
* Most commonly spoken language is Rote
* Most common work is work is salt making
* Average earning is $35 a month
* Regional Diet: fish & rice
* Common Health Problems: malaria
* Typical Houses: cement floors, bamboo walls, thatched roofs

Center activities: Bible teaching, health exams and education, medical treatment, nutritious meals, developmental activities, tuition, scholastic materials, library visits, and parenting classes for the parents and guardians.

~~~
Miscellaneous Info from Letters:

* Favorites: group games, volleyball, reading, bicycling, yellow rice, meatballs, fried rice, chocolate, yellow, the birth of Jesus, watching the sunrise over the mountains, Daniel in the Lion’s Den, sunflower, Argentina soccer team, badminton, Argentine soccer team, dogs, Bahasa Indonesian, pigeon, sparrow

* Dreams: to see Italy, to meet Justin Bieber & Agnes Monica, to see the biggest statue of Jesus in the world, to meet our family, to be a teacher & a good advisor, to visit a waterfall, a zoo and to climb a mountain, to be a secretary in Indonesia or the US

* Attending university and studying Public Administration

~~~
Letter Highlights...

"Praise God, Papa's and Mama's son is born and his name is so beautiful. May I call him 'Little Brother Juan'? Congratulations on the birth of the new family member who is so cute and handsome…I will keep and always look at the picture."

"One thing I wish is to meet Sister Hannah, Brother Eric and Juanito because I miss you and want to see you in person and talk to you. I also have a dream that I've had since I was little. It's to become a teacher and a good advisor."

"I want to tell you a bit about my dream. One day I want to go to Italy and see the beauty of Liberty Statue. I also want to meet Justin Bieber and Agnes Monica (Indonesian actress), who has many talents. I want to learn from them. I want to see the biggest statue of Lord Jesus in all the world because of its greatness."

"I wish to be a successful, wise and creative person in the future."

"I have parents who love me. My parents hope that when I grow up I'll be successful, serve my parents, country, especially Lord Jesus."

"I live near a slope of a mountain, but the view is very beautiful. When I wake up in the morning, I enjoy watching the sunrise."

"I was happy that Juanito will have a sister so he won't be alone anymore…Welcome, little Rosie! You must be beautiful like Mama Hannah."

"I live near a river and I love playing in the water."

"I hope both your children will grow up to be obedient children to you and especially to God."

"My mother always gives advice to me because I am the only daughter in the family, and I become more mature as a teenager who is going to be grown up."

"The story of Darlene that you told me was just great! Mama Hannah, actually it should be that way if we believe that our Lord Jesus always loves and cares for us. We should not worry about anything."

"It is so wonderful that Lord Jesus created such insect like butterfly. I like your lesson about butterfly. I also feel the struggle of a worm while transforming into butterfly which has beautiful wings."

"Now we all use new system in Compassion, don't we? It is easier, isn't it? But I always look forward for your story, Mama Hannah, that teaches me more, and encourages me, and makes me know your family better. It is so fun. Thank you for all pictures and photos that you sent me. I am sorry for this limited space. I cannot write much too."

"I love you, Papa, Mama, and little brother and sister who are handsome and beautiful."

"Happy birthday to Juan and Rosie! Hopefully they grow to be a good child and obey to they parents, specially obey to the Lord Jesus."

"Mom, I am in fourth semester now...I am grateful to get excellent result, because of my hard work and God's help."

"Mama, several weeks ago Hunter and Zamson competed in Taekwondo in the Sports Championship between the District, Zamson got the third place and Hunter did not win. Recently, Zamson with four of his friends joined poetry and music competition in the church, they got the fifth place from ten contestants. We are grateful for that. I also joined preaching competition in my church for the first time, even though I did not win, I am grateful because I can practice my mental bravery and adding up to my experience. Mama, I really like trying new things to get new experience."

"Please give my regards to mama's and papa's brothers and sisters, and also to mama's and papa's parents, especially to little brother/sister Juanito, Rosie and Jose."

"Congratulations for Aunt Sherinah and her husband for having a beautiful son from God. Congratulation for you to, papa and mama, for having another gift from God. I pray that the delivery process is going well. Mama, I like to see sister Rossie grows into a beautiful girl. She is like papa Eric. Juanito and Jose are like you and they are getting more handsome."

"Mama, I am learning to manage my time for the Lord. At 4:45 AM I wake up to read and meditate upon God's words. Please keep supporting me in prayer so that I can do this discipline every day."

"Having read your letter, I can finally ease my feeling of missing you. I really miss Papa, Mama and all the little brothers/sisters. First, I would like to congratulate you for the birth of little brother [Mateo]. He is a gift God just added to you. I pray the little brothers/sisters grow in the Lord."

"Mama, at the moment I am busy with college. Getting into the 5th semester means more assignments and responsibilities."

"I have read your reply to my letter, Mama. It's just great and I am happy. I feel close to you both as I read your letters. Mama, our church spread the gospel in its services on Sundays in each district and we have Sunday School for children. I am involved in the Sunday school youth ministry because I am one of the Sunday school teachers. Please pray for me that I will not give up in doing my service to the Lord."

