I'm Back!

Hello, everyone out there in Blog World! I've been absent for quite a while (my laptop died, and updating from my cell phone is ... tedious at best). But now I'm back! Let me get you caught up quick with a summary of my girls:

Anna Marie graduated with her Bachelor's Degree in Human Resources. We've kept in touch on Facebook--her determination to achieve success is inspiring! Her younger sister is in college now, and Anna is dedicated to supporting her education.

Joyce turned 19 this past August and graduated from CI's program. She's in her final semester for her Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology, and she's also doing an internship with an investment company. She's very involved in extracurriculars at her school, including competitive dance and running 5Ks! Because I sponsor her younger sister, I haven't been able to keep in direct contact with her since she graduated from CI.

Jie will be 19 this month. It's hard to believe! I've sponsored her since she was 8. Jie's situation remains challenging. She has finished high school, but college isn't in the cards for her. Making things even more difficult is the fact that her father passed away last year. She works to help support  her family. I sent a final EG for her 19th birthday and graduation--I'll post the follow-up report and photos when I receive them.

Yulieth is mother to a healthy baby girl, who is just over a year old. She lives with her husband and his family, and she has written that she gets along well with them. She has also returned to school after dropping out due to her pregnancy. I'm SO happy that she has the support to be able to go back and complete her education. Yulieth will be 18 in August, so I've got about a year and a half left before she graduates from CI. I hope that by the time her 19th birthday rolls around, CI will be enrolling new children again so that I can sponsor her daughter.

Maria is still reserved and polite in her letters. She is doing well in school. Her birthday is a month after Yulieth's, so I have about a year and a half left with her as well.

Nay-Nay will be 17 next month. She's growing into such a poised, confident young lady! She has a great relationship with her older sister, Erish. She's taking accounting and business management classes in high school--hopefully she will be able to pursue a college degree as well!

Josada is a relatively new sponsorship for me. She lives in India in a home with mud floors (not even dirt -- the report specifically says "mud"). I sent an EG right away and asked for an education report. She struggles academically, according to the reply, but is dedicated to her studies. She was already receiving tutoring, so her family used a portion of the EG for tutoring for her younger brother. She writes very nice letters, asking lots of questions. Josada will be 17 in August.

Dianne will be 15 in July. She participates in activities both at school--where she joined a cheer squad--and at her CI community center, where she teaches.

Jocelyn is Joyce's younger sister. She will be 14 in September. She writes delightful, page-long letters full of information about her family (including updates about Joyce, for which I'm very grateful!). She misses her father a lot--he works in another city and is only home once or twice a week.

Jannati will be 12 next week! Through her, I'm learning a lot about the history and culture of India ... and the sports, too! She always asks if Luke and I have been to a certain site, or played a certain game...none of which I've ever heard of, so I have to go look them up! She really likes books and reading and learning--I'm very hopeful that she will be able to pursue higher education as she gets older.

My little cutie Jasmin isn't so little anymore! Oh, she's still petite (especially by American standards), but she'll be 12 in October--officially old enough to participate in Youth Program activities at her center! I got a special treat over the holidays--CIMAA threw a holiday party for one of the CI centers in Manila, and Jasmin was there! I got to see her in a couple of photos, and (very briefly) in a video!

Sandy is my brand-new sponsorship--I chose her as a replacement for Jie. She sleeps on the floor (not even on a mat, just "the floor") and she's just so darn adorable that I couldn't resist. I just received her first letter. She likes apples and playing hide-and-seek, and she wants to be a teacher. And she signed the letter with "big hugs" -- clearly, this sponsorship was just meant to be!

The Passion Returns

I have to admit, my passion for Sponsorship had waned quite a bit over the past year. I don't know why. I still thought about my girls every day, and I knew I *should* be writing to them and connecting with other Sponsors on MSC ... but I didn't. I regret that time that I've lost, and I am SO relieved to feel the passion returning, hovering just beneath my breastbone.

A lot has happened since last I wrote.

