Christmas letters

I can't get her out of my mind. The  beautiful young girl in sixth grade writing her  Christmas letter to a potential sponsor..."just in case" she is sponsored before the school year ends in November. My heart breaks just thinking about her.  What thoughts run through her mind as she writes her letter...does she feel hopeless, like her letter is in vain?  It's already October and time is running out for her to ever be sponsored.  There will be no more school for her after sixth grade.  Does she wonder "what is the point?" Does it build a false hope in her having her write a letter that may never reach a sponsor?
 I wonder how long she has been on the list to be sponsored or how she feels when she sees her other classmates writing their letters; classmates that already have sponsors. How long has she been dreaming of the day she would be sponsored?  I've shed tears for this girl. I guess you could say she has a special place in my heart.  Even though I know there are others just like her.  I know her name and she has a beautiful smile. She is a lovely girl who has a bit of a crush on my son Ben. I know this  because she always asks where he is when see her and I've seen her light up around him. And for her my heart hurts.

Yesterday Dale and I went to one of the schools to help the sponsored children with their Christmas letters.   I know....it's a little early for Christmas but it is a long process and the letters need to arrive in time.  They need to be written and then translated. The children wrote out their  letters in rough draft first. The letters were then approved by the teacher or Victor for spelling mistakes and what not. Then the children came to Dale and myself for the "official"  Christmas paper to write their letter on.  It was an exciting moment to be a part of.  They would stand in line waiting for Dale and myself to find their name at the top of their paper.  You could feel their enthusiasm as they wrote their annual letters to their sponsors. Amazingly it was not too chaotic in the classroom...or too loud. Or maybe I just didn't notice.  Yesterday about 45 letters were handed back in.  Most of them had meticulous hand writing. They later drew pictures to be added to their letters and most of them handed their drawings in today. There are some beautiful pieces of art being mailed out this year!

I was not at the school today as I was at a ladies bible study that I have been attending weekly. However  Dale told me that there are only twenty five more children to write their letters. That will happen later this week....and I can't wait to be a part of it.