Guest Blog: Himself "Old Soldier"

This is something Himself wrote a few years back. I thought it was appropriate for Memorial Day.

Teri

I feel subdued today... No, thoughtful is more accurate.

Visited an old soldier today--one I hadn't seen since 1979; Command Sergeant Major Luis Esparza. Upon finishing up the SF training in '78, he was my first boss--one I didn't like, and one I set out to make his life miserable. I was SUPPOSED to go to a Special Forces A-Team, but for some reason I got stuck in a staff job at Battalion level...not something a certain Tall-Good-Looking-Hard-as-Steel-Green-Beret was SUPPOSED to be doing! Nope! I was meant for the coveted A-Team.

(All this from a 20 year old kid with one year in the service--me--doing this to a soldier who came into the army in 1949, was the highest rank an enlisted soldier could be, and who had two wars under his belt.)

With this attitude, I set out to do all sorts of little things to mess with him--like put my nearly 600 pounds of barbell weights in front of my clothes storage locker so he couldn't inspect it as Sergeant Majors do. My imagination for such juvenile things had no limits. Myself and my partner-in-crime Brad would get hauled into his office while the rest of the Battalion staff grew hushed, and we would then get our butts chewed--again. He would yell & yell, and end up with an animated, "Now, got OUT of here!!".

Such memories...

But as of late different memories come to mind. I thought back that after each well deserved chewing-out, if my retreating form happened to turnaround to glance back at him, I saw a much softened look about him usually accompanied with a slight smile. Then it hit me--tho I suppose he had full rights to throw me out of his unit, he was somewhat fond of me despite all my youthful arrogance, and perhaps he was remembering another young solder of 1949. And then it hit me...

...he cares.

Caring can go both ways. Thru the old SF soldier list I found out that now70 year old CSM Esparza had a quadruple bypass surgery recently. Tho from North Carolina he had surgery in Nashville and recovering at his daughter's home here in Clarksville. Then a strange thing happened--the Lord whispered in my heart, "Go see him". I thought, "ME?!" Why, he won't even remember me. And if he does, unless senility has set in he will remember what a PITA (pain-in-the-...) I was. But the heart-felt thought wouldn't leave. So I did see him today...and when I walked into his daughter's home, I was greeted with a--"Oh, I remember YOU!"

Didn't know whether to continue into that home or turn around and RUN!

After that? I sat down and visited with a whole new perspective. Here was a man a fraction of his former size and presence--brought on by a number of ailments that age and diabetes can cause. But in this old soldiers eyes I still saw something larger. Something from before.

Now that we were both retired, I suppose that make us equals. But ya know, a part of me still felt young--like I didn't know anything compared to this man who has been thru so much. 3 hours later we were still trading pictures and stories and memories and, well...life. And when I left this time? I got a different type of send-off...

..."Come back again sometime..."

That meant the world to me. And I will.

D.

PS--The A-Teams came later--after some much needed lessons and growing up of a certain young soldier. Once again, in God's perfect timing, He put me where I needed to be. Maybe for both of us...

Guest Blog: Kristen Welch - Heroes Don't Always Wear Capes

Vincent

This was originally posted on the Compassion bloggers web site. It's a beautiful post about how much your sponsorship means to your sponsor child.

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I sat in a crowded, dank space and listened to the rain water dripping.

I squinted in the dark and leaned in to hear the quiet voice of Vincent, a sponsored child, living in the heart of Kenya, in the middle of Hell, known as Mathare Valley. He was an orphan, a child thrust into adulthood too soon, leading his family of siblings, alone.

He answered our questions with a kindness in his eyes, eyes that lit up when we asked about his sponsor. He said his sponsor’s name in a revered tone and told us words he’d memorized from his last letter. Someone in our group asked if he had a copy of a letter.

He sat on the edge of his couch/bed and reached behind the thin, tattered sheet that divided a small sleeping place and pulled out a much loved, worn letter from under his blanket. Vincent held the paper and grinned as he held up a picture of his sponsor, lightly touching the edges, pride evident on his face.

