Djamsel and Majoie

This is a post I have been dying to make for a few weeks now, but I had to wait for something to come in the mail.  And today it did!  Today I received my info packet on my new Compassion child, Majoie.  And so today I'm going to post about both of my Compassion children, Djamsel and Majoie.

I'm not sure why I haven't already done a post about Djamsel.  I never really thought about it until recently.

I started sponsoring Djamsel in April 2011.  I only had enough money for one month's sponsorship, and after about two months of looking for a job I hadn't had any luck.  However, I felt God was leading me to start a sponsorship, so I went onto the Compassion website to look for a child.

I really had no idea where to start.  At any one time, there are several thousand children waiting to be sponsored through Compassion.  Thankfully, there are ways you can narrow down the search, and I decided to specifically look at the children will mental or physical handicaps.  There were only about twenty of them, and I think I clicked on Djamsel's picture first.  The second I saw him, I knew I wanted to sponsor him.  He was the child for me.

Djamsel lives in Indonesia with his family.  The sight in his left eye is defective, as you can see from his picture.  He's nine years old.

It took about six months for me to get my first letter from Djamsel.  I'd already written to him two or three times.  I was ecstatic to finally hear from him, and since then I've gotten several more letters.  He calls me "mama Sarah". ;D

I have been sponsoring Majoie for exactly one week today.  Once again, beginning her sponsorship was a matter of trusting in God to provide, and I know He will.

This time around, though I considered sponsoring another handicapped child like Djamsel, I instead decided to look at the children who had been waiting the longest for sponsors.  The first child to come up was Majoie, and I just fell in love with her.  She had been waiting for a sponsor for 257 days.

I finally got Majoie's sponsorship packet today (yay!).  She lives in Togo with her family, and she's five years old.  I can't wait to get my first letter from her!

So that pretty much sums up my sponsorship stories for now.  I hope you enjoyed reading them, and I'll continue to update on Djamsel and Majoie when anything happens.

Everyday's Thanksgiving, Part #37

* photos from weheartit.com

I'm thankful for:

0721. people who smile genuinely

0722. being SO close to being done with my freshman year of college!

0723. going to the botanic gardens with my family on Wednesday

0724. Reese's

0725. cubic art; it's weird, but interesting

0726. salad

0727. smores

0728. finding new, fun places to shop at

0729. a take-home math exam!

0730. this quote:

Do not regret growing older.  It is a privilege denied to many.

-- Unknown

 0731. "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie.  I'm going through this book right now, and I think it's just so interesting.  It's really gotten me thinking about how I treat people, and I like what I've read so far!

0731. reading other people's blogs.  I have such a great time.

0732. hashbrowns

0733. journaling

0734. duct tape roses and wallets

0735. Bill Crosby talking about dentists. ;D

0736. getting to visit with my aunt and her mom this week

0737. cleaning out and getting rid of junk

0738. Chloe's artwork...

0739. ...especially the art she makes for me

0740. laughter

botanic gardens

Today my family and I went to the botanic gardens.  It's funny--we've always called it the "botanical" gardens, but we say on the sign that it's actually "botanic". :)  Everything was starting to bloom, and it was just beautiful.  Enjoy!

* pics taken by me, Rachel, or Ellie; they're all mixed up

I think this is my favorite picture of the day--Rachel took it!

weekdate #002

1. Saturday was Chloe's first soccer game!  It was freezing and so windy, but she had a blast, and so did we!  I already posted a bunch of pictures, so I wanted to do some video now.  Chloe's the one in the green with the pigtail braids. :)

2. So often I forget what a huge blessing my church family is, but I was really reminded of it today as some of the women gathered together to pray for a woman having surgery this week.  What a blessing the body of Christ is!

3. My dad's sermon yesterday was amazing.  I always enjoy hearing him preach, but yesterday he was talking about joy (one of my favorite topics), and also about how envy and discontent can steal your joy away.  I was really convicted, but also really encouraged as I was reminded of God's sovereignty and how we find our joy in it.

4. On Tuesday Rachel and I went to see Titanic in 3D with some friends.  I personally don't like the movie--it's sad and also completely based on infatuation--but I had a good time hanging out with Morgan and Corey.

On this first pic I accidentally totally cut Morgan off, but we got it right on the second one. :)

5. Today I've been listening to Piano and Rain.  Goodness gracious, is there anything more relaxing?

6. Friday night my family and I went to the birthday party of a man at our church.  It was so much fun!  We laughed so much.

7. I've been taking Chloe on a bunch of walks because the weather's been so nice.  We get to talking about a wide range of subjects.

8. I have my first finals next week, and soon I'll be done with my first year of college!  It's honestly unbelievable.  It's gone by so fast.

These last two are killing me...can't think of anything!

9. Saturday night I went to a classical concert with Rachel for her school assignment.  I had to go to one with her before and it was awful because I almost fell asleep (classical music can be really exhausting).  However, this concert was a lot better because they didn't dim the lights and it was shorter.  I actually enjoyed some of the music!  Although I still think the best thing about classical concerts is when they're tuning their instruments; I think that sounds better than the actual songs.

10. This week I made the decision to sponsor another child through Compassion.  Her name is Majoie, and she's five years old.  I'll try to do a complete post about her and Djamsel once I get her information packet.  I'm just so excited to learn more about her!

Chloe's first soccer game!

Yesterday was Chloe's first soccer game!  It was a really cold, blustery day, but she had a great time, and so did the rest of her teammates.  Hopefully the weather will be better for the rest of her games! :)

Sorry for the bad quality of some of the pics; we forgot our camera.