Jessica from Ecuador moved, and left the program. I did not take a replacement child for her.

Anna Marie graduated from the CI program. She is still attending college, which is funded until 2017. It's nice to take a break from the constant fundraisers for her! I'll probably start up again next year to fund her senior year of college. Although she has graduated, I am still able to support her through CI because her younger sister is sponsored. Thank goodness! I was not keen on the idea of dealing directly with her college, and I did not want to sponsor her younger brother.

Joyce has finished her first year of college. She is attending a private college in another city. With Anna Marie's schooling funded, I have been able to turn my own resources to supporting Joyce. I've also inquired about sponsoring her younger sister Jocelyn, who I know from one of Joyce's past letters isn't sponsored.

Yojana will graduate from the CI program in a couple of months. I had originally intended to sponsor her youngest sister in her place, but now I don't think I'm going to. Yojana is working in the city to help support her family, and she writes that she likes her coworkers.

I still have my twins Cindy and Sandy in Guatemala, but I'm finding more and more that my heart for sponsorship is in the Philippines.The twins still do not write their own letters, even though they are now nine years old. I hope, once they begin to write on their own, that I will be able to feel more of a connection with them. I do not write to them nearly as often as I should, for which I feel terrible.

I'm waiting for an updated Family Report from Jie to see if she is still in school or not. I think she was just old enough (like Joyce) to graduate high school under the old system at 16, but I don't know if she's gone on to college. I would be surprised if she has--her family is desperately poor and has recently expressed struggles with even feeding themselves.

Piyu's most recent letter speaks of her upcoming exams, for which she is studying hard and expects to do well. I need to find some way to support her if she scores high enough to continue her education--I'm so frustrated by my lack of finances! That pay cut I took when I stepped down from being a supervisor *really* hurt my ability to provide for my girls.

There's not much to report with my young teens and youngest girls--probably because my focus has all been on the struggle of keeping the older girls in school. For this reason, I am *very* glad that the new educational system is in place in the Philippines and all the rest of my girls will be in high school until they are eighteen.

With the exception of taking Jocelyn when Yojana graduates, I have made the decision to not take any "replacement children" when any of mine graduate or leave the program for any other reason ... not until I get down to five sponsorships. As much as I love having so many, I feel like I am doing them a disservice by stretching my resources too thin. So eventually, if they do not leave the program beforehand, I will be down to Ruth, Danise, Anikka, Jasmin, Cindy and Sandy. The twins will graduate at the same time, of course, and at that time I will *finally* take a new child. That'll be ten years from now. That's mind-boggling.

Fundraiser: Anna Marie's Fourth Semester

I am super excited to announce that the fundraiser for Anna Marie's fourth semester of college is being hosted by Aura's House! The organization is non-profit, staffed entirely by volunteers, and works directly with Children International to raise funds for life-changing projects for the children and communities. What makes them special is that 100% of donations go directly to CI ... no fees are withheld from the money that is raised! I've been on the waiting list for nearly a year, and I'm so happy that Anna's chance has come!

And so without further ado ...

Anna Marie is eighteen years old. She graduated from high school in 2013 and, with the help of Children International, all of you, and me, she has been attending a state college near her home. She is studying in a Bachelor's of Science program for Business Management with an emphasis on Human Resource Development. For her first semester, Anna Marie took nine classes and achieved an average of 90%!

Anna Marie is dedicated and hard working, and I have a deep belief that she is going to go far in life. In every letter she expresses not only gratitude, but a desire to help her entire family. In particular, she has mentioned her younger siblings. Anna envisions being able to pay forward the help she is receiving now by paying for her brother and sister to attend college when their time comes.

Any amount you can contribute will be greatly appreciated! Truly, no amount is too big or too small ... it all adds up to a brighter future for Anna Marie and her whole family!

Letter from Anna Marie

I received a CP letter from Anna Marie today!

Dear Ms. Dillon,

A pleasant day to you, your family and your special someone! Hope both of you in a good health as well as like me.