"Mama, I have been turning to my age of 20 and I am trying to be mature in spiritual and physical life. I am in my sixth semester now and I am working now to find my object research to be done soon... Mama, I am happy for writing this letter and I hope we could meet one day. Thank you for your love to me."

~~~
Extra Photos

Jenny also sent us a number of photos in 2016, photos of all her family members and of her church! I shared them here.

In 2017, we were able to send two gifts to Jenny! My good friend Shelley packed the first gift bag, and we received this reply: "Mama, I want to thank you and your family for the gifts I received which are: 3 pair of socks, one body lotion, one notes, two pens, two pencils, two erasers, one plastic pencil case, one bandana, one bathing sponge and one soap. I am very happy to get these things, I feel that I am a lucky child to know you and your family."

We packed the second gift bag, and received this reply: "I thank mama and papa for sending me the gift again, among which are: 18 hairbands, 2 bandanas, 2 stickers, 1 red bracelet, 1 set of manicure tool, 1 set of sewing tool, 2 lip balm, 1 green folded bag, and 1 pencil case. I was so happy to get them all. I will make use of them well. Mama, the first gift mama sent which I have used are body wash and body lotion. The effect is so god, I feel my skin soft and moist."

~~~
To read the other posts in this series, click here.

Mail Call Monday: News from Bolivia, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Peru & Uganda!

We received a lot of letters this week! First I'd like to share the letter from 13-year-old Angel of Bolivia.

Angel wrote his letter in December and shared that while he was looking forward to enjoying vacation, he'd miss his school friends. He also shared that his hope was to receive a toy for Christmas, but that he knows that the best Christmas gift is having the entire family together!

~~~
Next we heard from 14-year-old Dinesh of India.

Dinesh shared that his studies are going well and for Christmas, from the project, he received a t-shirt, paint and sandals! And he included another beautiful picture:

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Then we received another beautiful letter from 18-year-old Jenny of Indonesia!

Jenny really enjoyed learning Juan's game and asked me to send him her greetings (Juan is my parents' sponsored teen). Jenny said she began college and she's studying Public Administration with social science and politics.

This letter was very thick and came with a packet of photos wrapped in plastic! This was a first! We've received printouts of photos, but never a bunch of photos. I hope you enjoy these as much as Eric and I did:

Jenny

Hunter & Zamson (Jenny's brothers)

Jenny's parents

Jenny's parents wearing the Alor's traditional clothing

At church

More photos of Jenny

~~~
Next we heard from 14-year-old Rebecca Diana of Kenya.

Rebecca Diana seemed to really enjoy some of the letters we sent as she shared, "Thank you for the letter you sent to me. I always love the lesson you always share with me. They have been a help and blessing in my life. I did try to pour the water and it was hard to collect the water back into the cup. About it I really liked the story of the polar bear through you. I have learnt a lot about other mammal that I was not aware of." She closed by sharing Psalm 127:3-5 and drawing this:

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We also heard from 7-year-old Abel of Peru.

Abel's letter was themed "My Friends" and we learned that he met his friends at school and they like to play together and help each other! Abel also shared that on his school vacation he was going "to the jungle where there are a lot of animals." And he drew this great picture:

Abel also sent a fun "Sponsors Day" card with an extra photo!

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Finally, we heard from 13-year-old Cissy of Uganda.

Cissy said she was promoted to the next grade and that she likes to help her mom by washing utensils! She also asked for prayer for the Ugandan elections and that God would bring a good president. And here is her artwork:

Pastor's Letter: Indonesia

We received a pastor's letter from Jenny's pastor in Indonesia! Jenny attends IO-722. All the photos are from Compassion's Indonesia Nusa Tenggara Timur Province page.

Dear Eric and Hannah,

My name is Yohana E. N-K and I am the pastor of a church called GMIT Betlehem Oesapa Barat associated with the Betlehem Child Development Center attended by your sponsored child. These ministries are located in Kupang City, the province of Nusa Tenggara Timur, Indonesia.

By this letter, I would like to thank you for your eagerness to sponsor Jenny. You are a blessing for them, their family, the church, the society around us, our city, our nation and our country.

The community of our church is a big community. The congregation lives in the city where there are some potencies such as natural resources, human resources, access of information, reachable transportation and sufficient facility of technology. However, there are challenges and barriers faced by the church. Most of the congregation still faces poverty with some problems such as limited finance, less medical service and low education. Many families live in poverty and it causes the children to become victims, too. That's why the church also focuses on releasing them from poverty is that they can live properly.

