My Lifelong Goal

I don't think I realized it until lately, but goal for my entire adult life has been to help children, including teenagers, know that they matter, that they are beautiful, that they never need doubt themselves.  My parents never said those things to me.  Actually, they called me a troublemaker and other names I wouldn't repeat anywhere, especially here.  That's probably one reason I have always avoided cursing, not because I think I'm better than others, but because of those memories.  But I digress.
As a teacher, I try very hard (not always successful) to encourage students and never to say anything that would make them feel bad about themselves (my heart breaks when I think of the times I have failed).
This weekend, I went to Walmart.  I never go to Walmart for several reasons, but I was close on Saturday, so I went.  I saw one of the little girls who was in my Vacation Bible School group in July.  I was so, so happy to see her again, and she smiled at me the entire time I talked with her. She has such a sweet spirit.  I told her what a great person she is, although she has parents who tell her that daily.
On Sunday, I worked at our church at what we called "Oasis Place After the Race."  The Rock and Roll Half Marathon was held here in Virginia Beach on Sunday, and since our church is right at the oceanfront, we are prevented from having our first two services.  So we set up an "oasis" where the runners and their families--and anyone else--could get food, water, prayer, communion, music, and best of all . . . the children could make pinwheels.  That was my job.  For two straight hours, I helped children make pinwheels.  Nonstop.  We were quite popular.
With every pinwheel, I did all I could to encourage each child about the good job he or she was doing, and to compliment the children on their appearance and their skill at following directions (so different from high school students!  Ha.).
I asked one little girl if anyone had ever told her she was pretty.  She said, "Yes," at which her mother chuckled.  I said, "Well, that's good because you are, and I want you to promise me that you will remember that for the rest of your life, no matter what."  She was probably only about three years old, but I do pray that somehow what I said to her will make a difference in a dark and lonely time later in her life.  Because we all have those times, don't we?
So that little rambling story pretty much tells the reason I am passionate about being a Compassion sponsor and a Compassion advocate.  I want children to feel loved and important.  Because they are.

One of the little girls who made a pinwheel

What I Learned about Isaac

Isaac is the first Compassion child I sponsored.  Well, I actually began sponsoring him and Francis on the exact same day.
Even though he was only 8 when I began sponsoring him, he has always written his own letters.  (That's a bit unusual.)  The good thing about that is that now that I've learned un poco español, Isaac and I are on about the same level, so I like reading his letters without the translation.  (I can almost do that with the others, but not as completely as with his.)
At first, Isaac hardly wrote much.  I contributed that to his age and the fact that he was writing on his own.
Recently, I received this country newsletter.  If you are a Compassion sponsor, you have received similar newsletters about your children.  I find them very helpful in understanding the children and their lives.
In Isaac's case, I learned that he is a part of the indigenous tribes of Mexico and that the people of those tribes face discrimination from other Mexicans.
Isaac always asks me to pray for his father because he has to work in another place.  I know that many of my children live in areas where there is not much work to be found, and that their parents have to go elsewhere to find work, so I didn't consider that unusual.  I just thought Isaac understandably missed his father.
From this newsletter, I learned that when people from Isaac's culture have to go to other towns for work, they are often treated very badly, so it's not just that Isaac misses his papá, but he is concerned for his safety.
I also learned from this newsletter that children in Isaac's culture are not valued.  How heartbreaking!  For his birthday, he was given a pot, while my other children bought shoes, clothes, toys, and so on.  I couldn't understand why until I read this newsletter.  It also explains why Isaac didn't write much--he probably didn't think what he had to say was important to me.
Since I've gained all this information about him and his culture, I have tried to be even more loving and encouraging in my letters to Isaac.  I want him to understand that he's special.  I hope I can make a difference in his life and his self-esteem.  Most importantly, I hope I can help him to realize how special he is to Jesus.
I am very thankful for these country letters.  They have certainly made a difference for me.

