Sponsorship Christmas Party!

Dear Family and Friends, 8 January, 2009

Thanks to your generosity, we have partied so much this year! This past Monday, Jan 4^th was a holiday here so we planned a huge party for our sponsored children. We have estimated that about 125 of our children came. Some came from right here in Yako and some came from 10 or 12 kilometers away. They came on foot and on bicycle and they started arriving at 6:30 in the morning. Everyone came looking forward to having fun!

Our day was filled with serious times and fun and games times and since 'a picture is worth a thousand words', I will not bore you with long sentences but will show you the highlights of the day through some pictures.

Our day started with with prayer, singing songs, and listening to the story of Jesus.

Twelve children gave their hearts to Jesus for the first time. On the right is Pastor Valentin praying with the children.

Next each small group from our local area churches presented a dance routine or a skit. The children really enjoy these times. Everyone did their very best to prepare and afterwards we voted on the best performance. The Sector 3 church won with their animated performance of 'Father Abraham had Many Sons'.
For lunch we enjoyed riz gras, a traditional African dish with fried fish and vegetables. Connie, Mme Kindo, and Sarata served the children.





The rest of the afternoon was spent in playing games. There were 7 stations set up where the children could pass from game to game as they wanted. They went fishing at the fish pond, were challenged by an obstacle course, tried to follow an obstacle course by using a mirror, loved the sac races!, played marbles, and other team games. Here are some pictures of game time.










At the end, each child received a small gift and left with smiles on their faces and parting words of 'we'll do this again next year'. It was a great day and our local childrens' workers made the day a great success. These last 2 pictures are of children heading home and of a little boy giving us a gift of a chicken. . . . . his family's way of saying thank-you.


Again, thank you so much for reaching out to and loving the children of Burkina through the sponsorship program. Your children are thriving. You are making a difference in the lives of your children. We have letters from each child and new photos that you will be receiving in the next month or so. . . . as soon as we can get them from this side of the world to yours!

Love and blessings to you!
Ruth