Brayan's Fundraiser

Here's little Brayan- Just too cute for words! Brayan currently does not have a bed to sleep on. This fundraiser will provide him and his siblings with a bed set to share. This will provide him with a bunk bed and all of the accessories that go with two beds- sheets, covers, pillows, and mattresses. To help provide a bed for Brayan, visit his fundraising page here

Fundraiser #32 has Launched!!

Fundraiser #32 is for Lisa's little Brayan in Barranquilla, Colombia. The fundraiser will provide him with a bunk bed to share with his siblings and include mattresses, sheets, comforters, etc. To help little Brayan sleep well, visit his fundraiser here

Package to Brayan in Ecuador

A post from Lisa:

I got this report today from a direct package I sent Brayan in February for Easter.

His mom wrote:
Dear Lisa,
I greet you and I wish you were fine. Brayan is happy with all of the gifts you have sent to him. He is very happy with your package: a letter, four photos, crayons, a pencil, a box of colored pencils, two coloring books, and a stuffed toy. He is very happy with all his gifts. We are so sorry because you have lost your love one. I am happy because the date of his birthday is a special date for you. The pictures you sent him are very pretty as well as the dogs. Brayan likes them alot. The child thinks you are very pretty. You have pretty eyes. The baby is very pretty and your godchildren too. I say goodbye. Yanelis

Steve's Colombia Itinerary

Steve's Colombia Itinerary has not been posted! Happily, my two children Diego and Henry are meeting on different days. Unfortunately, I already mentioned that I sponsor them both in letters to both of the boys so that it wouldn't be a surprise. Now, I find out that I could have kept it a secret- It must have happened for a reason, I am sure. It will open up dialog between myself and both boys. I explained to Diego that I chose him because of my great experience with Henry. I told him that Henry had shown me how wonderful Colombian boys are, and that I wanted to therefore sponsor another child in Colombia (Diego).

It looks like both of my boys are going to be surrounded by beautiful girls! That should be fun for them :o) I am so anxious to see the live video of my boys that I think I could burst from excitement!!! Thank God for Steve!

Monday, April 26 – Diego, Isaura, Sonia and Karelys in Cartagena

Tuesday, April 27 – Yiseth, Henry and Evelyn in Cartagena

Wednesday, April 28 – Travel day

Thursday, April 29 – Nevis and Yulianis in Barranquilla

Friday, April 30 – Jhojaris, Brayan, Yuselfi, Keyner and Daniela in Barranquilla

Steve's Colombia Visit Confirmed!

For those of us who have been a part of the CI google group for a while, we know how exciting it is when Steve makes a trip to one of the community centers. Steve visited my Guatemalan child Yessica over a year ago, and then, he visited with my Mexican child Brayan last year.

Now, he is headed to Colombia! It is a very exciting time for me because the child that I have been sponsoring the longest (Henry) is in Cartagena. He will, also, be visiting Diego who I have sponsored for a year and a half now! Talk about excitement! I purchased a Colombia national soccer jersey for both Diego and Henry. In Diego's package, I included a "Daddy Yankee" CD, since he is his favorite singer/rapper of all time. In Henry's package I included the mini lite brite shown above.

I can't wait to see the videos that Steve comes back with!!! I have never seen these children in motion before :o) Thank you, Steve, for allowing all of us to enjoy the experience with you and get to know our children better!

"Our field staff in Cartagena have informed me that they have made arrangements for you to meet with the following children:

Diego sponsor: Heather

Henry sponsor: Heather
Sonia sponsor: Shana
Yiseth sponsor: Shana
Isaura sponsor: Chenelle

In Barranquilla, Our field staff have asked the following children to come to Yulianis' community center to meet with you:

Jhojaris sponsor: Lisa
Brayan sponsor: Lisa
Daniela sponsor: Chenelle
Yuselfi sponsor: Inga
Keyner sponsor: Eliana"

The First Response from the Summer Reading Packages!!!

