One Year Ago

One year ago I was about to embark on a life-changing experience.  I had no idea what to expect.  I was nervous.  I was excited.

I got on an airplane and God opened my heart so wide it hurt.
One week, that's all it took.  One week and my life was turned upside down.

My heart is no longer in just two places, it is now all over the world, Peru, Haiti, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kenya and Brazil.

My perspective on my life has changed.  My perspective of my possessions has changed.

I am thankful for that week.  I will cherish it always.

I can't wait to have the opportunity to go to another one of the places where a piece of my heart dwells.
Someday!

Until then, I am grateful that Compassion International and World Vision keep me connected to those pieces of my heart.

A Month of Love, Day 14

Today is Valentine's Day, a day to celebrate love. As I was taking a few minutes to write to my sponsor children, I was praying that they feel the love with which I write. But, more importantly, I pray that they experience and accept Jesus' love for them.

Then I was reminded of a blog post, well, two actually, that the Peruvian leader of our Compassion tour wrote recently. I thought of my time in Peru and how much love I experienced there. One of the greatest things I learned about love came from the volunteers at the Child Development Centers. These volunteers truly love the children who come to the centers. They show the children love each day through their teaching and just spending time with the children. They get to be with the children and hug them, wipe their tears and laugh with them. I live thousands of miles away and only send letters sometimes and money. But, on my behalf, these volunteers show my children love, God's love.

I saw it written all over their faces and in their actions. Love. Oh, how I pray that people see that in me, too.

A Month of Thanks, Day 15

Water.
I take it for granted every day.
Until I went to Peru.
We had to drink bottled water.
One night our hotel had a water problem and the hot water was off.

These things reminded me how important clean water is.
I am thankful that I can turn on the tap, fill up a glass of water and drink it, safely.
I am thankful that I can turn on the shower, stand under the hot water and know that it will run as long as I want it to.

Thank You, Lord, for water!

A month for Thanks

We are only three days into November and I am remembering why I love this discipline of gratitude so much. Yesterday I spent much of my run trying to decide which thing I was going to chose for my daily thanks item. Once it was decided, I started thinking about today's item. I am constantly thinking about what I am thankful for!

Today's item: my trip to Peru, meeting Magally, learning more about Compassion International.
As I have posted previously, this trip changed my life, my perspective, and even my desires. I am looking forward to how God is going to continue to work in me on these things that I learned and am still processing.

I am thankful that I was introduced to this amazing culture first hand.


I am thankful that I got to meet Magally and her wonderful mother.


I am thankful that I could share some Japanese culture with Magally!


I am thankful for the amazing people God gifted to be our translators on the trip.


I am thankful for the work Compassion International is doing around the world to release children and their families from poverty.


I am thankful for the fantastic people I met on the trip.

Communication-sometimes words are necessary

I live in Japan, therefore, I have learned Japanese so that I can communicate with people around me. Communication is fairly necessary for life. I enjoy communicating with people just for fun, too, not only the times when it is necessary for life-like when the guy comes to check the smoke detectors every summer.

When I went to Peru I was reminded of what it was like when I first came to Japan! Yes, I studied Spanish in high school, for three years. That was, um, several years ago. I did remember the word for luggage because that was one of my sister's friend's favorite words and we said it all the time, rarely in context. But, I got to use it in context while in Peru!

Anyway, even though I have studied Spanish in the past, not much of what I learned would come out of my mouth. I could understand bits of things here and there, especially since some words in Spanish sound similar to English words-unlike Japanese where NOTHING sounds like English! (Okay, so they have borrowed some words from English, but escalator and ice cream don't come up in every day conversation all that much!) So, I sort of understood things, sometimes, but whenever I tried to say something in Spanish, Japanese came out of my mouth! Not so helpful!

What was helpful was that Compassion provided translators for us to aid in communication while we were in Peru. Our family group had a lovely translator named Patty.


Another translator who traveled with us was Fernando (on the right).


Our tour guide and main translator was Soledad (Here she is helping fry chicken! She did everything!).


And, the person who made it possible for me to communicate with Magally all day was Niko.


I am so glad that God gives the gift of languages! These people, and all of the others who traveled with us, have been given a gift from God and are using it for His glory.