In that moment I realized the significance of sponsoring a child through Compassion International. Child sponsorship is a small part of our busy lives, but in many ways and circumstances, it is a child’s life. Without sponsorship and the concern and involvement of Compassion, Vincent, in his words, would probably be dead.

In my busy American life, child sponsorship was a dedicated $38 that I didn’t even miss. It was an occasional letter and maybe $10 for a birthday gift. Maybe. Sponsorship was something I did without thinking about every week or even every month. It was another thing, albeit good, that was on my long list. But I couldn’t help think how insignificant it had been to me: a few letters a year, little prayers whenever I remembered …

In many ways, child sponsorship was like an ending for me, something that made me feel good about myself, my contribution, a check off my list. But it is a beginning for a child, a new chance.

Seeing child sponsorship from both perspectives changed mine as I watched Vincent cherish his letter. It came alive to me in that tiny shack. In his soft voice he spoke sincere words I’ll never forget. They echo in my heart: “I pray for my sponsor. I pray for him every day.”

Vincent’s sponsor is a blessed man.

It was something we heard every time we asked a sponsored child about his or her sponsor. They would run and get their letters and say, “I pray for my sponsor.”

If sponsorship rescues a child from poverty, that makes a sponsor a hero.

It’s time I started acting like one.

A Letter from Our Sponsored Teacher in Kenya

Just received this letter from Kenya. It was from the teacher we sponsor at the Galilee School (see my blog post from Oct: http://teri-gonewalkabout.blogspot.com/2009/10/connect-with-teacher-from-kenya.html ).

It's such an easy way to make a difference...

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Dear Teri

I thank Almighty God who has granted me this chance to write to you this letter. I hope you are doing well together with your family.

First of all I am grateful for the support you are offering us and we trust in God to bless you and give you long life.

I am happy to let you know that our form four students of last year (2009) performed extremely well. We are proud because our school was one of the best school in our Division and we appreciate because you also contribute to its good performance. Our teachers are also dedicated and working tirelessly to see that the students perform well. We trust and believe that this year will be just marvelous.

We are heading to the end of the term. The students (1-3) are doing their end term exams while the form fours are preparing for their first mock exams.

Our music students have also started to rehearse this is because we will have music festival when we open for second term and just as always. God has hot deserted us we hope for the best.

Lastly, let Almighty God bless and guide you together with your family.


Be Blessed
Madam Eunice O.

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The below photos were taken in the school Eunice teaches at. The programs are working to improve the school. The first photo shows unimproved class rooms. The second shows new class rooms.

New Sponsor Child - Mairiamu thru Compassion

Last summer in the magazine Compassion sends to its child sponsors, there was an article about a boarding facility for Maasai girls who had run away to escape female circumcision and an early age (11 to 14 years old) marriage to a much older man. Not only that, these girls dreamed of being allowed to stay in school and maybe even have the chance to go to university.

If you would like to read the article, it will take you a few 'clicks' to get there but it's worth the effort. Go to: http://www.compassion.com/sponsordonor/compassionmagazine/default.htm On the left side of the page is a column. Click on "Compassion Magazine". When it expands, click on the Summer '09 edition. It's a PDF so it will take a moment to open. Once open, it is page 8 of the PDF file.

We had just ended our sponsorship of a Maasai girl with another organization due to some "discrepancies" in their operations. So when we read this article we knew we had found a way to help a young girl with an organization that we fully trust.

I called Compassion and requested to sponsor a girl at this place the girls call "the rescuing center". Apparently I was not the only one, as there were no girls needing sponsorship. So I requested to be put on a waiting list.

The other day I had a wonderful surprise when I opened my mail box! In it was a sponsorship packet for a girl from the school. And in a confirmation that this was indeed our new sponsor child... her birthday is the same day as my sweet little Hanna's birthday! (Different year, of course).

So I'd like to introduce you to Mairiamu (mah-ee ree ahmoo). She will be 12 years old in August. She has 5 siblings. Her favorite activities are volleyball and other ball games. Her school performance is above average. She regularly attends church and is in the choir.

I look forward to getting to know her!

Photos - South of the Border

Sorting thru more photos. This time I'm working on the shots from a mission trip in '06 to central Mexico.