The center has given real impacts toward our congregation. The first impact relates to the children. Children are trained to have the character of Christ, have faithfulness and believe Lord Jesus as their savior. We want to keep giving thanks to God in our life, have healthy children, support the children to have the better education and educate the children to have moral values and the better life. The children who join the center have the better personality than other children who don't join the center. We teach the children to help themselves and other people and have a special skill that enables them to live independently in the future. More children attend the service in the church and the Sunday School regularly. The second impact relates to the parents. They can reduce their burden in affording their children's needs in the family. They can learn to be more responsible with the growth of their children and transformation in their life financially, socially and culturally. They have increased their involvement in the activities held by the church and the church. The third impact relates to the church. The church could also experience the spiritual growth of the congregation. The church has been supported to fulfill the vision and mission.

The letter is a tool to connect children and their sponsors. It is important as the children haven't ever met their sponsors and their sponsors live far away. We keep encouraging children to share the latest information about themselves with their sponsors by letters. We have an expectation that the relationship between children and their sponsors will be more tightened by letters. Please make time to write to Jenny. Moreover, we wish those children's letters to encourage their sponsors to visit them someday. By writing a letter, the children can learn to maintain a good communication, and understand the meaning of life, share with others.

I encourage you to pray for all of our ministries here. We do not forget to pray for you sincerely, beloved brothers and sisters in Lord Jesus. I would like to thank you once again for your support for Jenny. We pray that God will always bless you for your kindness!

Shalom,

Yohana E. N-K

~~~
If you would like to sponsor child from Indonesia, please consider beautiful Fani, who is 19 and who's birthday is January 28.

Fani lives with her grandmother. Her duties at home include washing clothes, helping in the kitchen and cleaning. There are 4 children in the family. Her grandmother is employed.

As part of Compassion's ministry, Fani participates in church activities, Bible class and camp. She is also in high school where her performance is above average. Volleyball, singing and reading are her favorite activities. To sponsor Fani, click here.

Animals: Javan Hawk-Eagle

A while back, I sent a letter to all our kids about kangaroos (after hearing that most of the kids had never seen one). In that letter, I asked the kids if they had an animal they wanted to learn more about. The responses have been highly enthusiastic, so I decided to research each animal given in response and to share my research with every child we write to!

To start off, I learned about the "Garuda Bird," the national bird of Indonesia, because Jenny wants to learn more. I learned that it is actually the Javan Hawk-Eagle and to write the letter, I used two websites: Widescreen Arkive and the Global Raptor Information Network.

The letter I sent looked like this:

If you would like to learn about the animal or would like to share this letter with your sponsored child, here is what I shared:

Name,

Greetings from Florida in the name of the Lord Jesus! How are you? I enjoyed hearing in your letter that you want to learn more about the Garuda bird, the national bird of your country. Although I know you said you are not able to see it because it is extinct, I enjoyed finding photos of it and learning more about it.

I learned that the Garuda bird's scientific name is Nisaetus bartelsi and that it is also called the Javan Hawk-Eagle. The Javan Hawk-Eagle is an endangered species and is declining in population. But thankfully it is not extinct yet! The Javan Hawk-Eagles only live on the island of Java in Indonesia.

Javan Hawk Eagles eat small mammals, birds, snakes, and lizards. Mammals are their preferred prey, which includes tree shrews, squirrels, bats, rats, and other rodents. They usually hunt from a perch, but have been observed swooping down to catch prey on a tree or on the ground. Although these birds can fly, they prefer to sit and walk on branches. The Javan Hawk-Eagle can grow up to 61 centimeters tall!

The Javan Hawk-Eagles are monogamous, which means that they remain with the same partner year after year, mating between January and June, and just one egg is laid each year. The female incubates the egg for 47 days, during which time the male hunts to feed both himself and the female. After hatching, the female also hunts, providing the chick with meat for a relatively extended period. Even after fledging, the young bird will remain with its parents, living in their territory for more than a year. It will be three or four years before it finds a life-long mate and breeds.

I would like to close by sharing Isaiah 40:31,
"But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint."

I send my love! And I am praying for you and your family.

Hannah

I'm enjoying learning about all these animals and I think our kids will too!

Sidewalk Games: Main Karet Gelang

This month's sidewalk game is called Main Karet Gelang and is played in Indonesia. The letter I sent looked like this:

If you would like to learn how to play or would like to share this letter with your sponsored child, here is what I shared:

Dear Name,

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus. How are you and your family? We're doing well, thanks to God! I hope that you all are in good health.

This month, I would like to share with you a game from the country of Indonesia! Indonesia is a country in Asia, located in-between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Indonesia is made up of 17,508 islands! I included a map showing where Indonesia is located, the Indonesian flag and a photo of the country's beauty.

This game, played in Indonesia, is called Main Karet Gelang.

To play, you need: 2 to 10 players. And a clump of rubber bands tied together or a small ball.
1. Toss your ball into the air.
2. Kick it with one foot.
3. Keep kicking the object to keep it in the air so it doesn’t hit the ground.
4. Remember to count your kicks, or have an opponent count for you.
5. The player who keeps the object up for the most kicks wins.

Have you ever played a game like this before?

I love you dearly and I am praying for you and your family! I hope that your studies are going well.

Love,
Hannah

I found the map, flag and photo via Google searches.