Lisa's child Brayan E lives in Barranquilla, Colombia. They were the first ones to get a package from the summer reading program. The package was shipped at the end of December. "The memo said the package arrived 1/27/2010 and Brayan received it 2/20/2010. They didn't put any comments on the memo like they have before. Notice in all 3 pictures what he is holding onto!" (quote from Lisa)

That means that the other photos and letters shouldn't be too far behind! Yay!!!

Will the real Brayan please stand up?

You remember the story of Brayan E, Lisa's sponsor child, right? The picture on top, is the real picture of Brayan. As you can see, the two boys look nothing alike! But they are both cute as can be, aren't they?!

The Answer to the "Simple Puzzle"

You may need to look back at the post from earlier today, in order to know what I am talking about: http://childrenaretheworld.blogspot.com/2010/02/simple-puzzle-who-can-solve-it.html

Now try to follow me on the answer- Lisa received the picture of annual photo of "Brayan" when she began sponsoring him at the beginning of January. She asked for pictures of Brayan with his family, and none of the boys look like the picture of "Brayan". The older child with the red shirt is definitely older than 3, but he does have the protruding ears... The younger one looks MUCH smaller than "Brayan" in the annual photo... Lisa and I were discussing back and forth which one of the boys was actually Brayan. We couldn't conclude that either of them were. The best plan of action at that point is to contact CI!

Lisa contacted Greg who sent a message to the field office in Barranquilla. The answer was astounding- Not only was the annual picture NOT the Brayan that she has been sponsoring, but he isn't related to Brayan at all... Which now makes a person think, since you have formed a bond with a picture of a child that is not your sponsor child (but you thought it was), should you take him as a sponsor child as well!?! What would you do?

By the way, her sponsor child Brayan is the one in the green shirt.

A Simple Puzzle... Who Can Solve It?

You may remember the child above from a post around the very beginning of January. Lisa asked for a child with her mother's birthdate, in order to honor her. She received the picture above of Brayan in Barranquilla who turned 3 years old on her mother's birthday. Isn't he a cutie?!

Well, see requested family pictures, and received the other 4 pictures below that one. Here is the puzzle... Can you tell me which child is her sponsor child Brayan based on the photos?

Happy Birthday!

I told you I would tell you about this cute little guy... This is what happened on my end. I looked over at my Merry Christmas message on the Google Group, and saw Lisa's post. She had posted that her mother passed away right before Christmas. I posted that I was sorry to hear of her loss, and if there was anything I could do to let me know.

Then, Lisa e-mailed me directly. She wasn't asking for any help (but any one who knows me knows that I help even when my help isn't requested! LOL!). She told me that she decided to sponsor another child, but she wanted one with the same birthday as her mother. I told her I would keep my eye out for one with the Jan 2nd birthday. That is when she told me that she had already looked through all of the kids' profiles on the web-site, and none of them had that birthday!! That means she looked through close to 1500 profiles!!! Talk about dedication.

Since she had already looked on the web-site, I knew it would be a waste to scroll through the profiles (and VERY dangerous because I would hate to find one that was calling my name! LOL!!!) I e-mailed Greg at CI and told him what was going on. I asked if he knew of any child available with that birth date. Five minutes later, I had this picture in my inbox!!!

I forwarded the info to Lisa. She was so excited! Now she had a child in time to honor her mother on her birthday, and a little something to help in the healing process!

Here is what Lisa said:

On December 22, 2009 I lost my mother unexpectantly.
This was the hardest day, probably of my life, as we were very close.
A couple days later I was thinking about how I would like to do something special in her honor. Since Children International is my newest passion I thought what better way to sponsor another child in her honor.
And if I could find a child that shared her birthday it would be even more special.
With help from Heather and Greg (from CI) I added little Brayan to my family.
He turns three years old today, January 2nd, the same day my mom would have turned 63. Brayan lives in Colombia with his mother, step father, 2 sisters and brother.
I look forward to getting to know this little guy and watching him grow up.
He will always hold a special place in my heart. I know he will have a special angel up in heaven looking down and protecting him.