I have a renewed desire to study Japanese more, now, so that when you come visit me in Japan I will be able to be an effective conduit for communication! Ask me how I am doing! Keep me accountable! And, most importantly, COME VISIT!

Volunteers and Education

One of the most amazing parts of the Compassion Child Development Center Program is that it is basically volunteer-run. The volunteers are incredibly well-trained teachers who love God and love children. At the first center we visited I was watching the teacher of the youngest children and wondering how they got such a quality teacher to work there and how they paid her. When I asked and learned she was a volunteer I was floored. I don't know what they do in their training, but it is working! These volunteers are amazing! I am sure you are wishing you had them to work with you in your church/charity!

I suspect that the reason they are so amazing is because of what they are committed to: helping release children and their families from poverty. Many of the volunteer teachers are parents or grandparents of the children attending the centers. They see the difference Compassion has made in their child's/grandchild's life and want to be part of it.

What a lovely reflection of God's love! Thank you, God, for these lovely people who are committed to You and Your work through Compassion, the Child Development Centers, and the local churches.

The BIG Day!

September 15, 2011 will go down as one of the best days of my life. It was the day I saw Magally emerging from a crowd of children walking straight into my arms. No introductions necessary. No waiting for a translator to translate our greetings. Just pure joy and love.

Magally and I started out on this journey six years ago. My previously sponsored child left the program for some reason and Magally's sponsor left the program for some reason. And, because God is sovereign, Magally and I got matched up. Wow, did God know what He was doing!I am pretty sure Magally writes more letters than anyone else's sponsor child. I cannot keep up with her. She loves to tell me about what she is learning in school or at the child development center or about her family, especially her grandpa. (I found out from her mom that her grandpa favors and spoils her:) I had to start writing notes to myself on the letters she wrote so I could remember what questions I had answered or what questions I had asked. Since many of our letters crossed in the mail, we often got information from each other twice.
When we greeted I gave her a little photo album. She opened it and immediately pointed out not just me, but also my parents, sister and brother-in-law. She remembers my birthday. When our translator asked how she recognized me, she pulled her Bible out of her bag and showed us the back. There was my picture glued to the back cover with hearts and stickers and my name. One of the many times during the day that tears sprang to my eyes!The morning was spent at the Lima Zoo. When I look at my friends' pictures from the day I realize there is a lot of the zoo we did not see. We got a little sidetracked in the jungle section. Magally lives in the jungle. (She and her mother took an 8 hour bus ride to spend the day in Lima with us! Then, they took the night bus home so that she could go to school in the morning!) She had a great time telling us all about the plants and animals in that area of the zoo. She told me about how bananas grow, pointed out a coffee plant, and told us about her favorite foods.
Her goal for the morning, though, was to see the giraffe. Our translator, who was also the photographer and keeper of the map, did an excellent job of moving us through the zoo so as to end at the giraffe/zebra area. There is an animal whose name sounds like Magally, which we all got a kick out of, especially when another group came up to the sign and read it. We thought they were saying Magally! I wish we'd taken a picture there!
After a few hours at the zoo, we all loaded our buses and headed to a restaurant. It was amazingly difficult to part, even for a few minutes to go to the restaurant! We were all laughing and crying and telling stories on the bus. Magally and I spent the morning walking close together, followed by her mother and our translator. It is amazing to feel that much love for someone you've only just met, although you've known them for many years. This is another thing I didn't know before I started out on this journey. I didn't know I loved Magally this much.And, then we got off the bus at the restaurant, and joy again! We sat at the table, the four of us, surrounded by all of the other sponsors, translators and children, yet completely unaware of them. We had a good laugh about me liking my food plain and not touching. On the bus to the restaurant Magally had found the picture of me eating sushi. She was a bit taken aback by what sushi is. She had written me recently about going to a waterfall so I had a picture of me at Sioux Falls in the album. I joked that it is so small that when I stand up I am taller than it. That got a good laugh, too.To give our translator a little break-and the pressure on us of talking all the time- I pulled the origami paper out of my bag. We made the easiest thing, the cup, very quickly. We moved on to the morning glory which we practiced twice, and then made the balloon, very exciting to actually blow it up! While we were doing origami our leader told us that if we had presents to give, now was the time to do it. So, I excused myself and ran to the bus.Magally was so grateful for each thing that was in the bag that I got for her. She was excited to use the bag for school-the next day! I was glad that I'd gotten a few things for her to share with her sister. She told me that her sister's sponsor is old and will probably never get to visit. (I don't know how old 'old' is...!) With each new thing she pulled out of the bag, I got a hug, even the toothbrush. (I picked the right color, purple!)
Then the dreaded time came, time for good byes. I didn't know that my heart would feel like this. I am so proud of the young woman Magally has become. I am so blessed to have been a part of her life for the past 6 years. I am praying hard that she is selected for the LDP program! If so, then I get to continue to sponsor her!Oh, Heavenly Father, thank you for prompting me to take part in this adventure of sponsorship and the sponsor tour. I am so blessed I think my heart is going to burst. What a mighty God we serve!

