Christmas Cards 2024

 If you sponsor a child through Love Lempira, the deadline to send Christmas cards to your sponsored children is September 5.  If you miss this deadline, you can also send an email letter by November 5, which should arrive around the same time.

This year, I made Christmas cards out of scrapbook paper, and filled them with Christmas confetti for a fun surprise when the cards are opened.  

Inside, I wrote a short message with the theme of our eternal home in Heaven.  I personally moved homes this year and often felt out of place, which inspired me to talk to the children in simple terms about the only home that has a stability and comfort guaranteed to last forever- Heaven.  I wrote:

“I want to wish you a Merry Christmas.  I pray this Christmas celebration reminds you of the greatest joy of Jesus being born to save us and give us eternal life.  This is a hope and stability we can never lose- an eternal home in Heaven where we will always belong.”

In addition to the Christmas cards, I typed a letter sharing about my recent trip to New York City and sent some photos of the trip.  I shared about the crowds, the tall buildings, the foods from all over the world, and the Eloise painting at the Plaza Hotel.  And last, within the typed letters, I responded to a few questions from the kids’ most recent letters to me.

Love Lempira Backpacks 2024

As many of you know, I sponsor 6 beautiful girls through the child sponsorship organization Love Lempira.  Being a sponsor includes the opportunity to send a gift package to your sponsored child once per year, which will be added to the backpack of school supplies the program provides to them using your monthly sponsorship fees.  I love joining in with other sponsors to share photos and ideas of what we're sending to our kids each year.  

While the program will use your monthly sponsorship fees to provide the children with the basic school supplies, there were a few additional supplies I wanted to include in some my gifts, based on things some of my girls has mentioned needing in the past.  These items are scientific calculators, dictionaries, highlighters, white board markers, and correction tape.  While these items took up a lot of space in the bags, I chose to prioritize them; as providing educational items is the main goal of the backpack project.

The program will also provide some basic hygiene items for the children; but I added in dental floss, nail clippers, and bandages.

For my 6 official sponsored children, my goal was to send each girl at least a pretty shirt, a durable shirt for outdoor activity, a shirt in their school uniform color, a long sleeve shirt for warmth, a pair of jeans, earrings (or another accessory for those who don’t have pierced ears), and a fun activity.  The program will provide each child with school shoes and socks, so I didn’t send these.  I also highly recommend tennis shoes, which are useful both at home and for gym class at school.  I couldn’t make tennis shoes fit in all of my bags this year, but hope to find another way to get them to my girls in the near future.

I am also sending gifts for 2 of my kids’ siblings who claim me as their sponsor but aren’t officially in the program.  Their gifts will be a little smaller and will be mostly fun items.   

Click photos to enlarge

Cristel (10) is the sister of one of my other sponsored girls, Amy.  Cristel isn’t officially in the sponsorship program, but she has claimed me as her sponsor; so I send her things through her sister.  She will receive: 2 shirts, a headband, a set of earrings, a Squishmallow stuffed butterfly, and a bead kit. 

Katrin (almost 11) loves pretty accessories and playing outside with friends.  Her favorite color is currently pink.  She will receive: Jeans, 5 short sleeve shirts, 1 long sleeve shirt, tennis shoes, 3 headbands, a hair bow, spiral hair ties, a set of earrings, Squishmallow stuffed butterfly, a soccer Barbie doll, an LOL Surprise doll, beads, fashion design coloring book, sidewalk chalk to play with friends, a bible, and a handheld fan.

Emely (12) loves the colors black and turquoise.  She likes to make bracelets.  She will receive: 4 short sleeve shirts, 1 long sleeve sweatshirt, jeans, spiral hair ties, daisy hair clip, turquoise Squishmallow stuffed animal, turquoise diary, mini gel pens, beads, and a handheld fan.

Amy (14) likes the color blue and loves spending time with her little sister.  She will receive: Jeans, 3 short sleeve shirts, 1 long sleeve sweatshirt, a purse, earring set, necklace, daisy hair clip, spiral hair ties, blue Squishmallow stuffed butterfly to go with her sister’s, a bead kit to use with her sister who is also receiving beads, and a handheld fan.

