What to Write ~ Valentine's

For some reason I don't seem to mind writing Christmas cards in September / October, but I can't wrap my mind around doing Valentine's during December. Maybe it's because I'm in the midst of a BIG holiday. So  technically I'm running behind on getting these out, but I figure a message of love is always appropriate.

Like last year, I used supplies I had on hand and kept these very simple.

we cut hearts out of music paper and wrote very simple messages inside each card

we also included a sheet of stickers for each child

Here are links to other Valentine's letters I've written if you want more ideas:

• Valentines / Love
• Love (Fruit of the Spirit series)
• Scatter Love

I'll also be sending my next letter in my new "10 Commandment Series" - focusing on the first commandment. I'll share that here next Friday. In the meantime, take a moment to send a quick message of love to your sponsored child.

Birthday Folders

A couple weeks ago my friend and fellow Compassion blogger, Hannah, posted about what she includes in the birthday folders she sends to her sponsored kids. I just put together my 2016 folders and wanted to share what mine look like. 

This is a typical folder for a girl, ages 8-12. I think I found everything at Dollar Tree with the exception of the folder (which I bought on clearance after the back to school sales). Dollar Tree often has Christian themed goodies that ares suitable for sending to your kids. I think they are intended for Sunday School classes and/or VBS, but they work lovely for our sponsored kids. I included borders that are for bulletin boards, but thought the kids could use them to decorate their rooms. I also included a few sheets of sitcky post it notes (the stars and lined paper), a few coloring sheets, an origami project and sticker book, along with the flat, paper cut outs. 

This is what I included in a younger boys folder.... flat, paper cut outs, borders, sticker scenes, a sticker book and coloring pages.

And for the older kids (girls or boys), much of the same....

My girls LOVED putting these together. I'm sure our sponsored kids will love opening them and looking through what we sent to them. I hope so, anyway. 

What to Write ~ Happy New Year

A couple years ago I created and sent calendars to all my sponsored kids. As I've been going through all the letters some of my kids have sent me, I've noticed that they all mention how much they loved the calendar. So...that was my inspiration to send another one this year.

Last time, I added their photo to the calendar, but this year I just found a colorful template and added their name to the bottom. You can see my last calendar HERE, and this year's version below.

I also highlighted each child's birthday on their calendar and told them so in the letter. The letter was a simple greeting with quite a few photos of our activities and surroundings from the past few months.

What did you write about this month?

Christmas Cards....

The past couple days as I've walked through certain stores, I've seen the beginnings of Christmas merchandise displays. It's not even October, and yet Christmas will be here before we know it.  When it comes to sending our Compassion kids Christmas cards, letters and/or other goodies, time is of the essence. Because it takes a while for a letter to be translated and delivered, we need to get our cards out sooner rather than later.

And while you are at it, consider writing out a few extra cards for some unsponsored children. Christmas is the only time of the year we get to bless the unsponsored children with words of love and encouragement.

Be sure to clearly label your Christmas cards for your sponsored kids with their names and numbers, as well as your name and sponsor number. You can send those cards to the same place you send all your regular correspondence.

If you want to send cards to unsponsored children, mail them to: (by Oct 31)

Compassion International 

Attn: Christmas Cards for Unsponsored Children

Colorado Springs, CO

80997-0004

What to Write: God Sightings

Several weeks ago Kayla shared some letter writing ideas on her blog and I loved the topic of "God sightings" - so that's my topic for this month.

I truly believe that we can see God in just about everything (except evil, of course) if we try.

Greetings from sunny, warm Oregon! We are in the middle of summer and it’s been a hot and dry one.

I love summer because of all the flowers that bloom in my garden and all the birds and butterflies that visit my backyard. Almost every day I see God through nature and it’s so comforting to me. Sometimes I grab my camera and try to capture the beauty in a photograph and other times I just stand still and watch intently to take it all in. 

One example that happened recently was when I didn’t have a very good day. Nothing about my day seemed to be going right and I really just wanted to go to bed and get the day behind me. As I was closing the window I looked out and noticed the sun was setting and lighting up the sky in the most beautiful, colorful way. I went outside and just enjoyed it, thanking God for the beauty He was filling the sky with.

A couple weeks ago we were in the mountains and there tend to be a lot of elk in the mountains. We looked and looked to see if we’d see any but didn’t. As we were driving back into town, I looked out the car window into a field and there were 7 male elk standing in the field. It was amazing that they were so close to us.