Best Friend and I worked with "The Children's Corner"; a place where the children could be entertained while their caregivers were seeking attention at the medical clinic we had set up.

Here are some of the beautiful little faces we got to spend our week with.

Noteworthy Blogs

My favorite blog posts for the last week and a half:


After seeing this house, you'll never complain about lack of space again:
http://tinyassapartment.blogspot.com/2010/03/tah-little-house-of-toronto.html

Now it's Jeff's turn to bring tears with this bittersweet post:
http://sci-teach912.blogspot.com/2010/03/promise-kept.html

Very thoughtful:
http://landofshimp.blogspot.com/2010/03/without-glue.html

Wow! Who would have guessed how this project would turn out:
http://fearlessnesting.blogspot.com/2010/03/rainy-day-project.html

A real life example of the "butterfly effect":
http://blog.compassion.com/because-of-one-act/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CompassionBlogPosts+%28Compassion+Blog+Posts%29

Maybe you'll find your butterfly here:
http://kenyaskidsinneed.blogspot.com/2010/03/fridays-featured-student.html

This quick and easy recipe looks so good:
http://closetcooking.blogspot.com/2010/03/butternut-squash-and-parmesan-pasta.html

Makes me wish I knew how to reupholster:
http://betterafter.blogspot.com/2010/03/enthralled-with-toile.html

A reminder not to forget the little things:
http://belladellasfarm.blogspot.com/2010/03/sunflower-surprise.html

My great grandmother had a large collection of postcards she brought back from her travels. Unfortunately they disappeared after certain relatives visited in her later years...
http://alittlebirdietoldmeso.blogspot.com/2010/03/lake-geneva.html

I've thought similar when photographing abandoned homes:
http://abritintn.blogspot.com/2010/03/house-with-nobody-in-it.html

Another amazing repurposing make-over:
http://allylaughingatthedays.blogspot.com/2010/01/our-apartment-therapy-kitchen-island.html

Guest Blogger: Himself - “A Woman Named Grace”

Please enjoy this story my husband wrote about a happening during our trip to Kenya.


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Sometimes things happen that you can’t anticipate. This happened to Teri and me at a most unusual time—when we were broke down alongside a road. Actually, we weren’t even on a road; we were in the middle of nowhere in some semi-desert scrubland in the Rift Valley in Kenya on our way to see a Maasai child we sponsored thru Compassion International.



In the more remote places in Kenya, you don’t drive on a road—you just drive. And it usually isn’t you driving. You are driven by a Kenyan assigned to a vehicle who seems to know where he is going, at least in theory. Good thing he knew--I swear we passed the same anthill and wildebeest herd a dozen times! Driving along the bumpiest terrain I have ever been jostled along, we rode along in our Land Rover hanging on tight.

Too dry for mosquitoes, the land was prime for dust. No matter how clean you started out, you arrived at your destination dusty. Not that ‘your’ family would notice—they live literally...in the sticks. Their African huts were made of sticks, grasses, ashes and cow dung. (In some of the drier areas, you can’t even get mud...hence, sticky cow dung which helps hold things together.)

Moses

Besides our driver, we had a Compassion representative named Jim, and an older man named Moses who had been our driver to see another Maasai child from another organization. Though a native Kenyan, Moses was a city boy who had never been ‘out there’ seeing such stuff. He indicated he wanted to go—stating that ‘it was like being on vacation’ being out in the wilds at the bottom of the Rift Valley. All we had been requested to do was to pay his employer Moses’ daily wage of $7. We did.

Somewhere along all this we broke down. Great... Don’t recall just what went wrong but soon there were Kenyan butts sticking out from under the vehicle. All of them saying the Swahili word for, “Hmmm...” Not a good sign. Teri and I? We found us an acacia tree to sit under to get out of the sun. Once cooled off we would walk around looking at exotic rocks, plants, and things that slithered. Off in the distance we saw a small family settlement called a ‘boma’--an enclosed camp of Maasai natives and their animals—(Maasai families slept with some of their animals right in their hut.) From this boma we would occasionally see wide-eyed curious kids—but they mainly stayed hidden and would not come near us.