Adiany (15) likes the colors black and purple, especially galaxy designs in these colors.  She has written to me a lot about her best friend and how close they are.  Her favorite animal is a butterfly.  She will receive: 4 short sleeve shirts, 1 long sleeve shirt, jeans, spiral hair ties, headband, galaxy print BFF necklaces to share with her best friend, galaxy print journal, mini gel pens, beads, purple butterfly Squishmallow keychain, and a handheld fan.

Saudy (almost 16) is no longer in the sponsorship program, but I still sponsor her cousin who is, so I’m able to send small gifts through her.  Saudy enjoys making jewelry.  She will receive: 2 short sleeve shirts, spiral hair ties, daisy hair clip, earrings, a purse, and a bead kit with instructions to make daisy bracelets.

Paola (16) specifically requested a poetry book.  She recently wrote about her desire to continue to learn more about God, and drew some beautiful artwork containing words about God.  She will receive: 3 short sleeve shirts, 1 long sleeve shirt, jeans, spiral hair ties, daisy hair clip, pair of earrings, purse, poetry book by her favorite author, bible verse coloring book, colored pencils, pencil sharpener, beads, and a handheld fan.  

Hiliany (17) likes the colors black and red.  She is learning nail design.  I already gave her a large set for acrylic nails on our most recent visit, so I’m sending just a couple of related items this time.  She will receive: 4 short sleeve shirts, 1 long sleeve shirt, jeans, an earring set, spiral hair ties, a mini backpack purse, a set of press on nails, red nail polish, a bead kit with instructions to make daisy bracelets, and a handheld fan.

Introduction Letter

I recently added this sweet girl, Emma, to my child sponsorship family.  Emma is 9 years old, and I had been praying about becoming her sponsor for almost a year.  

As I wrote my first letter to Emma, I realized it may be interested to share with other sponsors what I typically include in a first letter, to introduce myself to the child and their family.  I like to explain to them what being their sponsor means to me, tell them about myself, and ask questions about them.  Here is the introduction letter I sent to Emma recently:

Dear Emma,

Hello, beautiful girl! My name is Megan and I am your new sponsor.

Being your sponsor means working with your family and your church to be sure you have everything you need to reach the great potential that you have as a child of God. This means I pray for you every day. It means I can send you letters, teach you new things about God, and listen to anything you want to tell me in your letters. It means I can send you backpacks of things to help you with school. It also means I can help your church to give you the food and the Sunday school curriculum you receive there.

Because this is my first letter to you, I want to tell you about me and ask about you.  I am 30 years old and I live in the United States.  In my family is my mom and me.  I also have aunts, uncles, and cousins.  I work for a security company and I fix security cameras when they are not working.  I have 3 close friends near me who I love to spend time with.  Their names are Mila, Jessica, and Isabella.  I love to read, write, and cook.  I love coffee.  I also love to visit the beach.  It was while I was walking at the beach that I prayed about becoming your sponsor and felt in my heart that God said I should do it.  For this reason, now I always think of you when I visit the beach.

Who lives in your house?  Who are your friends?  What do you like to do for fun?  Where are some places you like to visit?

I know you won’t receive this letter until later because the mail takes time to travel from United States to Honduras; but I want to tell you that I became your sponsor on February 14, Valentine’s Day!

With so much love,

Megan

With her letter, I included a photo of myself since it is our first introduction, a photo of the beach I told her about, beach themed stickers, and some butterfly stickers just because they were pretty.

Easter Letters 2024

If you sponsor a child through Love Lempira, the deadline to send Easter cards is March 5.  In addition to cards and paper gifts (stickers etc), for Easter you may send small gifts that can fit in an envelope such as thin jewelry.

This year, I stuck to writing a short message about new life in Christ.  The messages varied slightly by child, by this was the basis of all of them:

Hello beautiful!  I am writing this letter around the time of Easter 2024.  I hope you have a blessed Easter, celebrating the new life we have as children of God.  

Like baby bunnies being born, chicks hatching from eggs, and caterpillars transforming into beautiful butterflies, our hearts are reborn as children of God when we trust in Jesus as our Savior.

Along with the cards, I included some stickers of flowers, bunnies, butterflies, and crosses.  The cards and cross stickers can be found on Amazon.  The bunny and butterfly stickers are from Walmart in the Easter card section.

