His name was Jeandly

Jeandly Christopher Yesaya Rawung.

That was his name. Joe and I chose to sponsor him in 2009. He was 9 years old at the time, and in grade 4 in Indonesia. 

We helped pay for his school uniform and shoes; his school supplies, his yearly medical checkup, a Christmas gift and birthday gift.

He told me he never had a birthday cake because they are too expensive. He lived with his grandparents most of his life. They made a living by being fishermen and selling vegetables at a lcoal market.

Jeandly loved school and got really good "marks" in school. He was always thankful for school supplies. He liked playing soccer and participating in church activities.

At Christmas, his family would eat a big meal together and then go around and talk to neighbors. With our Christmas money, he would buy clothes, stationary and books.

We corresponded by old fashioned letter writing. As soon as I got his letter, I would try to turn around and put a letter back in the mail the very next day. It often would take a month to get our letters back and forth.

He always asked how my family was, what the weather was like, and what kind of things we like to do. In every single letter, he would say thank you so much for the gifts, and tell me how often he prays for us, and what he does with the money for his family and for himself.

It was with great sadness and shock that I received a phone call recently from Compassion International. Jeandly was killed in an accident.....he was riding his bike, flipped over on the road, and was hit and killed by an oncoming car. He was 17 years old, and he was a part of our family. 

It's a very odd thing to grieve the loss of someone you have never met. But, I grieved, and cried, and felt empty inside for days. I prayed for him, I looked forward to every single letter, I loved the photos of him, I loved being such a small part of his life. 

I kept every single letter he wrote to me. I have them all in a binder. I asked Compassion if the family would want the letters, and they said he had all of mine too. I don't know if they tell that to everyone or not.

 A month later....I received my last letter from Jeandly dated August 3rd. In it, he writes "I want to thank you and your family for always praying for me, I also thank God for all His blessings and guidance to me. May God always be with you and your family. God bless you all."

God bless Jeandly....I miss him greatly.