I'm so happy to receive letters and card that you're sending to me and it's so beautiful and impressive. It's so nice to hear that you are very proud of me. Now this second semester I have nine classes also which makes me so busy and need more efforts because I together with my groupmates make thesis, interpretative dance, and preparing Human Resource Development Management Day Pageant which is about pageant. I'm one of the organizers of our section. We make dresses made of recycled materials to show our creativity. My favorite class is physical education because I love dancing and to show my talent to them.

I'm so very thankful to you and to your family for your continuous support in my studies. May God bless you always.

With prayer,
Anna Marie

Nine classes, wow! I love that she's had the opportunity to continue dancing and I'm proud to hear that she's active in the pageant organization!

Anna Marie's First Semester: Grades!

Anna Marie with a classmate.

I've received the final report for Anna Marie's first semester of college! She took a whopping NINE classes, including an all-day English class on Saturdays.

Her grades (GPE, letter equivalent) and courses were:
(1.5, A-) MTH 001 (Math)
(2.25, B-) SSC 001 (some sort of social science)
(1.75, B+) FIL 111 (Filipino, the equivalent of us taking English in college)
(1.75, B+) PHI 001 (philosophy)
(1.25, A) NSTP 1 (National Service Training Program, required for two semesters)
(2.0, B) ABS 001 (I can't read the teacher's handwriting very well. May be NBS, or ABC or NBC)
(1.5, A-) NSC 001 (natural science)
(2.0, B) ENG 111 (English)
(1.0, A+) P_O 111 (missing the middle letter, same teacher whose writing I couldn't read before).

Their system is stricter than here in the USA. It varies a bit from college to college, but at her school a "B" is 86%-88%, and a "B-" is 83%-85%. Her GWA of 1.6 is the equivalent of a 90% average! I'm so proud of her!

Anna Marie's First Semester Report

I received the final report for Anna Marie's first semester, and the news is fantastic! She passed all of her classes, and by now is part-way through her second semester.

Her letter says:

Dear Ms. Dillon,

A pleasant day to you! I hope you're fine and okay upon receiving this letter of mine.

Thank you for continued support to my studies now that I'm here in college. With your support I was able to finish my first semester, so I just want to thank you a lot and because of you I was able to start achieving my ambition to help my family and other siblings to finish their studies, too. I'm blessed and lucky to have you in my life.

More thanks to you for your sharing of your blessings to me. May God bless you always.

With Prayers,
Anna Marie

The report states that she was very happy to finish her first semester and is enrolled in the same course for her second semester. It also says her grades are attached ... but they're not. Whoops! I'll have to email C.I. about that, because I'm definitely curious!

They also included a "Beneficiary Information" page which says:

When Anna Marie received the donation that was intended for her continued education, she feels really blessed and grateful for the help she received from the sponsor. She knew the responsibility along with the support that is given to her. Anna Marie ensures that she's focused in order to give all of her time and effort in her studies. She is proud to be able to pass all her subjects during her first semester. Now, she's already continuing as a first year, second semester Bachelor of Science in Business Administration major in Human Resource Development Management.

Anna Marie was completely delighted and happy to share that she doesn't have to worry where to get her school expenses. Now, she has the bigger chance to lift their family from impoverishment as soon as she will be graduated and have her stable job. Mr. and Mrs. Arroyo want to share their warm thanks to the sponsor for the excessive support given to their family.

And it included a final, itemized expense report for the semester:

School fee for first semester: $72.96
School uniforms: $157.35
Educational support, June-Dec.: $396.38
School supplies: $73.40
Costume and field trip fee: $25.32
School fee for second semester: $24.84
Reserved for educational expenses for second semester: $149.75
Grand Total: $900

Woohoo! I was quite interested to see the itemized list--I was excited to see that the school fee for the second semester was already paid, and there was money left over! I sent the same amount again in September for the second semester, but knowing there was a cushion in case paperwork or processing took a little longer than expecting is definitely a comfort--her schooling wouldn't be interrupted.