For more ideas, check out my Easter letters from previous years by clicking here, here, and here.

Book of Revelation Overview

A topic I’ve always wanted to write to my sponsored teens about is the book of Revelation and the end times.  I’ve put this off for literally years, because it’s a topic that can sound scary to a young person if the “hope in Christ” part isn’t shared clearly.  In recent years, the topic of the end times has also unfortunately become known as something conspiracy theorists talk about.  I desperately wanted a way to go back to the biblical truths on the subject and teach it to my older sponsored children.  With the state of the world right now, I think it’s important for them to be emotionally and spiritually prepared to know why these things happen.

When I visited Honduras this past December and visited the Love Lempira partner churches, my 13-year-old sponsored child was learning from the book of Revelation in her Sunday school class!  To me, this testifies to the excellent curriculum provided by the Love Lempira program and their mission to provide life application skills along with each lesson.  When writing letters after our visit, I decided to mention the lesson we’d talked about at church that day and use it to share my own notes about Revelation with her.  If this seems to go well, I will share with my other teens in the near future.  For a Spanish copy of these notes to send to your sponsored teens, click here.

One of the Love Lempira teen classes the day I visited

In her main letter about our visit, I included this paragraph:

When I visited you at church, you told me you were learning about the book of Revelation in the bible. This is a very important book, as it tells us what the world will be like when Jesus returns. It gives us hope because we know that no matter how difficult things get, in the end God and his children win and have the victory! On the following page, I send you the notes and summary I wrote when I read the book of Revelation. I hope these notes and ideas help you as you continue to learn!

On the next page, I included this summary:

My summary notes on the book of Revelation.

1- The end of times: We are living the end of times. This does not necessarily mean that the end is tomorrow or even in our lifetimes, although it could be. It simply means that we are closer to the end than the beginning. In these times, things like wars, diseases, natural disasters, political unrest, and crimes will become more frequent as the Earth experiences the natural effects of sin. The Bible describes these things as birth pains: they become more frequent and more intense as the time of Jesus' return approaches.

2- The rapture: The rapture is when Christians who have received Jesus as their Savior are all taken to Heaven at the same time, before God's judgment is poured out on Earth. Christians are no better or more deserving on their own than anyone else. ALL humans have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But Christians have been saved from our judgment by trusting that Jesus as our Savior will pay that penalty for us. Most people believe that our bodies will be taken to heaven too, not just our spirits.

3- The tribulation: 7 years of tribulation then begin. It is when judgment is poured out upon the Earth through more intense wars, diseases, natural disasters, and more. People can convert to Christianity during this time, but they will likely be persecuted by the government and other people. A leader who will claim to want peace will start a world order and lead all countries. This is actually the antichrist. He builds a temple and eventually claims to be God. He requires people to get a mark (possibly a microchip, tattoo or barcode) to buy and sell. This means they belong to him. It must be avoided. This probably begins after the rapture when we are already in Heaven; but to be sure, many people believe that if a world leader makes us take a mark at any time, we shouldn't do it. Finally, the enemy dies and is spiritually imprisoned.

4- The Return of Jesus: After the tribulation, Jesus returns with those who were with Him in Heaven. He remains here for 1,000 years, living among unbelievers and guiding many of them to Himself. After the 1,000 years, Satan is briefly released one last time before he and his followers face their final and permanent judgment. The old Heaven and Earth then disappear. A new Heaven and Earth will come, where we can live together with God and each other forever, just as originally intended before sin entered the world. The Scriptures suggest that we will be able to live in physical and spiritual reality, moving freely between the new Heaven and Earth.

Love Lempira Backpacks 2023

As many of you know, I sponsor 7 beautiful girls through the child sponsorship organization Love Lempira (formerly called Manna 4 Lempira).  Sponsorship gives children a strong start in life by providing the tools they need to reach their God-given potential.  This is done through feeding programs, school supply distributions, medical care, bible classes, and letters of mentorship/discipleship from their sponsors.  Part of the program includes the opportunity to send a backpack filled with school supplies and gifts to your sponsored child every year.  For any sponsors who are unable to do this, your monthly fees will ensure your sponsored child receives at least the basic supplies from the program.

