Victor is 13 and lives in Ecuador with his parents and two sisters. Victor likes to ride horses and take care of them. His favorite sport is soccer.
This is a picture that Victor drew of the place where he lives. I wonder how tall those mountains are? I will have to remember to ask him in my next letter.
When Kelsey asked if she could be a correspondent sponsor to more kids, she was really hoping that she would get someone from a country that we don't really know a lot about. So, she was really excited when she learned that Mohammad was from Bangladesh!
Mohammad is 5 years old and lives with his dad, mom, older brother, and baby sister. He likes to play soccer, sing songs about Jesus, likes vegetables, and the color blue.
In his first letter to Kelsey he wrote that is was starting to get cold where he lives and he wants Kelsey to pray that he stays healthy. He also wants to know what our capital city is. I was thinking it would be fun to put together a map with all the capital cities of the United States for him.
Have you ever been hungry? I am not talking about the 'I don't have time to eat' kind of hungry, or 'I forgot to pack myself some food' hungry. I am talking about truly, truly hungry.
No refrigerator and cupboards packed with food. No fast food place close by and money in your pocket to purchase the food. No grocery store on the way to where ever you are going.
I have never been that hungry. And because God allowed me to be born in this country, I probably never will ever be that hungry.
But tonight, I am a little bit hungry. All we had for dinner was rice and beans. Not a lot, but it was dinner.
Our family has decided to take on a challenge. A challenge to make a difference. In his book, "A Place at the Table", Chris Seay says 'as Christians who are called to love the least of these, we need to realize that poverty is not just a problem, it is our problem.' Chris Seay is challenging those who read his book to a fast of 40 days. Not just any fast, but where you take what you would have spent on food for your own family and give it to help those in extreme poverty.
After a family discussion, we have made a pledge to eat rice and beans once a week for dinner. Nothing fancy, just rice and beans. With the money we would have spent on additional food for this dinner, we will be purchasing Water of Life systems from Compassion.
"Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.' " - Matthew 25:37 - 40 (The Message)
Will we be making a big difference? Maybe, maybe not. But it will be a big difference for each one of those families who will be able to provide their family with clean, safe drinking water. This is something I can definitely be thankful to God for.
This week I would like to introduce you to Abner. He is my second correspondent child. Abner lives in Colombia with both of his parents as well as 4 sisters and 1 brother. He loves to play soccer, loves horses, and likes the color green.
In his first letter to us, he told us about his parrot Rebeca. He says she is 'so fun and I love her a lot.' I asked him to draw me a picture of Rebeca. The verse he shared with me was 1 Timothy 4:12 - "Always act in a manner pleasing to God and you may win people over to believe in Christ."
When I became an advocate with Compassion this past fall, I made it a goal to set up a Compassion Sunday at another church in town. Because we live in somewhat of a small town still, I know a couple of pastors at other churches and have friends who attend still other churches.
After working through the details, we set up this past Sunday for me to do my first Compassion presentation outside of my own church. I was so nervous and excited! I used the presentation builder which is available for free on the Compassion Sunday web site. I modified it a little bit and showed the 'Grace Finds Hope' video during the presentation. The week before the presentation, I read about each of the 10 children whose packets I had on hand. I prayed for them each day.
Matthew came with me and help me set up the table before the presentation. I had just found a blue tablecloth at Target the night before on clearance which fit the table beautifully. After the service was over, God provided sponsors for 7 of the children!