Some of you might remember an old television show by Bill Cosby called “Kids Say the Darndest Things.” Cosby interviewed kids and they described things in very lively and many times funny ways.
It wasn’t so much to have fun at the child’s expense, but really a celebration of the innocence and beauty of a little child. So, I’m curious about some of the funny things that your children have written to you.
I’ll start off with something my little 6-year-old Sheyla from Peru wrote me:
“I didn’t know you taught math; I have a question: ‘Do you like ice cream?’”
Now it’s your turn.
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At the school where I teach we saw a snake outside, so in a letter written around that time I mentioned it to Kintherlord and probably asked if she had ever seen them and/or if she liked them.
Her mom wrote to me, “No, she doesn’t like snake because it’s a very ugly animal.”
Ya only get the geese March to October? We can’t get rid of the silly things here in SE Michigan! It’s almost an infestation.
But very cute question from the little one.
I am in SE Michigan also and I love the fact that we have geese all over. There are about 100 of them living in a lady’s back yard right alongside the Clinton River and we love seeing them every day and I applaud this woman for seeing that they’re taken care of.
Sherry, I’m sure he gets your letters. I think it all depends a lot on which country the child is from. In some countries, they write 3 program letters and that is it. If this is the case, then he might take his letters home with him and then when he has to write the letters, he will just write what he is maybe told with the example on the board. Many children have difficulties writing the letters, so, someone from the project or a tutor will give instructions as to how to write the letters. They might write an example on the board. Some children just copy whatever is there and then they have written their letters. Maybe he might not look at your letters, when he writes these three program letters. Thus your questions might not get answered. It’s a good idea to number and underline questions. It tells the child and the staff at the student center that you would like an answer to these questions. But the greatest care is given to each of the letters.
Julie, my little boy, Mubarek, in Ethiopia does not write, but thru a translator. I have not heard since last December and was concerned about him. I phoned Compassion and they sent me info about a severe draught in the area in which he lives. There could be a reason why you have not heard, but it is dissappointing when you write and heardly ever receive a response or answers to your questions. Don’t stop writing or praying for your little one and neither will I.
I gave my grand-daughter (3 years old) a hug and a little squeeze. she said, “Grandma, do you think I am an orange?”….that made my day.
That’s hilarious!!
When we visited a Child Development Center in Colombia recently, we got some really funny questions from the kids there:
“Do you watch TV in English?”
“Are all Americans blonde?” (I have brown hair, but I guess anything other than black is unusual there!)
When they found out that my husband had traveled to China, they all wanted to know what Chinese people eat:
“Do they eat dogs?” … and from one little boy, “Do they eat cockroaches?”
ha aha aha.. that’s really funny….I consider this very special child. He is a star in our planet. Although for many people seem strange, but I actually consider it a very brilliant.
Fatuma from Uganda was telling me about the Christmas party at her Compassion center. She said, “It was a powerful party and very enjoyable.” My sister & I still use that phrase sometimes – “powerful party!” Fatuma usually does some math or explains some science definitions at the top of her letters. Those were always my worst subjects, so I tell her I’m impressed with how smart she is!
Mauricio, from Peru, ended one of his letters by saying, “I like to talk with you.” That made my day.
Luis in Peru asked: Do you like to eat fruitcake at Christmas too?
One of our group sponsored kids from Rwanda commented in a letter that she “Likes her cat a lot better now that it has grown.” I always thought kittens were the cute ones…
Nestor from Guatemala opens his latest letter to me with:
In this beautiful opportunity I send you loving and cordial greeting in the name of our Almighty God.
Wow! What a great kid!
I have 2 little girls in Bangladesh. Last winter I received a letter from them and boy were they ever excited! It was written shortly after their Christmas party at their project and all they could talk about was CAKE!!! (not the gifts – but the CAKE!!) My one little granddaughter, Benoti, devoted her entire letter explaining about the Christmas cake they had and how wonderful it was. Then they both asked me, “have you ever eaten this wonderful food? Do you have it in your country?” (I live in SE Michigan) This made me both smile and feel sad at the same time. Before they had tried this new food, they had told me in an earlier letter that their favorite food was RICE!