Sometimes the God sightings come in forms of smiles or hugs, and the best is when they are unexpected. This past Sunday I walked into church and another lady whom I don’t know very well had a huge smile and big hug for me. I felt loved and appreciated and it was just what I needed.

My challenge to you is to notice God in your surroundings and in the actions of others around you. And perhaps allow yourself to be a God sighting in someone else’s life. Give your friend a big smile or hug. Speak kindly to your family members and tell them you love them.

And when you experience your own God sighting, remember to thank God for it! I’d love it if you wrote back and gave me some examples of how you saw God around you. Here are some pictures of my recent God sightings. 

We love you and are praying for you – the Foley family

Have you written to your sponsored children lately? If so, what did you write about?

What to Write ~ Fruit of the Spirit: Gentleness

I'm a little late in getting this posted this month, but better late than never. 

I am continuing with the Fruit of the Spirit series In case you missed them, you can find them here...

• Fruit of the Spirit
• LOVE 
• JOY
• PEACE
• PATIENCE
• KINDNESS
• GOODNESS
• FAITHFULNESS

And now for GENTLENESS

Greetings from Oregon! How are you? How is your family? We are doing well here. We are almost at the end of the list of the fruits of the Spirit….

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,

goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Galations 5:22

What does it mean to have gentleness or to be gentle? To be gentle is to be mild or moderate. A gentle breeze is a pleasant thing compared to crazy or wild wind. A gentle person is someone who is probably quiet and pleasant to be around as opposed to someone who is loud and showy. When I think of gentleness, I think of cradling a newborn baby in my arms – taking extra care to hold the infant. When I treat someone in a gentle manner, I think it means that I am kind and considerate.

There are several Bible verses that instruct us to be gentle.

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. ~ Eph 4:2

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ~ Phil 4:5

…pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. ~ 1 Tim 6:11

And in Matthew 11:29, Jesus tells us He is gentle…

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

I also really like the imagery of Col 3:12.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentle

ness and patience.

When you clothe yourself, you are putting on your clothes. In this verse it tells us to clothe ourselves with spiritual things as well. Just as it is important to put my shirt and pants on before I leave the house, I also need to put on the fruits of the Spirit – to pray and ask God to fill me with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

I am enjoying sharing these ideas with you and hope you are learning from them. We love you and are praying for you ~ please pray for us as well.

Guest Post ~ Casey Snyder

A thank you letter to my sponsor child's mother

I  love getting letters from my kids and learning all about their lives and family. This mother's day I felt led to thank all of my compassion children's mothers for raising such a beautiful sweet child.

I made a card to send to each child to give to their mothers. I put the little note on the front and included a picture of their child on the inside.

"I wanted to thank you for raising such a beautiful sweet child. I feel truly blessed to sponsor, correspond, and get to know and love your child. I pray you have a blessed Mother’s Day with all your children. Wishing you God’s unending favor, kindness, and love this Mother’s Day."
 ~ With Love, Casey Snyder

Casey is mom to two daughters and blogs at Grace.Faith.Compassion. She and her family began sponsoring their first child in November of 2013 and have added 24 correspondent kids to their Compassion family.

The Importance of Letters ~ {part 2}

We have recently received pastor letters from almost all our sponsored and correspondent children. It's been a lot to read through and digest. In fact, I'm still working on the stack. Instead of sharing each letter with you, I thought I'd share what the pastors have to say about letter writing and how it impacts the sponsored children.

In case you missed part 1, you can find it HERE.

from Poungthong Dansongklod ~ pastor of Baan Haeng Kam Rak 2 in Thailand
The relationship that means the most to each sponsored child is that between them and thier sponsor. This relationship is established and grows through writing letters. Of course the financial support is important, but to the children, the real relationship is the most vital. Letters confirm to each child that they are loved by someone far away. This builds their self- esteem and changes their attitude about life and the future. Letters bring with them hope to the children. It is a remarkable thing to see the child's face who receives a letter. There is joy and light in the child's smile. Sadly, not all children hear from their sponsor, and these children are changed in a negative way. They lose desire to continue with the center and feel unhappy that their sponsor does not care enough to write. It is hard to comfort these children. I hope you will recognized the value of your simple words and write to Orm often. 