My Sweet Isaac

I received a letter from Isaac in Mexico today with this picture enclosed.
Oh my goodness!  Don't you just want to squeeze him?
Isaac just turned nine, and I love his cute smile.  Boys always have a hard time knowing how to smile for pictures, but they come out looking adorable.  
On the back, he wrote, "Estoy en jardin de mi mama, hay flores, platanares."
That means (although not written perfectly), "I am in my mom's garden, there are flowers, bananas."
I will not correct his comma splice. After all, I just learned his language.  :)
I'm so happy to receive a picture of him other than the official Compassion pictures.  He is only the second out of my eight children who has sent a picture.  I love the fact that I can see him at his home, and I totally love the banana trees, being the fan of all things tropical that I am.
Isaac wrote a rather long letter; I've always been impressed with how well he writes even though he's so young.  He's been writing his own letters ever since I began sponsoring him, which was about 18 months ago.  It's unusual for one so young to write himself.  The cool thing about that is that I've been able to see him mature as a writer.  Oh brother, there I go being an English teacher again!
I write very often to my children--once a week.  At first I was afraid that was too much (how crazy is that?), but they thank me often for sending "muchas cartas."  I pray the letters help them to feel loved.  He says that it is the rainy season where he lives and wants to know if it ever rains where I live.  Hmm--there's a tropical storm headed this way at the moment, so yes.  
This is the part I like the best:  He says his family is happy because they know me through my pictures.  I often think of just the child and me and forget that the family is also involved.  I imagine how good his parents must feel to know that someone in another country loves their son.  :)
Sponsorship rocks.  That's about all I have to say about that!
Even though Isaac writes his own letters, he always draws a picture.  This is the first one without a mountain, but he always has a horse (or maybe it's a donkey), and I think this one might also include a rabbit.  I love it.  I'm glad to see that he has drawn a sun.

Bite Back!

I recently became a Compassion Advocate (more on that at a later time, I'm sure).  Do I feel inadequate?  Reference Moses--You sure you picked the right one for this job, Lord?
For my first official event as an Advocate, I decided I might have a yard sale.  One problem--I live alone, and therefore, didn't really have enough "stuff" to make a good yard sale.  Someone on OurCompassion suggested I ask friends for donations, so I posted a request on Facebook.
To say I was overwhelmed by the generosity of my friends is a vast understatement.  I was amazed at all that I had for the sale.  Of course, that meant a lot of work organizing and pricing (and I'm a perfectionist, so that was fun), but because I had to work four ten-hour days the first three weeks of August, I actually had the day before the sale to organize.  I still didn't get much sleep.
Then there's the little issue I have of anxiety.  I'm really quite afraid of talking to people I don't know, and having a yard sale meant talking to people all day long.  Yikes!  But I put that in the back of my mind and went on with it.
I decided to give the proceeds to Compassion's Bite Back program.  My goal was to raise at least $200.


I raised $200.


I've never had a yard sale before, but I've been told that's a pretty good profit.  Our weather in Virginia Beach had been in the 90's that week, and we'd had a lot of smoke from the Dismal Swamp fire in North Carolina (that stuff can choke an elephant), but the high temperature on the day of my yard sale was only in the mid 80's with an amazing ocean breeze blowing across my screened-in porch, where I held the sale.  No smoke.  No heat.
I'll admit, I was quite nervous when I spoke with the people, and there was a steady stream of people from before 8 AM until noon.  I'm sure they didn't notice my anxiety, but I sure did!
God clearly had His hand on this event.  For the weather to suddenly be so good, for so many people to graciously donate items, to be able to reach my financial goal . . . it was all awesome.
I have only two regrets--no one sponsored any of the five children I had available, and I now have enough stuff to have about 12 more yard sales!
But the important part is that the profits from the sale can buy 20 mosquito nets, and since on net can protect a family of 4 from mosquitos and potentially malaria, that's a potential of 80 people helped by my sale.  That rocks.
I had some Bite Back stickers.  One lady told me she would put that on her car because, "we really need to get rid of the mosquitos in Virginia Beach."  Okay, so she didn't quite get it, but at least that sticker's out there traveling the city.
And with that in mind, here's a video from Compassion that will help you to realize the severity of the malaria problem and the importance of the Bite Back program.  (If you'd like to contribute, let me know.  You'll be saving lives.)