Running out of things to look at I fished out the soccer ball that we were to give our Maasai child, ‘Ntikoisa’. Compassion rep Jim was all for booting it around with me because one, soccer is a bigtime sport for these people, and two, he was as bored as I. A city boy also, he left fixing the vehicle to Moses and the driver, who were still going, “Hmmm...” Teri? She watched Jim and me for a moment...then her eyebrows started going up--which is ‘hmmm...’ for her. Why? Because nearly every bush on the ground had thorns. Informed by Teri that, ‘if ONE thorn punctures this brand new soccer ball, an American AND a Kenyan would be in trouble’; Jim looked between Teri and me. Recognizing the universal sign of ‘woman-with-hands-on-hips’ as trouble already arrived, the soccer ball was soon put up!

After awhile Teri noticed a Maasai woman who was slowly approaching our broken down Rover. She had being walking ‘back and forth’ for some time, finally stopping a good distance away—watching us intently. Teri had watched her just as intently. Then Teri waved. That was all it took and soon she and her infant son were over to visit. A short time earlier help had arrived from the nearest village and with the help also came the headmaster of the Compassion center. He soon found himself translating as these two woman from two different worlds...shared.

This Maasai lady explained that she had seen our crippled Land Rover and had felt helpless to do anything that could assist us. Initially seeing only men from the distance she was afraid to come closer. She then explained that she did the only thing she could—she prayed for us. However, when she saw Teri wave and realized there was a woman with the group, it was then alright for her to come over. Their talk continued on to families, children (including the baby she had strapped to her side), goats and husbands.

Too soon the village mechanic had the Rover fixed and it was time to move on. But before we left, this woman removed a beautiful beaded bracelet from her arm and, catching Teri by the hand, slipped it onto Teri’s arm with the words “remember me”. With the same words in return, Teri removed the bracelet she had put on that morning and gave it to her.

As the Rover chugged back to life, Teri quickly gave her an additional present for her husband... a red baseball cap. It was something he would proudly wear because he had been honored. As we drove off, this Maasai lady full of grace waved good-bye.

This woman’s name? Grace. A woman named Grace. Fitting.

Guest Blogger: Himself on Haiti

Himself writes a monthly column for his hometown newspaper. It's called "Rambling With 'D'". It's a bit of this and that, quite often observations he's made in his travels. In light of the January earthquake, his latest article is about something that he experienced when he was in Haiti years ago.

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“To Care a Little”

I’m sitting in my clinic on a ship anchored near the island of ‘Atka’—part of the Aleutian Island chain. Looking out my porthole I see a world of mountains, snow and water. Oh—and a tree. This island has one visible tree. (One LOST tree!) Though pleasant enough to look at, this scene is a world away from what I am used to.

To help deal with the isolation, wife Teri keeps me up on ‘news from back home’. Her daily emails mention everything from her latest home project to local town happenings to world events. With no radio, TV, or Internet, I don’t hear much from ‘outside’. We do have a small printout of ‘news’, but it mainly deals with sports and finances. Few details. No pictures. Concerning the small bit of world news in it, I have to get clarification from Teri to understand its significance...or its scope.

I was going to write ‘Part Two’ of Russia this month, but with another area of the world in the news and on people’s hearts, I will pause on Russia one month to write about a place closer to us, but in a way even further. Haiti. From what I have heard thru Teri, it dominated the news for weeks. As it should have. You have seen what I haven’t—TV news flashes & newspaper articles galore. I have a single picture from an old newspaper someone brought aboard that was already a week old when it arrived. I cut out a picture of an elderly male nurse from America comforting a young Haitian woman who needed comfort. The picture is priceless. It reminds me to...pray.

I mentioned Haiti being ‘closer to us, yet further’. That is a comparison to other countries I have visited. I didn’t think that was possible until I went there for a month in 1995 as part of the UN Peacekeepers. Up until then I had been in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. I had see places that were poor—some because the actual available resources were scarce, and some because war had reduced the people’s very hearts to poverty. To almost no hope. (That is the worst type of poverty...) Haiti, though not in an actual war, was both. And ‘just a stone’s throw’ (so to speak), from our American shores. Until I went there, I didn’t know.

