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!

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!

When Sponsorship Ends

Many of us wonder what becomes of our children when they graduate from the Sponsorship program. We are given the opportunity to send them our contact information in our final letter, but then it is up to them whether to keep in touch. If they do not, then all we can do is hope that they are leading full, happy, successful lives.

Perhaps that is why I was so deeply moved today when a former Sponsored child popped up in the CI Facebook Group and shared a link with us for the Children International Manila Alumni Association--"A membership organization of CI-Manila Alumni formed to promote leadership and volunteerism among CI-Manila SCs [Sponsored Children] and SYs [Sponsored Youth] so that they will become agents of change."

"This is our time to share" their banner proudly declares at the top of their website. This amazing group of formerly-Sponsored children returns to the communities where they grew up--sometimes in cooperation with Children International, and other times on their own. They mentor Youth in leadership and teamwork activities. They team with the Haribon Foundation to conserve biodiversity. They educate communities on the prevention of diseases like dengue fever. They have become so much more than simply successful ... they really are agents of change.

These young men and women were children just like Jie, Hazel, Jasmin, Chris, Maria, Joyce, Cristine and Yulliana. They grew up in some of the poorest communities in the world. They were given the chance for a better life and hope for the future ... and now they're creating that same chance for the next generation.

In a recent discussion on LiftOne, we were trying to calculate how many lives were actually affected by one Sponsorship. We counted in our tallies the number of people residing in the same house as our children, and we realized then that Sponsorship was so much more than lifting one child from the clutches of poverty. But none of us could have fathomed counting THIS ripple effect into our numbers--the number of people being affected by these volunteers' original Sponsors is truly immeasurable!

I am inspired by these men and women, and I wish them well in their endeavors. And who knows? Someday, my girls may be among their ranks.

Nothing would make me more proud.