Our new friend

Yesterday as I was sorting through the mail I came across an envelope addressed to Holden from West Africa. Now Holden is 7 and I couldn't figure out why in the world he would be getting mail from Africa. My first reaction was that it was some mistake or hoax. He said he hadn't signed up for a penpal at school so I just couldn't figure out why he was getting this letter. Well, we opened it and found a wonderful surprise.

Back at Christmas, Holden had filled a shoebox for Operation Christmas Child through Samaritians Purse to be delivered to a needy child overseas. We filled the box with goodies and then included a picture and a letter telling them a little about Holden. We also included our address on the off chance that they would write back to us. But guess what! They did write back and it was amazing to see the joy in Holden's face as I read him the letter from this child. Here is a picture of our new friend Aseta.

Aseta is from the West African province of Burkina Faso. Her family farms for a living. She has two sisters Ramounato and Awa. Holden will be filling another box for Aseta and her family. This is an awesome opportunity for him to learn about children from other countries and to see how fortunate he is to have such nice things.