In the midst of tragedy seen on TV, yet another sad story isn’t what I have to share—but a story of comfort. And dignity. Of a Haitian woman who had little and was about to lose what little she had. Her name was Sonya, a 40-ish Haitian woman who was fortunate enough to get a job ‘as housekeeping’--cleaning our UN Peacekeeping tents & bathrooms daily. A thankless task in that sweltering heat, it was a job she did with efficiency & dignity. Finishing her daily tasks, she would give a quiet ‘thank you and goodbye’ before returning home that evening. Early next morning she started all over again. And at a rate of $7 per day, she was grateful.

I first noticed Sonya in a roundabout way. While working, I noticed she was ‘hiding something’ during her work—favoring her left arm. Turns out she had fallen two weeks earlier and cut her elbow. I didn’t notice at first because she covered up her injury for fear of losing her job. The military unit we replaced—in a hurry to leave--neglected to treat her. It got infected. Badly. By the time I noticed, losing her job was the lesser problem--I feared she would lose her arm below the joint. Being all Haitian workers had been ‘signed over’ to us from the other unit, I inquired what was to happen to her. I got the impression she would be released and another housekeeping woman brought in. Just like that.

It was incomprehensible to me that this could happen—to release an injured worker without even trying to help. To be ‘just left’ like that. What must she think? I admit I don’t understand the legalities, but there had to be something we could do for a worker who had so little, and nothing to fall back on. And now, knowing her name, Sonya wasn’t ‘just a worker’ anymore, she was...a person. A wife. A mom.

Without asking permission, I determined to treat her injury once a day. With no authorization for an anesthetic, I took a brush and scrubbed this deep wound while cringing. Sonya? She would occasionally wince, but outside of that, she was stone faced. Yet calm. I don’t know how she did it. But no matter—I scrubbed and scrapped and rinsed, giving her strong antibiotics at the end of each session while explaining things thru a translator. And I prayed.

Fearing the worst, in two weeks there was a remarkable turnaround--the deep wound seemed to clear and healing tissue started to fill in. By now Sonya’s hide had been punctured from injectable antibiotics and her diet included oral ones. Many bandages had been used--subtly, as this wasn’t supposed to be happening. Sonya, with impassive face, gazed off into the distance through it all.

Then I noticed a change. It was in her face. More—it was her eyes. As treatment came to an end, Sonya watched me wrap her elbow one last time, and then looked up to my face. In her eyes I saw...gratitude. It is like something else had been healed. Her faith. That someone noticed. That someone...cared.

Shortly after this I returned home to Tennessee. Before leaving I asked thru a translator if I could get my picture taken with Sonya. I found out Sonya’s English was better than she let on--at the mention of ‘photo’, Sonya’s hand whipped up to her head wrap as she exclaimed one word, “Oh!” Then I heard one other word—“Tomorrow!” Well, tomorrow came, and Sonya, even though it was her day off, showed up in the cleanest & whitest rough cotton dress you have ever seen. Her best. She also gave me a beautiful wooden mask her husband had carved. It was all she could give. She then stood next to me for our photo together—me smiling, she with that steady & dignified look of hers. But if you look carefully, you can see something else in her eyes.

Hope.

A Hero for Today: Hector Mendez

Just one of so very many heroes in Haiti right now.


Rescuer was woman's last hope in Haiti: 'We told her we won't leave'
By Moni Basu, CNN
January 28, 2010 8:13 p.m. EST


Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) -- A sweet sadness blankets Hector Mendez's face, appropriate, perhaps, for a middle-age man who has seen suffering and miracles at once.

Many other rescuers have left the Haitian capital, no hope left in their hearts 15 long days after the massive earthquake that ravaged this country and entombed so many in the rubble.

But not Mendez.

Every day for more than a week, he has stepped down into the dark crevices of a destroyed building to look for two people: Daniel Varese and his 4-year-old son Mateo.

Mateo's mother, Marylinda Gonzalez Davi, a United Nations employee from Guatemala who has been living in Haiti for four years, was at work when the earth shook violently on January 12. Rescuers pulled her 1-year-old daughter Fabiana alive from the rubble, but there was no sign of her husband and son. She refused to believe they were dead.