***the next two letters are from East India and instead of pastors, these are from partners.

from Sheila ~ partner of Ruthvadi Child Development Center in East India
I want to tell you just how important your letters are for your child. Children value the letters that their sponsors write to them because it gives them hope, inspiration and courage during their times of despair. Letters help children to build a deeper relationship with sponsor in a sense of expressing their gratitude. When children receive letters from their sponsors, they gain information and knowledge from the other side of the world. Therefore, we would request you to continue to write to your child as it showers happiness in the life of your child. 

from Pirat ~ partner of Souri Colony Baptist Church in East India
When children receive a letter from their sponsor, they get excited and feel happy. Children consider their sponsor as second parents who fulfill their needs that their parents are unable to meet. Our children are continually keeping relationship with the sponsor through letters. Through these letters, children learn about their sponsor, their country, context and culture. And these letters also help sponsors to learn many things about their sponsored child. 

The Importance of Letters {part 1}

We have recently received pastor letters from almost all our sponsored and correspondent children. It's been a lot to read through and digest. In fact, I'm still working on the stack. Instead of sharing each letter with you, I thought I'd share what the pastors have to say about letter writing and how it impacts the sponsored children.


from Garcia Fernando Vargas ~ pastor of Centro Cristiano Atalaya Church in Colombia
We are very grateful to the sponsors who send letters to their children. When receiving them, it makes them very happy and they are very excited and are looking forward to responding. On the other hand, it is something sad and painful to know that there are many children who do not receive the letters and in their innocence, they are very sad. They wonder why they do not receive letters when their friends did receive them.

from Wilfredo Galindo Veliz ~ pastor of New Life Evangelical Baptist Church in Bolivia
Children really look forward to your letters, so please write always, to keep more in touch. It is sad to see that sometimes sponsors do not write to their sponsored children, and they live in the hope of someday receiving a letter from their sponsors. I must share that a teenager sponsored student was greatly encouraged by the letters he would receive from his sponsor. They were the reason of his achievements. The words in the letters were the strength to help him to keep going since he had so many problems at home.

from Ramon Jose Vasquez ~ pastor of the Assembly of God Church in the Dominican Republic
Our children and their sponsor are maintaining a good relationship through the exchange of letters. Letters allow our children to write to their sponsors about events of their lives, about their family and about how they are doing at school and how they are doing their development in the Center. Letters also allow the sponsors to keep their sponsored child aware of what is happening in their lives. The letters are a link that connects the child and the sponsor and maintains their friendship. If sponsors would stop writing, it would break the bond between them. Because of this, I pray you will frequently write to Hondy. 

from Florentino Corporan, pastro of Iglesia de la Christianizacion in the Dominican Republic
You can't imagine the happiness on the faces of these children, and their families, when they receive the special letters from the sponsors. The bond between each sponsor and the sponsored child creates a feeling of great gratitude. Please believe that you are considered to be a special aunt or uncle, and a gift from God for the family of Antoni. It is wonderful to see the joy on the face of each mother when we tell her that there is something for her child at the Center. 

from Arturo Klee ~ pastor of Jerusalem Baptist Church in El Salvador

When children get letters from their sponsors they are happy that someone cares about them and thinks about them. They sometimes read their letters many times and read them to their parents. This brings everyone great joy. They express such happiness when they receive correspondence and letters. For this,I ask that you please bless your child by writing letters often.

Scatter Love

Even though it's unlikely my Valentine's will reach my sponsored children by Valentine's Day, it's never too late to send a love note. Telling your child that you love them and that God loves them, is a message for any and every day of the year.

So if you haven't yet sent a valentine to your sponsored or correspondent child, please find a moment or two to send a special message of love. 

Keep it simple. 

Normally I would go out and buy something - cards, pre-cut hearts, heart paper - but this year I decided to keep with my resolution to spend less money and make do with what I already have. I simply got out some paint and painted hearts on paper, then wrote each child's name next to their heart. 

It was so much fun painting the hearts and thinking of the child who would receive it. I also included a very simple note that said, "Just a quick note to say WE LOVE YOU and GOD LOVES YOU even more!" Then I decorated the page with stickers and taped it and the painted heart together (I didn't want to staple them and thought tape was best). 

For other ideas, visit Jessi or Hannah and see what they sent out. Have you sent Valentines to your kids? If so, please tell us about it in the comments. 

What to Write ~ Fruit of the Spirit ~ Peace

It's time to share another sample letter with you. Please feel free to use this letter in any way you see fit. You can copy it word for word, edit it to fit your child or use it as a launching pad for your own idea.

You may remember that a couple months ago I started a series of letters to my kids about the Fruits of the Spirit. In the first post, I introduced the Fruit of the Spirit and asked my kids to memorize Galations 5:22. Since then I've written about LOVE and JOY. Today I'll share with you my letter about PEACE.

