A CBD Treasure Chest

They won’t be here in time to include in our Christmas packages, but at least they will be arriving in a few days to be mailed out later.

We have recently found a treasure chest of items at CBD better know as Christian Book Distributors.  I am especially excited about the products that we have found for our Spanish-speaking children, since Spanish things are pretty hard to find.  Josabeth will be receiving a book about the Christmas story in her native language.  Although she probably cannot yet read, I am confident that an adult will help her; and soon, when she enters the first grade, she will be reading on her own.

http://www.christianbook.com/la-historia-de-navidad-mar-a/concordia-publishing-house/9780570051732/pd/051738?item_code=WW&netp_id=230564&event=ESRCG&view=details#curr

We also found tons of other Bible stories in Spanish that will be sent at other times of the year.  The Easter Story is one of our favorites and is a perfect way to explain what Jesus did for us when He sacrificed His life on the cross.

One of the most thrilling finds, for me, however, were some Happy Birthday Jesus Book marks.  They come in English as well as Spanish!

“Do Not Fear” Stationary will make a perfect gift for Edthel, who has asked us to pray for her family’s safety.

To top it all off, we bought tons of Christian stickers for kids that say “Jesus loves me,” “I am special,” etc.

I am really happy with our finds and I hope some of these will work for you too!

Christmas in October?

Yep…we have caught the Compassion Christmas epidemic in our house.  The family room (center of our life) has been transformed into a Compassion packaging center…

…which means…

…There is very little sitting room left on our once pleasant futons…

…The TV is never on…which is a good thing…since we gave up cable to sponsor our Emmanuel from Ghana…

…We think about, read about, sing about, and even breathe Compassion…

…All we shop for is Compassion related “gifts”…

…Night and day we work like machines…or better put….Santa’s little elves…preparing packages of love for our five sponsored children.  All of the different bundles are similar but have slightly differing touches for each child’s personality.  Soccer for one…dolls for the other.  It is a busy agenda we are pushing, and it seems as if results are coming VERY slowly.  I guess you could say that we started a little late…ok, I admit…very late :0

But the gifts are coming along nicely and should be in the mail tomorrow.  Whewwwww!!!  By then, we should be ready to start on January’s package!  Yay! 😐  Well it looks as if our futon will be covered for a while.  But let’s not go there…

The real reason for this post is to share the ideas we have swept neatly together to form Christmas packages for all five kids…without busting the bank.

We found all sorts of goodies in various places, most of which were under a dollar.  The red and green paper folders were found at Target for a quarter (25 cents) and provided a good starting point for our project.  They were cut down to the 8 1/2 by 11 rules that Compassion gives.  We used a paper-cutter and glue to fold over and re-glue the sides.

 Each person in our family decorated the folders in unique ways using Sharpies and stickers.  Feliz Navidad!

The small 2012 calendars were discovered at Michael’s for just a dollar.  They are pretty good quality too.  Our personal favorites are the butterflies, kittens and Psalms.  The Safari pictures didn’t turn out so grand, but our two animal lovers with be thrilled with them just the same. 😀  I hand translated the months and days of the week to Spanish for our spanish-speaking children.

 

We made paper snowflakes out of small white squares of paper.  They are extremely easy to make, each one taking a little over a minute to craft.  They all had different designs just like the real crystals of beauty that God makes.  Plus, as a bonus they match the beautiful cards we found at the Dollar Tree for 50 cents.

On ourcompassion, we found this awesome paper nativity idea…although we didn’t quite estimate just how LONG it would take to complete.  Sadly, only three of our children will be receiving it this year, but hopefully by next year, we will have two more made.  If you visit the link below, you can print out, color, and cut out each piece of the paper nativity.  It is a perfect gift to send at Christmas (fitting under the mailing regulations).  I believe the children will love to set it up and the younger ones have hours of play ahead of them.

http://www.scrapbookscrapbook.com/free-printable-christmas-nativity.html

In a small envelope, we included sparkly scratch ornaments that the children can make themselves.  These were also found at Michael’s for just a dollar.  We had so much fun making some of our own.

We couldn’t include the “scratching stick” of course, but we made it clear in some instructions we printed off, that the children could use any kind of stick they could find.  I am sure they will be simply delighted!

Last but certainly not least…is my favorite find.  A gift that can be sent a little at a time…all throughout the year.  While browsing the dollar section at Target (which is a really smart thing to do if you are looking for good deals on small gifts) I came across a package of 8×8 scrapbook paper for only 50 cents.  It includes 18 sheets of seasonal themed paper.  In the Christmas package, we are sending the winter related paper and the Valentines paper, next month we will send some more…and so on…

I couldn’t help but get really excited!!