I love joining in with other sponsors to share photos and ideas of what we're sending to our kids each year.  Since it will be several months before we get to see the children receive these gifts, it's fun to fill some of that time by seeing what everyone else is sending.  That being said, do not compare yourself to me.   Sure, get ideas from me; but it's ok if you are sending more or less than I am.  God leads every sponsor differently based on their sponsored children's specific needs.  

This is an overview of the gifts I'm giving to my 7 sponsored children (plus gifts for two of their siblings) this year, between their backpacks and our upcoming visit.  I haven't decided yet exactly how the items will be divided between backpacks and visits, so I'm sharing it all together. 

I had a goal of spending under $100 total for everyone's school supplies and hygiene items combined.  I stuck to this almost exactly, spending a total of $96.38.  For school supplies, each child will receive pencils, colored pencils, crayons, pencil sharpeners, erasers, glue, scissors, and a protractor.  I also added a few small fun supplies to each bag such as fidget pens, other pretty pens, character pencil toppers, heart shaped erasers, or colorful pencil grips.  Some of the older girls will receive a few extra supplies depending on their schools' requirements.  These include grid paper, pens, highlighters, Wite Out correction tape, and compasses.  I didn't include notebooks this year, because the program plans to purchase them for the children locally, so they have the specific types their schools require.  So know they will receive these too, just not from me.

Each girl will also receive toothbrushes and dental floss from me.  The program will provide them with toothpaste and soap.

Example of supplies for 1 older girl

Just some of the fun extras

Thanks to the donations of friends and family, I was able to send a solar lantern to each child's family at no cost to me.  I recommend these even for families who have electricity at home, as some rural areas don't have streetlights.  This can make it difficult to walk to evening church services (which are common in Honduras) or early morning work/school hours.

For most of my girls ages 14+, I am also sending safety alarm keychains.  You will see these featured in the gift photos, but I wanted to specifically highlight them here to explain the importance.  During my visit last year, I heard multiple stories of teens and tweens staying home unsupervised while their parents work.  This made me want to be sure they had some extra tools to alert someone if they are ever in a dangerous situation.  Some of the ones I'm sending also have a whistle at the bottom, so they can be used even when the battery dies. 

After the required items, I set a budget of $100 per girl to get them each some things they wanted and needed.  Praise God, I successfully stuck to this budget and was able to get them each a wide range of items that fit their interests. 

Click on photos to enlarge.

Flor (almost 7) loves unicorns and dolls.  She asked for shoes and socks.  She will receive: A Chelsea unicorn doll with accessories, FAO Schwarz stuffed unicorn, daisy sweatshirt, tennis shoes, croc style shoes, 5 headbands, unicorn fidget toy, tea set, socks, princess coloring pack, white tshirt, jeans with white floral design, 2 dance ribbons, 2 shirts, 3 dresses, jewelry set, and personalized sunglasses with hair bow set.  Not pictured are her school supplies, hygiene items, solar lantern, a unicorn keychain, and a letter.

 

Katrin (almost 10) loves hair accessories, toys, and animals.  She will receive: A Chelsea mermaid doll play set with extra doll, coloring set, extra colored pencils, diary, unicorn fidget toy, 4 headbands, princess sweatshirt, hair bow, Squishmallow stuffed animal, 2 Hello Kitty plush bag clips, tennis shoes, croc style shoes, gel pens, jeans, socks, watch, 2 dance ribbons, 3 shirts, 1 dress, 3 pieces of jewelry, fake hair with bow clip, and personalized sunglasses with bow with hair bow set.   Not pictured are her school supplies, hygiene items, solar lantern, Squishmallow keychain, and a letter.

Cristel (9) is receiving her very first backpack from me this year, so I stuck to the items I like to be sure all of my new children receive such as a bible and a bigger toy.  She will receive: Glitter combat boots, a coloring set, socks, bead set, 2 headbands, Squishmallow stuffed animal, cupcake fidget toy, personalized bracelet, glitter hair bow, white shirt, dress, Our Generation doll, and bible.   Not pictured are her school supplies, hygiene items, and a letter.