I hope this letter finds you well. We think about you a lot and pray for you and your family regularly. We are so thankful for the opportunity to be your sponsors and get to know you a bit through our letters.

In my past few letters, I’ve been talking about the Fruits of the Spirit as mentioned in Galatians 5:22. Do you remember them? I’ve written them at the top of this letter and this time I’ll talk more a bit about PEACE.  When I look up the definition of peace I learn that it means “freedom from disturbance or quiet and tranquil”. The Bible talks quite a bit about peace also.

In Psalm 4:8, the psalmist wrote, “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone Lord, make me dwell in safety.” The psalmist was confident that God would protect him and therefore was able to rest and not worry.

I also love in Colossians where Paul admonishes us to “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.” True peace comes from Christ – from God.

Jesus himself said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”  (John 14:27) 

And just a couple chapters later He says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) He is reassuring his followers that He has given them (and us) peace.

Not only does God give us peace, He also commands us to live at peace with others – to pursue peace in our relationships. In Romans 12:18 it says, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

There are many, many more verses about peace in the Bible – too many to list them all here. By reading God’s word it’s pretty clear that peace is an important part of our faith. And as Christians, we are to produce peace – one of the fruits of the Spirit – in our lives.

I’ll leave you with this final prayer from Romans 15:13…

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him,

so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

I’d love to know what peace means to you and your family. 

Compassion Translators - a Conversation with Cecilia Torres in Peru

If you've ever gone on a Compassion trip or even written a letter to your sponsored child, you know the importance of Compassion's translators. They are literally our voice when it comes to communicating with our sponsored children.

When I was in Peru, all our translators were excellent, but one in particular was super nice and I've kept up with her over the past four years. 

I asked Cecilia some questions about her job as a translator and she was kind enough to let me share her responses with you.

My name is Cecilia Torres and I have worked as a freelance translator/interpreter for Compassion Peru for about 12 years.  I don’t do much interpretation much now but I really enjoy to host visits, meeting sponsors from different countries is such a blessing.  The job laws in Peru changed a little like 3 years ago and I was given the opportunity and was asked by key people in Compassion Peru to start my own translation business to provide Compassion Peru translation services.  Back then I have been also working on and off helping in the PC area (Sponsors and Donors Ministries) evaluating other translators’ work, etc…  So I knew what the whole work involved and God led me to start my little translation business.  This is my second year providing translation services to Compassion and my business is named Global Voice S.A.C, I chose that name because many times I was told by sponsors “thank you for being my voice here in Peru”.  I enjoy managing Global Voice and so far I have 13 translators working with me.  [You can find us in Facebook and like our page].  God is good and I am grateful for this challenge and opportunity to be a blessing to others translators, Compassion Peru, children, and translators.  

1. How long have you worked for Compassion?

About 12 years as a freelance translator

2. What are the different aspects to your job as a translator?
As a translator I have to pick my packages of letters every Monday from 9:30am to 11am and drop off the packages I translated already.  I have to check every letter while I am translating just in case I find some content that Compassion wants me to observe or highlight.  I have to print each letter carefully (letters written by children) so I don’t mess up a letter, for this I have to be very alert while printing.  I also have to work with a manual/handbook mostly done by Compassion.

with Denise of Point of Grace

3. What is your favorite part of translating?
 It is to see, especially in the sponsors’ letters, how much of an encouragement they can be for their sponsored children… sometimes it is something I need to hear that that day as well.

4. What is the hardest part?
The hardest part would be when there aren’t many letters to translate or when you read that a child or a sponsor passes away L

with Darlene Zschech of Hillsong

5. Is there a particular letter that stands out to you in your memory?
There have been many through the years but I especially like the graduation letters when the children say that thanks to the sponsor’s help she/he was exposed to God’s Word and now follows Him. This is what is Compassion about right?

6. What can sponsors do to make your job easier?
To make my job easier, keep writing and make sure your handwriting is clear.  Keep the level of the message age appropriate. If you don’t know Spanish well, it is better to write the letter in English otherwise we are trying to figure out what the sponsor is trying to say.

with James and John Micah of Kutless

7. Approximately how many letters do you translate each month?
Around 250 to 300 letters a week, but some of my coworkers can translate as many as 700 letters (children letters) per week.