Anna Marie turned eighteen last month--we've only got a year left before she graduates from the C.I. program! I'm going to have to decide how I want to go about financing the rest of her college education when that time arrives ... in the meantime, I have a fundraiser set up for her third semester (you can see it here). It's doing quite well already, thanks to Christmas, the Love Bomb, and Macky's winnings from the Aura's House raffle, which she generously gifted to Anna Marie's college fund!

Christmas Gifts

Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad! Maligayang Pasko!

I was sitting with my family around our tree in our living room yesterday morning when an email notification popped up on my phone. It was from GoFundMe, informing me that someone had made an anonymous donation to my fundraiser for Anna Marie's third semester of college. That anonymous donor gave $100, and left a simple message: "Merry Christmas." I was so surprised and touched by this gift!

My future mother-in-law also gave me $60 for Christmas, which I have decided to allocate as a donation to the fundraiser as well.

And then, on an unrelated-to-my-fundraiser note, a member of CIMAA shared a blog post with photos of the group's activities throughout 2013. I first posted about CIMAA in May 2012--they're the non-profit organization made up of formerly-sponsored children in Manila who do community outreach and education programs in the very neighborhoods where many of them grew up. I was excited then to learn of the organization's existence, and to know that participation is a possibility for my girls once they graduate! And I love to see photos of their activities, so the blog that was shared was a special Christmas surprise!

Lots of Updates (and Lots of Photos)!

My dear friends, I have been remiss in keeping up with this blog lately. As many of you know, life hit me pretty hard in late spring and early summer. I'm finally feeling like I may be on the upswing ... just in time for the holidays!

Let's begin with simple updates:

Annual Photos!

Dianne

Jasmin

Jessica, August

Jessica, December

Jie

Paola

Maria

Yojana

Next, we'll talk about new Sponsorships!

Jannati

Luke and I decided to jointly sponsor a young lady from India. Her name is Jannati--some of you may recognize her from a Spotlight Child blog I wrote several months ago. Jannati lives in Delhi with her parents and five older siblings. The family's three-room home is entirely brick--floor, walls AND roof! They have regulated electricity, a private water pump and a septic tank, and they cook on a gas stove. There are two beds in the home, but Jannati sleeps on a mattress on the floor. She attends school, where her favorite subject is languages. In her free time, she likes to run and play hide-and-seek with her friends.

In November, I was looking through the list of waiting children to find another candidate for a Spotlight Child blog. As I clicked through the girls in the Philippines, I noticed several photos that were very different from what we're used to seeing. Most of the Philippine children dress in their very best clothes and smile charmingly for the camera, and the photos are taken with pretty floral backgrounds or on nice benches at the center. These new photos ... were different. They all seemed to have been posted in the same seven day span, and nearly all of them had the bright yellow "Most Needy" marker.These photos looked like they may have been taken right in the children's neighborhood. They're not smiling. They're not dressed in freshly-washed, new-appearing clothes. Many of them are barefoot.

They're the sort of images that appear in the television ads, actually.

And they were heartbreaking.

Danise

Anikka

Two of the little girls in particular grabbed at my heartstrings: Anikka and Danise. Their birthdays are only two days apart; they both turned five a couple weeks ago. They both have dirt floors. Anikka's roof is thatch, her family has no electricity, and they get their water from a nearby stream. Danise's family has a palm-leaf roof and illegally-tapped electricity. There is so much I can do to help both of these girls--they have so little! So I tightened my belt a little more, and decided to sponsor them both.



And updates from my other girls:

Anna Marie

Anna Marie has successfully completed her first semester of college, studying in a Bachelor's program for Business Management with a focus on Human Resource Development. The funds for her second semester were submitted to Children International in September, and the semester began in October! I want to thank everyone who contributed to the fundraiser--all together you provided over half of the total amount due! If you are interested in helping again, I do have a fundraiser set up for her third semester (or, of course, you can always contact me directly if you don't want to donate via FirstGiving!).

