A Sweet Letter, ChildFund Sri Lanka

I received a sweet letter in the mail today from my sponsored daughter Nisansala, who lives in Sri Lanka. In the letter she says she never knew i considered her "my daughter" and this made her very happy. Honestly, i always start all my letters to my sponsored daughters as"Dearest Daughter and Family," so this must be the first time that the person who translates our letters included my salutation. If you ever wondered if programs and relationships like these really make a difference, here's your answer. I can feel the love coming from the paper into my hands...Click on her letter to read her post.

and here is her handwritten letter in her own hand and language....

I have all the letters Nisan has sent to me and keep them all safe too...

ChildFund Progress Report, Nisansala in Sri Lanka

I love report card time! Once a year i receive report cards from ChildFund, on the progress of my sponsored children.

The wonderful thing about getting a report card is, there is always a new photo tucked inside!

Just LOOK at how Nisansala has grown! She is 9 years old now and her favorite things are playing net ball and reading books! She is in grade 4, and doing very well at school.

This time i got 2 pictures! This is Nisan with her big brother and her Mother standing outside their home.

Nisansala is a gifted artist. This is the picture she drew for me. The title(upside down) is: "My Future Dream"... It is of a woman walking in a garden with a book in her hand, and an animal companion beside her. It sounds like my dream too....
I love you my little Daughter...

Treasure in the mailbox

Look what i found in the mailbox this morning! Getting a letter from ChildFund is always a treat for me. This means i have a letter from one of my sponsored children! This letter came from Sri Lanka, and was sent to me from my sweet girl, Nisansala

She is an amazing artist. She drew this picture of Santa for me, with little stars and snowflakes falling all around him

and inside is this special message of love...

I have been worried about this sweet girl. Her country was recently deluged with floods, and before that, war. Her brother had written to me to tell me that Nisan was having trouble sleeping at night because of the sounds of gunfire at night in the jungle behind her house. And yet, she thrives...The longer i am Blessed to live, the more i realize that ALL children are My Children and i am their Mother, Father, Grandmother...And that tho i live a world away, i am a part of her true Family...

A Letter from Nisansala thru ChildFund

I received a little packet in the mail yesterday...It was a progress report on my sweet daughter Nisansala who i sponsor thru ChildFund(formerly Christian Children's Fund) She is growing so fast and becoming quite a beautiful little lady! As you can see on her card, she writes that she would like to become a Teacher.

She is also quite an artist! This is a drawing she did for me...
and here is the Christmas card she made for me. It was enclosed in the packet along with this little note...

Nisansala lives in Sri Lanka, and was personally effected by the unrest taking place in her country. Her letters would be full of stories of the whole family going to bed at night while listening to the terrifying sounds of guns going off in the jungle behind her home. It is amazing what some children have to cope with in their daily lives...Haiti, Sri Lanka, Africa... They are all our children, all our responsibility... I am honored to know this child and have a close bond with her and her Family...

Another Gift from Sri Lanka (CCF)

This beautiful card arrived today from Nisansala in Sri Lanka

Nisansala is one of my sponsored children thru Christian Children's Fund. I recently posted about her here. At the very young age of seven years, seven months, she is quite an artist! I am very impressed with her drawings.... and her lovely messages of love that she sends so often to me. I may never actually meet these children, but they are very much a part of my own family, and my heart...I started sponsoring thru CCF over 25 years ago, to help children and to try to make a difference. In return, i am so surprised at how much their love has changed and enriched my life...

Gifts from my "other" children (from different Mothers...)

I received a few special gifts in the mail from two of my sponsored children just before

Christmas Day...

This is my Christmas Card from Km Neeta, from India. She included one of her precious stickers of Minnie Mouse on the card too!

And here is my yearly "report card" and photo of Nisansala from Sri Lanka. I am amazed at how much she has grown in just 1 year! (Last year's photo here) Her report card says she wants to be a doctor when she grows up.

This is her holiday gift to me. She is quite the artist!

Nisansala also sent me this beautiful drawing in a separate letter that arrived on Christmas Eve. This child lives in a war zone, yet she can go into her imagination and draw such beautiful and peaceful scenes. One of her favorite things to do is read books. I know this is a good way to escape what is going on around you...

Maybe she has learned how to carry Peace around inside of herself ... There is so much we can learn from children...

Letter from Sri Lanka

There was a new letter in my mailbox today! A letter from Nisansala from Sri Lanka, written by her older brother Dammika. Nisansala and her family live on the outskirt of the jungles of Sri Lanka and have written many times telling me that they stay up all night, fearful of the gun blasts in the jungle behind them, between the government soldiers and the militant groups there. It is a tough way to go to sleep for a little girl in a country far away. Still, the letters they send are always full of love and gratitude and happiness. If you click on the letter you should be able to read the actual letter. Reading these letters always gives me a different perspective on my life and my world. No matter how hard things seem here, it is always more difficult in other places in this world. And by the time i fold the letter and place it back in the envelope, i can't help but feel more gratitude for my Blessings, and the Blessing of this love sent to me by this little child and her family from so far away... Nisansala Madushani