Emely (11) loves soccer, art, and the colors grey and black.  She will receive: A prayer journal, watercolor paper for painting, bead set with string, jeans, black sweatshirt, Under Armour tennis shoes, extra colored pencils, gel pens, paint with brush set, socks, white tshirt, soccer ball, soccer shirt, 2 dresses, 2 headbands, personalized bracelet, butterfly fidget toy, and Squishmallow stuffed animal.  If the dress on the right looks photoshopped, that’s because it is.  I swapped out one of her dresses after taking the original photo, and edited it so the photo would be accurate for my records.  Not pictured are her school supplies, hygiene items, and a letter with extra hair ties added to the envelope.

Amy (13) loves crocheting.  She will receive: Jeans, a long sleeve shirt, 8 rolls of yarn, the book Anne of Green Gables, a prayer journal, gel pens, headband, sandals, embroidery set, crochet hooks, knitting needles, book light, fidget toy, personalized bracelet, hair ties, socks, hair clips, Squishmallow stuffed animal, hair brush, purse, and 2 short sleeve shirts.  Not pictured are her school supplies, hygiene items, solar lantern, and a letter.

Adiany (14) loved the color black and Kawaii accessories.  She will receive: Black Under Armour tennis shoes, extra colored pencils, a prayer journal, Kawaii pencil bag, Kawaii pens, 2 long sleeve shirts, a watch with bracelet set, socks, emergency alarm keychain, fidget toy, 3 nail polish, gel pens, gel pen coloring book set, Squishmallow stuffed animal, beads, personalized bracelet, jeans, 2 short sleeve shirts, headband, black dress, and hair bow set.  Not pictured are her school supplies, hygiene items, solar lantern, Kawaii keychain and pins, stickers, and a letter with extra hair ties added to the envelope.

Saudy (14) loves video games and making jewelry.  She will receive: Spiral hair ties, Pura Vida bracelet set, gaming fidget toy, gel pens, personalized bracelet, prayer journal, beads with bead spinner set, socks, Yoshi stuffed animal, 2 shirts, sweatshirt, and jeans.  Not pictured are her school supplies, hygiene items, and a letter.

Paola (15) has her quinceañera shortly before she receives these gifts, so I tried to get her lots of pink girly items.  She will receive: A bead set, plush bear bag clip, safety alarm keychain, cupcake fidget toy, cosmetic bag with makeup/scented soap/mirror, hair ties, hair brush, jeans, prayer journal, gel pens, sandals, personalized bracelet, hair clips, socks, headband, a watch with bracelet set, white shirt, skirt, sweatshirt, and blanket.  Not pictured are her school supplies, hygiene items, solar lantern, and a letter.

Hiliany (16) requested items to learn acrylic nail design.  She will receive: Many nail design supplies including a drying lamp and nail drill, tote bag to hold the nail supplies, a safety alarm keychain, headband, hair clips, personalized bracelet, plush bear bag clip, gel pens, prayer journal, jeans, long sleeve pajama shirt, 3 regular shirts, and socks.  Not pictured are her school supplies, hygiene items, solar lantern, and a letter.

Christmas Cards 2023

I’ve spent this week finishing up Christmas cards for my sponsored children through Love Lempira.  I kept things pretty simple this year since I’ve been busy finishing up the kids’ backpacks, but I like how they turned out.  I also went pretty deep into the theology of Christmas in my 2021 and 2022 letters, so I was ok keeping these shorter.  If you sponsor a child through Love Lempira, the deadline to send Christmas cards is September 5.

I used these pretty glittery cards, which I actually found in a closet left over from family Christmas cards a year or two ago.  I translated the short greeting inside which says, “joyful wishes for a wonderful Christmas season.” 

Along with the cards, each child will receive something nativity-related (either a bookmark or stickers) and something celebration-related (stickers featuring either hot cocoa or animals with gifts and decorations).

Inside the card I wrote: Christmas is to celebrate that Jesus was born to rescue us from sin and allow us to become children of God if we turn to Him. This is a hope that no one can take away from us no matter what, so we can always celebrate it.

For the older kids, I wrote a wish for their hearts to be filled with the warmth of joy like the warmth of the hot chocolate in the stickers.  For the younger kids, I wrote a wish for their celebrations to be as joyful as the animals in the stickers with their gifts and decorations.  

Comment below and share what you are sending in your Christmas letters this year!