July was a busy but fun month for the Embrace families. It was our MYB (Middle of the Year Blessing) month. Every child received a pair of new shoes and 3 pairs of socks. Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors; we had enough to cover every child in the program…even those who do not yet have a sponsor! It is always a fun time to watch the children’s reactions as they try on their shoes and most of them leaving with them on for their trip home!
We weighed and measured the nutritional level of the children this month. We do this four times a year to monitor the children in their general health. This is the time of year where we add some corn to the food bags; as we know that the families’ harvest from last year has been depleted for most and corn is their main staple. Each bag included 15 lbs. of corn. Prices are going up, due to the lack of supply; and this creates an extra hardship for the families.
Abner gave a devotional about walking in peace with everyone and learning to not allow offenses to come into their lives. He also gave the annual health talk in regards to our water filters; the importance of using them, their benefits, how to maintain them etc. Some of our families received the replacement piece to their filters. We distribute these in the months of July and December; depending on when they came into the program.
Most of the families are enjoying the use of at least the radishes, onions and cilantro from their backyard gardens and a few are starting to have cucumbers that are ready.
For my part, I have been working on the choices that we will be giving the sponsors for Christmas this year. I need to have the letter ready to send to sponsors, before I travel to the US in August. We have several new items that we will be offering; but for now, I won’t tell you what those areJ! You will be receiving your Christmas Blessing letter around the beginning of September I think.
Please remember that the sponsorship fees will be increased as of January 2024 and any payments that you send for that timeframe should reflect the increase that we have been communicating.
I had someone come that does professional photography, to attend a couple of our monthly meetings. I wanted to put something together for our July meetings and also to have some good general photos of the children that we can use in the future.
As always, our sponsors are making a huge difference in the lives of their Embrace children that they sponsor. From the Embrace staff, myself and the Embrace families; we want to say a huge THANK YOU!