I still laugh about this – I wrote one of my girls in Ecuador about the three tanks of fish that I have and something must have been lost in translation, because her response was, ‘aren’t you afraid to have an alligator for a pet?’ Looks like I need to improvement my penmanship if I am writing ‘fish’ and the translator is reading ‘alligator!’ LOL
Hey everyone!
My Lucie (15, from Haiti) told me in her first letter that she likes, I repeat LIKES, washing dishes! Wow, definately different than what I think about washing dishes!
Hello everyone!! I had a good time reading everyone’s comments. Children has a way of cracking us up with their innocent responses.
I enjoy receiving letters from my sponsored child in India which is pretty regular – about once a quarter. What’s bugging me though is the handwriting. It looks like it has been written by different individuals. I keep a year’s record of all my sponsored children’s letters. I noticed that the one from India has a different handwriting in some of her letters. Now, it makes me wonder if she’s the one writing it or someone else is writing it for her. The translator’s though is kind of consistent. She is 12 now and I believe she can write on her own.
I just hope and pray that everything written on the letters are true and that she’s really doing fine.
This past summer I wrote to Minakshi (12 years old, Delhi, India). I told her of the tornadoes in the Midwest and the Missouri river flood near our home in Council Bluffs, IA. I reassured her that we lived many miles from the tornado and that our home was on a hill and so was in no danger from flood water.
Her answer was heartwarming and the translation was endearing. Here are her words through the translation.
“I saw tornadoes of your country on the T.V. Right that time I prayed for you so you are burning light of the Lord that is on the high hill you staying.”
Thank you for your kind words dear Minakshi
I received my first note from my 7 year old boy in Indonesia and was a little caught off guard when he said his favorite Bible story was “the crucifixion of our Lord, Jesus Christ.” Should I worry or was something lost in translation there, too?
I might be confused, but why would the Easter story worry you? I think that’s a beautiful story and the point of the Gospel.
No way! I convo-ed you on Etsy
Love your shop!!!
Maybe you were concerned because of the wording but to have someone think that Easter and the Resurrection for sins is his favourite story means he gets the meaning of being a Christian. Way to go little boy!
Don’t worry
I agree with Jennifer and Cindy. There is no problem with liking the Easter story. He probably was meaning the ressurection as well. But, you can ask him why he likes it. Lizzie
my sponsored child from indonesia told me in his recent letter he did not yet know the song “the age of stone”. i puzzled over that for a while and finally realized he meant “rock of ages”. probably a translation issue but it still makes me smile
At the end of one of her letters, my little girl Linda asked me to “Please pray for my brother so he will be an intelligent boy.” I don’t know if he was having trouble in school or was just being an irksome little brother! I was encouraged that she asked for prayer for someone other than herself.
A letter I got from my little guy in Brazil started with, “I love you, I love you, I love you, I adore you!
What a kid!! He is the best!.
CLINTON (age 5) was in his bedroom looking worried When his Mom asked
what was troubling him, he replied, ‘I don’t know what’ll happen with
this bed when I get married. How will my wife fit in it?’
Out of the mouth of babes I tell ya! I used to love to watch the show “Kids Say the Darndest things” and indeed they do say the darndest things. Great post!
Its interesting to read all these comments about children. I insisted to my 6 year old that she needed to wash her hands before having her meals. She told me that Jesus wasnt doing the same every other time. she could remember that at one time, Jesus fed so many people and it wasnt recorded that He washed his hands!!
When my granddaughter (now 11) was 7 years old, I told her i love her more than anyone in the whole world. She said to me in an amazed voice “Even more than Jesus?! You CAN’T love anyone more than you love Jesus!” Out of the mouths of babes! It made my day to know how much she loves Jesus and at such a young age. We have a wonderful Christian home, so I know she will love Jesus for the rest of her life.
Some of my friends, who also sponsor children in Gojo, Ethiopia, and I have been comparing the contents of the letters we have received this week from our “Gojo kids”. My letter from 6 year old Elias was humorously different from the other children’s letters in one aspect. Where the other children listed their favorite song, Elias answered, “I cannot sing.” I admire his honesty:)