Jazmin

I told you about David, and now I will tell you a little bit about Jazmin. I got off the bus on Wednesday ready to meet Alejandrina - the 10 year old girl I just began corresponding with. I was a little surprised and confused when they introduced me to Jazmin. With just one question, I learned that her name is Alejandrina Jazmin Namuche Sandoval and she goes by Jazmin.

Of course I would have know this if I had remembered to bring her photo and information along to Peru with me.

So here's the story with Jazmin....I was corresponding with a boy named Alcides in Peru when I first decided to go on this trip. He left the program because he moved out of the area, and I got reassigned to Claudio (who had the same birthday as Sydney). Claudio and I exchanged a few letters and I wrote to him, telling him I was coming to meet him. He never got that letter, as he also moved out of the area and left the program.

I quickly called Compassion and asked for yet another correspondent child - because I was going to Peru and wanted to meet them! That's when and how God connected me to sweet Jazmin. Although I had received two letters from her, she had not yet received any letters from me. This face-to-face meeting was a beautiful way to begin our relationship.


Jazmin lives in northern Peru in the province of Piura. She, her mom and her little brother (18 month old Josue) spent about 22 hours traveling to Lima to meet me. Of course Compassion arranged the trip and helped them get there, but I was shocked to think that these kids travel that far to meet their sponsor (or in my case correspondent).

Can you imagine getting a phone call that someone you don't know...not even through letters...is coming to see you, and you need to travel 22 hours by car and bus to meet them. Would you go? I don't think I would even consider it. Yet that's exactly what Jazmin and her mother did. They found out the Friday before my visit that I was coming. The sponsor fun day was Wednesday, which meant they had to begin traveling on Monday evening.

I'm so glad they made the effort because I loved meeting them. Jazmin's mother's name is Diana (just like mine!) and her father is Rafael. She also has a little sister, Lucero, who is 7 years old. Jazmin put together a big box of craft items she had made and brought them to give me. Sadly, not all of them made it back home with me in one piece. Here is a picture of the artist and her creations.