What I Learned at Vacation Bible School

Have you ever read Too Small to Ignore by Wess Stafford?  If not, you must.  One really important point that he makes is how trusting children are of adults, and the important responsibility we have to care the children and NOT to break their trust.

I was reminded of that time and again this week when I was a Crew Leader at Vacation Bible School for a group of five-year-olds.  Another lady and I had twelve of those sweet children in our care.  What amazed me is that they immediately trusted us.  They had never seen me before in their lives, but I suddenly had all the answers and the power to protect them.

Our theme was PandaMania, which I loved because it had a tropical flavor to it.  One young man dressed in a panda suit and walked around the church.  Most of the children loved him and ran to hug him whenever they saw him.  I had one little girl in my group named Whitney who was scared to death of the panda.  Every time we saw him, she said, "Oh no!  The panda!" and clung to me while she either buried her face in my legs or covered her eyes with her hand.

One day our Bible story was about Peter's denial of Christ.  First we heard about some of Jesus' miracles while we were sitting in our normal story room.  Then we had to pretend that we were followers of Jesus after He was crucified, and we had to find a secret place to meet.  As we walked through the hallway, we had to plaster ourselves against the wall if we saw a Roman soldier or a Jewish religious leader (just robes hanging on the wall, but it was pretend, you know).  Whitney and another girl were terrified.  Each girl had to hold my hand, and when we saw a robe hanging on the wall, they pulled me into a corner.

And then don't you know . . . the Panda showed up!

When we finally made it to the secret (rather dark) room, the girls were still petrified, and then Peter showed up.  They kept saying, "I'm really scared" as they clung to me with grips of steel.  

I felt so bad for them because their fear was real.  They were so very afraid.  I felt quite heroic being able to hold and protect them.  I hope I made a difference.

The thing that struck me the most is that they trusted me to protect them from those very scary situations . . . and they didn't know me until a few days before.

I've always been angered by child abuse.  If I ever were given free reign to mete out justice on someone guilty of child abuse, I wouldn't stop.  Just thinking about it angers me.  When I looked at the sweet faces of those trusting 5-year-olds (okay, I know they're not perfect; I saw that, too), I can't imagine how anyone could ever, ever hurt a child.

I thought of the Compassion children I sponsor and the scary things they face each day -- much scarier than a pretend panda and robes hanging on the wall.  I can't be there with them, not like I was with the children last week, but they still trust me.  They trust me to pray for them, to care for them financially, and to be their friend, to develop that friendship through writing.

Every time I looked at those children in VBS, I thought of my Compassion children, and I remembered that they are trusting us, that their need is so great, and that Jesus has commanded us to care for them.

I am so grateful for those children who trusted me and allowed me to care for them.  And I am grateful for what I have learned from them.

Nancy or Michelle?

I received a letter from Nancy Michelle on Saturday.  Her first name is Nancy, but when she first wrote to me (her mother writes for her), she called herself Michelle.  In this letter, she called herself Nancy.  Haha.  When I replied to her, I said, “Hola, Nancy Michelle.”  That way, I’ve covered both names.

So . . . any guesses about what the animal is in the picture she drew?  I say a pig.  A very classy pig with false eyelashes.  :)

She thanked me for her birthday gift again.  She also thanked me for writing to her a lot and said that she receives more letters than the other girls.  YES!!  No, this isn’t a contest, but I am glad that my letters make her feel special.

She (her mother) also said, “Te felicites por esforzaste mucho en las clases de español ya que lo haces por ella.”  That means that she is thanking me for my efforts in Spanish classes because she knows I am doing it for her.  How awesome is that?  What a blessing this little girl is to me!  To think that I can make someone feel so special so many miles away is beyond my comprehension.  Only through God is this possible.

She also sent a picture of her singing in school.  She’s in the back left.  All these little girls look so sweet, “pero mi Nancy Michelle es la más hermosa.”

Birthday Gifts

I received a letter from Isaac thanking me for his birthday gift.  I sent him $25, and he received a pot.  That makes me kind of sad because I want him to have something fun like the other children I sponsor.  The children usually get to pick what they want, so I hope that’s what he wanted.  I hope it made him happy.

This is the picture he drew for me.  I love his pictures.  I just don’t usually know what everything is in them.