Joyce's Birthday

Joyce's Family

Joyce turned fifteen at the end of August. I sent an SNG for her in celebration of her special day. Most of it was used to buy food and clothes, of course, but they did use some of it to have a birthday party for Joyce! Her whole class and her teacher came, and she had a birthday cake for the very first time in her life. CI sent me a LOT of photos, including some of her family AND one of her with her classmates and teacher--how cool is that?!

Joyce's Class and Teacher

When a fellow Lifter, Macky, traveled to Guatemala this autumn to visit her own sponsored children, she offered to put together a collection of goodies for my three girls there, too! Of course I took her up on her generous offer, and the smiles on my girls' faces make me so glad I did!

Cindy & Sandy

Yojana

Whew! I think that MOSTLY catches everything up! I'm sure there were a couple other SNGs that I haven't even scanned the photos for yet ... I'm getting there! =)

Typhoon Season

This time of year is difficult for those of us who sponsor children in the Philippines. August is statistically their rainiest month, and the islands are often pounded by tropical storms and typhoons. While these forces of Mother Nature can produce damaging winds, the real danger for our children is the flooding that occurs. Their homes, constructed from scrap materials, are no protection from rising waters or gales.

Evacuation for families living in poverty can prove nearly impossible, especially when the entire city is under water. They usually lack any mode of transportation beyond a bicycle, and few have the resources or contacts to get out of the storm's path.

According to this report on weather.com, on Sunday alone the total rainfall was over 20 inches. That's an entire month's worth of rain ... in a single day. The article adds that the deforestation of the mountains and the clogged waterways where the nation's sprawling squatter communities are located contribute to the drastic flooding.

Children International posted a statement yesterday:

Staff in Manila, Philippines, have sent us an emergency report from the field. Children and families from two communities we serve have been evacuated or have left their homes; water is over five feet deep in some areas.
The affected families are from two areas in Metro Manila.
We are monitoring the situation closely and will update you as we get information. If your sponsored child has been seriously affected by Tropical Storm Maring (Trami), you will be notified as soon as possible.
Please note: The heavy rains have not affected the Bicol area (Tabaco and Legazpi).

I have four girls in the metro Manila area--Anna Marie, Chris, Dianne and Jasmin. I'm holding my breath, waiting for the letter in the mail to tell me that they are all okay. I know the field agencies are doing everything they can to assess and react to the situation, but since the centers are also in the affected areas, their capabilities must be hindered by the flooding.

It's scary. All I can do is wait ... and hope ... and pray.

Anna Marie is a College Student!

Today, I received a very exciting envelope in the mail: the follow-up report, photos and letter from Anna Marie's first semester tuition SNG! My scanner is packed due to my recent move, but I can share the report and letter...

The report states:

Brief Description of Project:
Anna Marie received financial assitance for her continued education. She will be using the sponsor's donation to continue her tertiary level education to take the Bachelor of Science in Tourism per task ####### for 1st year of the first semester in college. The sponsor included extra funds to cover unexpected expenses or for Anna Marie to purchase something nice for herself. The sponsor would like a photo of the youth wearing her college uniform, if possible.

Though Anna Marie previously wanted to take BS Tourism, during the inquiry and entrance examination from a public university she was able to pass and opted to take a different course that is CS in Business Administration major in Human Resource Development Management.

Accomplished to Date:
Anna Marie passed the entrance examination and now enrolled in a state university near their home. She got an 86% in the result of the entrance examination. She took the BS in Business Administration major in Human Resource Development Management course, close to her first choice of course degree. She also bought school supplies and school uniform. Anna Marie is now ready for her first semester as a first year college student.

To Be Accomplished:
She will be attending her first class on June 10 and will provide updates to the Field Officer for her further needs in school.

Wow! That's a lot of information packed into one report, and all of it good news! It was possible to have photos of her in her uniform--I was so excited to receive them! I wondered about her change of choice in what to study, but she answered that in her thank-you letter...

