It's been an interesting week or two in my Sponsorship life, and I feel all topsy-turvy ... but in a good way! I started Sponsoring Yojana in Guatemala, which I've already shared. I received her welcome kit in the mail a few days ago ... except not! Inside was information on a three-year-old girl in Honduras, causing me a brief moment of panic until I logged into my account to make sure Yojana was still listed there (she is!).  So that was just a paper mix-up, fixable with a simple email to Children International, and I'm looking forward to receiving Yojana's actual information soon!

Then I wrote my weekly Spotlight Child of the Week blog entry about Anna Marie. Right after I posted it, I decided I just had to Sponsor her myself! So I went back to her profile and clicked ... and alas, it told me someone had just Sponsored her. Happy for her, sad for me!

A few days later, I clicked on the link for her profile again. To my surprise, it still came up (on the old site, once a child was sponsored you couldn't even see their photo and basic info anymore). So out of curiosity I clicked on the, "Need to sleep on it? Request more info" link, and it let me put in my info! So I thought, "Okay ... when I receive her info, I'll make the decision once and for all."

Today, I was looking at my account to answer the discussion thread about water sources, and I had another mini heart attack--Anna Marie is listed on my account! And darn, but her name sure looks right listed there along side my other girls. So I don't have to wait to receive her info in the mail to decide ... she is my tenth Sponsored child!

Without further ado, I introduce you to sixteen-year-old Anna Marie from Manila!

Anna has a younger sister and two younger brothers.They live in Manila with their parents on a monthly income of only $93 (earned by her father, who is a driver. Her mother is unemployed). Her favorite subjects in school are Math, Science, and Home Economics! They cook on a coal stove and get their water from a neighbor's faucet. They cannot afford electricity, though it is available in their community.

I can't wait to receive her first letter and start getting to know her! We'll only have a short two years and two months together before she'll turn nineteen and graduate from the program. We'll have to make the most of every moment! Luckily, my planned trip to the Philippines will happen before she graduates.