8. How has being around Compassion and seeing their ministry in action affected you?
It has affected me in positive ways like: every time I host a sponsor visit and go to the poor areas, it reminds me to be grateful for the things I have (running water, a toilet, hot water, etc…).  Also how generous the sponsors can be with others, something I have learned.  I’ve also learned that being poor doesn’t mean sadness or misfortune, I have met many poor people through Compassion who have the joy of the Lord and are so grateful for what the “little” they have, etc…

with Compassion Korea

9. Do you sponsor a child? If so...could you tell us a little about him or her?
Yes, four translators got together, after working with Canadian advocates for a week, and decided to sponsor a little 4 year old boy from Dominica Republic named Adonis J This happened in 2010. Adonis is 8 years old and doesn’t write his own letters yet. We all are hope to visit him someday and that’s kind of why we chose a child for the DR, not too far from Peru (we were not allowed to sponsor a child from our own country)

with Jonathan Martin of The Martins

What to Write ~ Fruit of the Spirit ~ JOY

It's the second Friday of the month...the unofficial designated day to write to your sponsored kids!

I've started a series of "what to write" posts on the topic of the Fruit of the Spirit. In the first post, I introduced the Fruit of the Spirit and asked my kids to memorize Galations 5:22. In the second post, I focused on LOVE. Today, I'll continue down the list and write about JOY.

Dear

   

How are you? We are well. The seasons have changed and that means cooler weather and less 

daylight.

A couple months ago I asked you to memorize Galatians 5:22....

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Last month I shared some thoughts with you about love, and today we’ll move on to the next fruit of the Spirit in the list….JOY.  There are so many good Bible verses about joy. Several times in Scripture you will find instructions to “shout for joy”.

Shout for joy to the Lord all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music. ~ Psalm 98:4

So what is joy? Is it being happy? I would say that joy is more about knowing God is in control of every part of our lives and that we choose to praise Him in every situation. It’s the opposite of worry.

When I think of what makes me joyful I think about the fact that God sent His one and only son, Jesus, to earth as a baby. When the angel appeared to the shepherds in the field to announce the birth of Jesus they said, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” Luke 2:10

Because of Jesus - his life, his death and his resurrection - we can be joyful in all circumstances because we know our hope is in God. 

I'll leave you with two more of my favorite verses about JOY. It seems that God is commanding us to be joyful. 

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again - rejoice! ~ Philippians 4:4 

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. ~ 2 Thessalonians 5:16-18

What is your favorite Bible verse about joy? I'm praying for you - that God will fill you with JOY and that you will strive to joyful always.

Helpful Resources for Letter Writing

Recently, in preparation for a letter writing party and while talking with a new sponsor, I have been searching for resources to help with building a relationship with your sponsored child via letters. My husband and I are hosting our second letter writing party! We hosted our first in July and it was so fun to join with other sponsors and to help provide inspiration and fun extras to send in the letters. It was so much fun that we’re doing our second one this month and then we plan to do it every-other month in the new year (instead of having one in November, we are going to host a shoebox packing party for Operation Christmas Child .

I wanted to collect information to help sponsors write meaningful letters in order to build a relationship. So I was looking through my lists of resources and saved blogs and found some things that I thought I’d share with the Compassion Family also! Most of these resources are older, but I still find them so helpful!

First of all, Compassion’s Blog has some wonderful letter writing prompts! If you are ever at a loss for what to write, I would work down these prompts for ideas. I love Compassion encourages us to share about our lives and to encourage our kids in their walks with God.

·         20 Letter Writing Prompts You Can Use

·         20 Good Letter Writing Prompts 

·         20 Letter Writing Prompts About Family and Current Events 

·         20 Letter Writing Prompts About Food and the Local Church 

I also have found Kim’s blog, Three Little Larks, to be full of helpful ideas and information! Check out her Kim’s Compassion page for tons of resources! She has so many ideas for fun extras to include in your letters.

And finally, if you are writing to younger children, I encourage you to check out the blog Connected: Writing to Kids Around the World. Svea has some wonderful tips for writing to younger children and she even created some simple templates! Although Compassion’s prompts are wonderful, sometimes I feel like they are a little advanced for the little ones. Svea made some very simple templates for corresponding with young kids! Her two posts are: Form Letters for Younger Correspondence/Sponsor Kids and Tell Your Younger Sponsor Child About Yourself (Form Letters Included).

I hope you find these resources as helpful as I have! Even though I have been writing over 15 years, I find these ideas so inspiring. It helps me from falling into a letter writing rut! God bless you in building a relationship with your child!

About Hannah Hinojosa...Hannah is a long time Compassion sponsor and writes about her sponsorship journey at Because of Shamim. In addition to being a wife and mother, she is a part-time math professor and loves to read.