Dear Sponsor,

Wonderful day to you my dear sponsor!
I am thankful for the big blessing you have shared with me. I am now taking up Bachelor of Science in Business Administration major in Human Resource Development Management. It's my second choice course degree and aside from becoming a Flight Stewardess or Attendant I also would like to become a successful business woman. That is why I took my second choice course because I also want to learn about business when I have my own to help my family. Without your help, I wouldn't be able to pursue my dreams. I promise to give my best in my studies so you'll be happy and proud of me.
A million thanks for your kindness and generosity. May our almighty God shower more your blessings. Take care always.

With prayers,
Anna Marie

Anna Marie has such great dreams--I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to help this bright young woman reach for the stars!

I have a fundraiser on FirstGiving for Anna Marie's second semester (it was Love-Bombed at the end of May and is currently 32% complete!). With my recent demotion, there's no way I can swing the full amount myself, so I am especially grateful to everyone who has contributed so far--and to everyone who will contribute in the coming weeks! I am determined to keep Anna Marie in college, no matter what it takes.

Paying for College

 My eldest Sponsored youth, Anna Marie, will graduate from high school in March! This is an exciting milestone in her life, and I am so proud of her for overcoming the obstacles life has thrown at her.

Knowing that her graduation was fast-approaching, I sent an inquiry to Children International to find out what her higher education plans, hopes and dreams are and what I can do to help.

The report came back, and said the following:

Anna Marie was delighted when she learned that the sponsor is concerned about her future plans regarding studies. Currently, she's in fourth year high school/grade ten level in public school quite close to home and will be graduating in March 2013. Currently no fund is needed from the sponsor since she will be graduating next month from high school.

She would like to take Bachelor of Science in Tourism in college. She also wants to become a Flight Attendant someday. It is a four-year course with eight semesters. Below is breakdown of expenses and schedule of payment.

Tuition: $325
School Uniform: $50
School Tours: $125
P.E. Uniform: $12.50
Books: $63
Meals and Transportation: $250
--------------------------------
Total: $825.50 per semester

My first thought was, "Dang! I need to go to the Philippines to finish college!" Compared to U.S. tuition, that's downright cheap. However, it's far more than I can afford to pay every six months on my own, especially with Yojana also graduating high school this year.

The payment for the first semester is due to the college by May first, so I sent that one off in its entirety myself. The payment for her second semester is due October first, so I've set up a FirstGiving Fundraiser to hopefully raise the amount (or at least a significant portion of it). I will find out if she will have to pay for "School Tours" again and if she needs new uniforms every semester, but for now I've set the target amount of the fundraiser to $900 to allow for some fluctuation in prices and to cover the FirstGiving fees.

This particular fundraiser has already got a strong boost, because it is converted over from the fundraiser that I had partially complete for Hazel's family when she suddenly left the program. It's already more than a quarter way to the goal!

If you'd like to contribute to my fundraiser but would prefer to send money directly to me or directly to Children International, please don't hesitate to contact me and I'll be happy to share the how-to details with you!

Two Letters Today!

At last, my CW from Anna Marie has arrived! She writes:

Dear Ms. Dillon,

Hi! A pleasant day! Welcome to the Children International family! I am Anna Marie. I'm 16 years old. My favorite color are blue, black, pink. For me these are my lucky colors. My favorite subject are math, livelihood education, science and I'm happy because I'm graduating this year.

My favorite hobby's reading books. It's my pasttime. I spend most of my day in school. About my family, I have two brothers, one sister and my parents are simple yet kind and loving to us. They are the people who take care of us. I describe myself as a loving person, cheerful and generous, and also love pets.

These are some of the things about me. Thank you for sponsoring me. May God shower you with many blessings.

Sincerely yours,
Anna Marie

Awwww! "Welcome to the Children International family"--that's awesome! I'm happy that she told me her favorite colors--I can crochet her a blanket! I wonder what "livelihood education" is? She is graduating this year--I had been wondering if the changes in the Philippine school system would affect her. Apparently not.

