On Saturday I got TONS of CI mail. I was so happy! Among the items was a letter from Jazmin, my 13-year-old sponsored girl in Guayaquil, Ecuador. I was so suprised to see it, because I only started sponsoring Jazmin 1 month ago. On the back she drew two people playing soccer (I think it's soccer), and for the question on the back "My favorite sport is..." she checked Gymnastics and Soccer.

Here's what Jazmin had to say in her Welcome letter:

Dear Sponsor: I think you for choosing me as your sponsored child! I live in Guayaquil and I am writing these lines from my beautiful city. Let me tell you that I'm glad to know that you are my new sponsor. The first thing that I want to tell you is that I am very grateful because you chose me as your sponsored child. The second thing is that I like sports so much. [This girl is so awesome.] I practice it during my free time after doing my school homework and helping my mother to do the household chores. I'm also studying in high school and I like it so much because they teach me many good things, such as: Computing, English, Mathematics, Language, Values, and other subjects. Our high school has a very big playground and a large field where I have fun with my friends and classmates. I feel very happy. May God bless you and your whole family! Says good-bye with affection, Jazmin Estefania P. C.

What an excellent letter! She has beautiful handwriting, although it's hard to read the original because she used pencil and didn't press very hard, but oh my goodness does that ever not matter. This girl is great! I love that she loves sports, and I'm so glad she seems to be enjoying school. I'm very glad she's studying in high school- sadly, a lot of poor kids don't get that far. I've asked for an education report on her, like I have for all my children, so I can see if there are any special needs there.

Next up...Egda's second letter! Stay tuned!