Gratitude and Joy

I learned a lot about these two words from the people in Peru. From the Compassion Peru office to the Child Development Center Directors/Pastors to the volunteer teachers to the parents to the children, joy and gratitude were on every face and in every action, probably in every word, too, but I didn't understand them all!



I did not understand the depth of the importance of our visit until our first center visit on Monday afternoon. The forty of us sponsors and our translators arrived on two big buses. We arrived in front of a white stucco church with a beautiful iron gate to all of the children of the center standing outside, lining the path and entrance to the church, many holding balloons, some in native costumes, and ALL were cheering like we were the most famous person you can think of. They were cheering because sponsors, not even their sponsors, had come from America to visit them, to play with them, to learn from them, to love on them. What joy! And, yes, tears were falling as we got off the buses. We wanted to be cheering for them, to tell them that THEY are our heroes. All we could do was let the tears flow as we smiled and greeted the children, staff, and pastor.



As we toured the center and learned about what the children learn and do there, we were greeted with gratitude for our part in ministering to children. It is humbling to be thanked by a volunteer teacher who spends her time teaching children about health, relationships, and God when all you do is send a little money each month and sometimes write a letter.




As we visited homes of families who benefit from Compassion's ministry, more times than I can count, I heard "Thanks be to God for..." Our economic situations are much different, but I was reminded what it means to give thanks in all situations.







This mother touched my heart. She is a single mother and volunteer teacher. She spends three afternoons a week volunteering at the child development center, teaching children, because she is grateful for the way God has worked in her life. She wants a different life for her daughters. She knows that God must be part of that life. She is grateful.


I saw pure joy on this little boy's face as we played with this little yellow car. He loved rolling it back and forth and didn't even mind when the girl next to him snatched it before he could. His laughter was contagious. Like so many of the other children, he taught me about joy, completely enjoying the moment we are experiencing, while we are experiencing it.


I wish the words I am using could truly express what is in my heart. I cannot get on the screen what I am feeling in my heart. I am continuing to learn from these wonderful people and experiences what true gratitude and joy are. Maybe if the words form I will share them.

Children

Something I learned in Peru, well, was reminded of, children are children. It doesn't matter what the location, economic situation, family life, etc., children want to be loved, to be hugged, to play with people who are safe. The children we met live in conditions I could never have imagined had I not seen with my own eyes. They have family lives that are not ideal. They have parents who work hard to provide all they can. They have dreams. They love to learn. They love to play. They love to laugh. Do you know children like that where you live? I do, too.

I watched these precious children run to any and all of us, looking for hugs and a playmate, holding hands with people who don't speak the same language. They may really have no idea where the US or Japan are. They don't really care. They know that we care about them. That is all that matters.

So, we visited their classrooms, looked adoringly at their artwork, watched their amazing teachers interact with them. We let them guide us away from our groups to show us something special. We gave out stickers and bracelets and origami. We swelled with pride as they showed us what they had made. We were humbled as they gave us the precious items they had made, some specifically for us, some to be sold.

Our hearts were ripped open, wider than we thought possible. And, children crawled inside those rips, taking up space we didn't know we had. Smiles and tears mingled with pride and love as we spent time with these precious children.

God is doing something big. He is using unworthy people to help children rise out of poverty. He is touching hearts of people of 'wealth' to be His hands and feet and heart to children and families in poverty. And, it is working. Children are growing up healthier. They are learning trades and creativity. They are learning about their loving, heavenly Father.

God is at work. I am humbled, grateful, and filled with joy.