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The picture on the left is at after photo of the cleaned out cupboard, the picture on the right was the one I needed to tackle the next day.
Happy Compassion Mail Day!
Abner is one of my Compassion correspondent kids. He lives in Colombia and we have been corresponding for about a year now. He is such a sweet boy!
Here is what his letter said:
"Dear sponsor Yvonne,
I greet you with a big hug filled with peace, love and blessings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Today is a very cheerful day for me because I have the opportunity to write you again. I thank you for the letter, drawings and pictures. I am very proud you are my sponsor since you have a very kind heart and you help other children. My family and I will be praying for them and their families. We also will continue praying so that God takes care of you and gives you wisdom every day and good health. I hope you pray so that God uses me as an instrument to his work. I tell you that my mother had her birthday on August 11. I am going to decorate a card with a beautiful rose. I am doing well in school too, and I got 2nd place in my classroom. I feel very happy at the project. I hope you read Joshua 1:9. I say goodbye with much love. You are always in my heart.
Abner"
This little boy is just 9 years old and I love how he shares his heart with me. If you have taken the time to read through Abner's letter, will you say a prayer for him and his family?
Imagine this...
...the sound of 3,159 children and their families singing, rejoicing, and giving thanks to the Lord!!!
This is what happened in September when many people participated in Compassion's Blog Month! Last month, many of us who blog for Compassion were given weekly assignments to try to reach a goal of having 3,108 children sponsored solely through the internet. Well, that goal was met and then some! Prizes and giveaways were offered for certain assignments and there was one really big prize of earning a spot on a Compassion Blogger trip next year!
My Pinterest friends helped me to earn a $25 prize for Lina and her family! I was so excited when I received the phone call from Shaina at Compassion telling me that I had won a prize for her!
Do you have a blog? Would you like to blog for Compassion? It is really quite simple, join the network. You will receive assignments once or twice a month to help spread the word about Compassion. Share pictures and letters you receive from your sponsored kids, and most importantly, help others to realize how important our letters are to these kids!!
A few of the bloggers are getting ready to head to Peru. Will you join us in praying for them before, during, and after their trip? Oh, and be sure to read about their journey. These blogger trip blog posts are amazing!!
How do you see your Compassion journey ending?
We are at the end of Compassion's Blog Month, on a journey to do what we can to find sponsors for 3,108 children. As of this morning, we are 715 children away from meeting this goal!
Well, the folks at Compassion Bloggers have pulled out a very creative way to end our month. Our new assignment is to blog as if you are a sponsored child. You are a child living in extreme poverty. What do you have to say?
The top 3 blog posts (as determined by a panel of judges at Compassion) will win money for their Compassion child's family! But the overall goal of all these blog posts this month is to have more children sponsored with Compassion. If you are not currently sponsoring a child with Compassion, please prayerfully consider it as you read through my post.
In this post, I have decided to write 2 letters, and here is letter #1:
"Dear Mr. and Mrs. Smith,
I want to thank you for the many years that you have provided my sponsorship with Compassion. Because of your investment in my life, I know who Jesus is because I was able to attend the project center each and every week and hear many lessons about this man who saved me from my sins.
Each week, I would share the stories I was learning with my family, and they also know who Jesus is. For this, I will always be grateful for your sponsorship.
As I prepare to leave the Compassion program, I am excited about the opportunities I will have in my community. Opportunities to earn money for my family, share about Jesus with others, and help at the Compassion project.
There is just one thing I wish had been different. Many of my friends received so many letters of encouragement from their sponsors. Even though I never received any letters from you, I am still so thankful for the blessing you have been in my life. I just would have loved to been able to learn more about you and your family.
Thank you for being a part of my life over these past 15 years. I will continue to pray for you every day.
Love,
Natalia
Letter #2:
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Smith,
I am not sure whether to be extremely happy or extremely sad writing this letter to you! For the past 15 years, your family has been such a blessing and encouragment to me. You and your family consistently sent letters and pictures to me, which I have kept every one and will treasure through out my life.
Through my struggles, your prayers and letters pointed me to continually trust in Jesus. I am not sure where I would be today without your constant love and support. I pray that every Compassion child could have such dedicated sponsors like you have been for me.
Now that my time at the Compassion center is done, I am looking forward to being a part of the Leadership Development Program. I never would have even attempted to apply for this program if it hadn't been for your family continually sending me such encouraging words. I thank you for making me feel like I really am a part of your family.
I know that we were never able to meet in person during my time at the Compassion center, but I look forward to the day when we are all in heaven together, rejoicing at the feet of Jesus, because you took the time to invest in the life of one child, living thousands of miles away from you. Thank you just doesn't describe how much your family means to me.
I love you all so much,
Natalia
Both of these letters are creations from my thoughts about what a child might write at the end of their journey with Compassion. Which letter would you prefer to receive?