To finish up, we added some cute and shiny stickers for good measure and lots of fun!

What did we learn from this experience?

…Never start this late…

…Be realistic about estimating time needed to complete projects…

…Get help from family members and enjoy the memories made with each other…

…Be happy about knowing that all that time and effort…is worth it…

and in a few short months, several happy children will be receiving packages stuffed to the brim with love.

I’m SO Excited!

That was all my mom could say for about an hour after…

The yellow button has struck again!  It just leapt out and grabbed us for about a week…well maybe it was more the “eyes” of the children that leapt out and snatched our hearts.  Let me explain…

About two weeks ago my mom was reading the blog of a Compassion Advocate, which I guess isn’t too smart of a thing to do if you don’t plan on sponsoring any more children.  One morning, bright and early, she decided to check for a “new” post.  Up popped the title: Another Precious Boy.  Mom of course scrolled down the page and stopped short at the sight of his picture.  He wore a blue shirt and old black shoes.  But her eyes were immediately drawn to his large ones that seemed to be so full of something.  She said, “It is like he is content…at peace.” But the name was the thing that completely pulled her in.

…Emmanuel Righteous…

What a name!  “He’s ours,” she stated.  Soon the whole family was awakened, our sleepy heads reluctantly rising from flat pillows.  She showed his picture to everyone several times and gave plenty of hints.

For a day or two he sat in our cart.

And then…I found the small, little face that I would never forget.  The little girl who should be hugged and kissed and told that she is really loved.  I found my sweet little Josabeth.  A child who couldn’t be erased from my mind.

The yellow button was calling…and I was aching to click it!

I showed my mom.  She agreed that Josabeth was a very cute little girl, but of course, she was still sold on Emmanuel.  Josabeth was more than cute for me…there was something about her that just held on and wouldn’t let go…

For about a week we prayed and asked God to show us what to do about these precious children.  My dad reminded us not to make a hasty decision based on emotions.  But the longing never went away.  It was the night that Emmanuel suddenly disappeared, when we realized how much they really meant to us.  My mom was searching for them on Compassion’s site, when she discovered that Emmanuel’s profile was no longer appearing.  She panicked in a calm sort of way, and when the thought of him being taken really sunk in, she didn’t hold back the tears.  We all couldn’t grasp the thought.  We had really felt that he was ours.  As we all dispersed and wandered off to bed, the disappointment continued to churn.

It was about an hour later when the feeling of relief overwhelmed us.  Emmanuel suddenly reappeared, and my mom said that it was time to make the commitment.

Today was the day we welcomed two more precious children into our family of Compassion.

I am very pleased to introduce…

Emmanuel

A wonderful young man from Ghana.  We can’t wait to build a strong relationship with him throughout the years.  He has already been dropped by a sponsor once before, and we want our relationship to heal his hurts and bring him closer to God.

And  finally Josabeth

The cutest little girl I have ever seen!  Those cute ears and round nose…

Our family would never be the same without them.

Beginning the Journey

Everything has a beginning…and our story…our journey with Compassion International has one too.

We have been sponsoring our beautiful children, Elianeth, Emerson and Edthel for three years. It has been such a blessing to watch them grow, receive their letters, and write back.  I have been the personal correspondent for Elianeth and my brother is the correspondent for Emerson.  My parents have done their best to be good correspondents to Edthel, our little girl from the Philippines.  Our Compassion children are a part of our family, and there is something unique in choosing each of them.  Elianeth has almost the same name as my younger sister, Emerson shares the birthday of my brother, and Edthel shares the birthday of my younger sister.  Their names all start with the letter “E” just as ours do. 😀

About two weeks ago, my mom joined ourcompassion, a social network for Compassion sponsors.  Since then…ahem…the sky is the limit! We have been inspired by so many wonderful ideas, and it seems as if we are trying to complete them all at once!  Our children deserve it.  I have to admit, although I have sent Elianeth many letters, stickers, etc. consistently, I have never been one of those sponsors that goes all out!  Lapbooks, folders, frames, ornaments… you get the point.  I never knew you could send so many other things!  It seems as if ourcompassion has opened my eyes to a different perspective of the Compassion guidelines.  And you know what?  I’m glad they did.  My mom also seems a lot more motivated, and I am so very happy to know that little Edthel will be receiving a thoughtful package very soon.

This blog has a beginning, and if you are reading this, you are a part of that beginning.  A few days ago, my brother and I got the desire to create a blog, dedicated to the sweet children of Compassion International.  We eagerly hope that you will follow our journey, as we journal about what we are doing in the lives of our sponsored children.  I also pray that you will be encouraged by our posts to do more for your sponsored child, and build a special relationship that will impact both you and your child.