I also received a CR from Jasmin, written by her older sister Louvie:

Dear Ms. Dillon,

Good day! How are you? I hope you and your family is in good condition.

On behalf of Jasmin Jane, my little sister, I'm her sister Louvie writing to you.

Christmas is near! Jasmin would like to greet you an advance merry merry Christmas and also a happy happy New Year! She's so excited for the Christmas day. She loves watching the glowing Christmas lights. She always wear Santa hat and she's fun of singing Christmas songs. She can't wait for the Christmas gifts she will receive. Jasmin loves Christmas!

We wish you a happy and a Merry Christmas!

With Big Hugs,
Louvie

I love that Jasmin loves Christmas as much as I do! I remember my own childhood joy at driving through our neighborhood, looking at all the lights. And I love that she signed the letter, "With Big Hugs."

Christmas Package Received: Anna Marie!

Anna Marie's package arrived at her agency office almost three weeks before Christmas, but she did not pick it up until January 7! So she'll have to wait until next Christmas to enjoy some of the holiday-themed items included. Interestingly, I received the response packet BEFORE I received her CW letter (which I am still waiting for).

She is just as lovely in these photos as she is in her annual photo! She hasn't grown much in the past couple years, though--she is wearing that same shirt in her 2011 annual photo. Hopefully her Birthday and Easter gifts will be clothes, so she has some variety!

My friend Minie saw these photos and excitedly told me that she was from the same Service Area as Anna Marie! What a small world! She commented on the collage, which she has a small photo of still.

Anna Marie's thank-you letter is straight-forward and formal--unsurprising, since hers is a new Sponsorship for me and we haven't had the chance to get to know each other at all yet. She writes:

Dear Ms. Dillon,

A pleasant day to you. I hope and pray that you're in the best of everything.

I just want to say thank you for the package that you gave to me. These are Christmas card, toothbrush, best friend necklaces set, 2 pack tissue paper, 30 pcs hair elastics, comb, washcloth, a pair of colored sock, 3 bar soap, 1 pack pentel ball pen, and 6 pcs Marry and Co pencil pack, 6 pcs pencil, calculator, 2 pad post it, small spiral notebook, 2013 calendar, and 1 bar wylar light juice. I'm so happy to receive those things and I'm so very proud for having a generous sponsor like you.

Thank you very very much to all the things and support specially in my studies. May God shower you his blessings for your kindness.

Your sponsored youth,
Anna Marie

NaNoWriMo

My NaNoWriMo Novel's Cover

Today, I won.  For those of you who aren't familiar with NaNoWriMo (that's National Novel Writing Month), it's a personal challenge that thousands of people take on all around the world through the month of November. The goal is to write 50,000 words in thirty days. It may not sound like a lot, but it really is a labor of love. It takes time and commitment and an incredible amount of support and understanding from friends. You wind up lost in your plot. You develop a relationship with your characters. Sometimes, your novel feels like the real world, and your life feels like fiction. It's a very intense, emotional experience.

What does any of this have to do with Sponsorship, you may ask? Well, as I was driving home from my last 2012 Write-In this afternoon, I thought about the lessons I've learned over the past twenty-six days, and I realized that these insights are something my girls could benefit from. So I've decided that my December letters to each of them will be about the journey I have undergone, the perseverance it took to accomplish the goal, and how good it felt when that word count ticked above 50,000 this afternoon. I can tell them how my friend Mary coaxed me along and encouraged me, and how we celebrated together when the goal was achieved.

I took screen shots of my statistics page so I can print it and include it to show them how I worked a little bit each day towards achieving my goal. I can send them a copy of the novel's cover, too--I think it will be especially neat for Anna Marie, Joyce and Jie, who each received a pair of the best friend necklaces as part of their Christmas DPs this year.

The Chinese characters mean "friendship", "love" and "eternity"--the two main characters are based on me and my best friend, and their friendship blossoms in language school where they are both studying Chinese. Telling my girls about the plot will then also open the door for me to tell them a bit about my younger days!

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.