A New Picture of Regine!

I just love how Children International is doing their photos of the kids now. They are more animated & in a better background. This is the most recent one that Efrain received of Regine in the Phillippines.

Letters from the kids

Yessica in Guatemala City wrote:
Dear Heather:
I thank you for the letter and three pictures that you sent me. I am very happy with all that you have sent me. I feel very happy that you work in the hospital, and I like the babies. I pray that God allows you to go on with your work. My family and I are fine, and so is my education. I am fine thanks to the support that you send me. I will have time off at school soon. I say goodbye with a strong hug.
Yessica

Henry in Cartagena, Colombia wrote:
Dear Heather
My family and I hope that you and your family are well. We are doing fine. We have one week of vacation for holy week (semana santa). I am playing a lot, watching t.v., and doing my homework.
Thank you for your letters and for always thinking of us. I wish you and your family a lot of blessings.
With nothing more, I say goodbye
with a lot of love,
Henry

Leydi from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic wrote:
Thank you for your pretty letter. I like that you write to me. I love you very much. I am doing very well in school. How great that you work in the hospital. Thank you for worrying about me. with a lot of affection, thank you for the stickers.
Leydi

Katherine is one of the children that I was looking for a sponsor for. Jim (Mack's father) is now her sponsor. She was in my account for about a week or so. I wasn't sure if I would find her a sponsor, so I sent her a letter in that time. Her mother responded with the longest most detailed letter I have ever seen. This letter is posted here for Jim to enjoy!:
Dear Mrs "(last name removed):
It is a big joy to be a part of the sponsorship program provided by Children International! Your sponsored child's name is (here she lists Katherine's name in its entirety). I will tell you some things about her so that you can know each other much better. Let me tell you that I am so proud that you have accepted my daughter as your sponsored child. She is a seven-year-old girl. She has brown eyes and brown hair. She is restless. She enjoys dancing, painting, playing and going to the park and coutryside in order to see the animals, especially the iguanas. Her favorite foods are: chicken soup, rice with beans and meat. She likes maracuya juice. She likes all kinds of fruits, especially watermelon. She is attending school now. She is in Pre-school (equivalent to 1st basic year in Ecuador), but she can't write yet. She has four older sisters and she sleeps with her sister because she is the last one. I say goodbye with affection,
Miriam, your sponsored child's mother

Regine from the Phillippines wrote to Efrain. Here is the letter Efrain wrote back to her,as well as the letter she wrote to him:
I just sent a letter to Regine. This is what I wrote to her, what I surround with parenthesis is not part of the actual letter:
May 14, 2009
Dear Regine,
Kumusta ka? Mabuti naman ako. (How are you? I'm very fine.)
I am extra happy to receive your letter. This was what you wrote:
“Dear Sr. Efrain Caro,“A blessed day to you and to your family. I have received a letter from you and I am happy writing to you once again. As you were asking, yes. I always wanted to write to you. I am fine and doing good in school. I am study my lesson very hard to got high grades in my reportcard. I am excited to be in grade next school year. I am sad that your workplace will closed but promise that I will pray hard for your upcoming business. Congratulation in advance. Regards and thank you for your letter. Hope to hear from you again.“Love,“Regine"
That’s your letter word by word. (I deleted her last name to protecther identity)
I’m happy to know that you are a good student. Continue to learn what they teach you. What you learn is what you will take with you from school when you graduate. That’s what matters.Maraming salamat (thank you very much) for your congratulations on my upcoming business and for your prayers. I am trying a few Filipino words in this letter. Nakakaintindi ako ngkonting Tagalog. (I can understand a little Tagalog.) I hope that sentence is well written. The course I’m taking teaches to talk Tagalog, but not to write it. I hope to go visit you somewhere this year or maybe next year. I’m not very good on speaking English; my native language is Spanish; so I hope that knowing a little Tagalog makes a difference. Take good care of yourself. Your loving sponsor, Efraín
That was my letter to Regine. In order to put her "yes" reply in context, this is what I have previously written to her:
"Would you like me to write more often? I remember that when I was a child, time seemed to pass much slower than now. I suppose it’s the same with you. Maybe by the time you get a new letter of mine, it seems centuries since the last time you wrote."

Meet Efrain's 7th sponsored child Regine!

Efrain's own words:

Regine is my seventh sponsored child with Children International, my fifteenth sponsored child ever, and the third sponsored girl from the Philippines.The process I followed to choose her was very deliberate. I went to CI's website and browsed through the search results for girls in more or less an age range of 5 to 10 years old. I collected a number of pictures renaming them with the name of the child, formed a collage with all of them and then I showed it to various people. It was funnyto notice that various people were reluctant to see the pictures because they wrongly thought that I was asking them to sponsor a child. Once I had all the feedback, I chose Regine. Regine is nine years old. She lives with her father, mother, one brother, and one sister. As with Jinky, I just downloaded her last yearly picture the day after I downloaded Jinky's, most likely the one you see posted here. I'm still waiting for her big smile. She writes her own letters. All of my filipinas, and Regine is no exception, have a clear and pretty handwriting. Regine's handwriting is almost a work of art. I recently made a special donation for her. Her pictures show an obviously happy girl. It can be seen in her eyes. Her smile is characteristically not big, but I know her enough now to see it in her eyes.

Here is her bio:
Age: 9
Gender: F
Date of Birth: 9/24/1999
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Height: 4 Feet 1 Inches
Weight: 46 Pounds
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Brown
2. Health problems, if any: None
3. Attends School: Yes
4. Favorite School Subjects: Languages
Favorite Pastimes or Sports: Playing with friends, Playing indoor games, Playing outdoor games
Chores at Home: Running errands, Mopping
Talents or Hobbies: Dancing, Singing
Languages Spoken: Filipino

INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR CHILD'S FAMILY:
5. Approximate monthly income for the family (in U.S. Dollars): $175.00
6. Name of Father: Redentor
Age: 38
Occupation: Driver
(If not present, why?)
7. Name of Mother: Nelly Jean
Age: 34
Occupation: Homemaker
(If not present, why?)
8. Brothers and Sisters:
Name Ivan
Age 5
Gender M
Name Tiffany
Age 2
Gender F
9. Child now living with: Parents

INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR CHILD'S HOME:
10. Description of Home: One multi-use room
Cooking Facilities: Portable gas stove
Sleeping Accommodations: Metal beds
Home Construction: Walls Concrete block
Roof Corrugated metal
Floor Concrete
11. Facilities and Services:
Water Source/Storage: Community Pump
Electricity: Non-regulated usage
Sanitary Facility: Latrine