Word of her plight reached Mendez, who had arrived in Port-au-Prince with a team of 25 Mexican rescue workers.

"We told her we won't leave. We will stay by her side," Mendez said. He has a grandchild the same age as Mateo.

His orange jumpsuit dulled by dust, Mendez and his crew made camp adjacent to the rubble of the landmark Hotel Montana. They slept out in the open, with Gonzalez and her friend. They took short naps to re-energize. Then they went back in to search.

Each day, they pulled things from the place that Gonzalez called home: a stuffed animal, her husband's computer, a piece of carpet. It helped Mendez to know what room of the apartment they had entered.

He kept moving, deeper and deeper. In search of smell. In search of the slightest sound. Of an infant's whimper, a man's weak cry for help.

Mendez became convinced father and son might be alive. He knows well the science of rescue after doing it for a quarter century.

"There is no smell," he said. And that could mean they were alive.

Even two weeks after the earth shook, people were being rescued. Each gave Gonzalez hope. And that propelled Mendez.

He believes in the power of love. The strong bonds between a man and his child, trapped together. That link, he thought, could be enough to sustain them.

A veteran of many disasters

After a killer earthquake struck his hometown of Mexico City in 1985, Mendez, 46, felt a need to give back the humanitarian gestures extended to his own people. He joined a team called the Topos, or moles, named so because the rescuers wriggled through the deepest darkest corners in search of life.

He volunteered to rush to disasters: to Indonesian quakes, five times; to Latin American countries; to Iran, Turkey, India and Egypt; to New Orleans, Louisiana, after Hurricane Katrina and to New York after the 2001 terror attacks.

Haiti, he said, is one of the worst situations he has seen. "People are very, very poor here." Much of the infrastructure and construction was so shoddy. This was the first time government officials paid for his flight. Usually, he finds his own way.

And that has left him penniless and jobless.

"Who will hire this old man now?" he asked. "People tell me I am mad."

He does the work because he loves to help people. "It's worth it to find one person alive."

Behind him, the incessant sound of a jackhammer deafened the ear. Above him, the roar of jets taking off from the airport. But it was below where Mendez belonged.

Time was ticking.

Sometimes, in the darkness, when he was crawling like a mole, the earth trembled. "Replica! Replica!" some of his men shouted. There was always the fear that whatever was left standing would tumble in the many aftershocks this city has felt.

"We laugh," he said. "We don't scream like ladies. There is nothing you can do inside. You only die once. It would be an honor to die in the rubble."

From other people, the statement might seem trite. But Mendez's eyes make you believe. He is called Chino because people say he looks Chinese. He says he has the look of a fierce Mexican Indian.

After so many days, Mendez was running on two hours sleep -- and hope. But late Wednesday his search finally ended. His men found two bodies buried deep in the apartment.

Mateo was in his father's arms.

In Haiti, Mendez had hoped for a miracle. Instead, he saw more suffering. This, too, will define the curves of his face.

The young whoopers are home in FL!!

Time for some happy news on this blog!!! The class of 2009 whooping crane chicks are now safely in their two wintering locations in Florida. I'm going to miss the daily reports on their progress.

Here for one last time, the last log entry from the migration:

"Date: January 20, 2010 - Entry 3 Reporter: Liz Condie
Subject SAFE, SUCCESSFUL, SAYONARA Location: Citrus Co. FL

Safe - At 10:05am, 901*, 903, 904*, 905*, 907*, 913, 919, 924, 927, and 929 were all on the ground and OM's trikes turned for the return flight to their point of departure at the Dunnellon-Marion County Airport. By the time you are reading this, the birds should be safely ensconced in their large wintering pen set five miles out in the marsh in a closed area of the Chassahowitzka NWR.

Successful - A great wall of emotion hit when I heard Walter's voice on my cell phone advising the last remaining birds in the Class of 2009 were on the ground and already checking out their winter residence. It is always a bittersweet parting. On the one hand it means we have to say goodbye to a group of birds that we've all come to know well, but on the other, it also means that before long they will be starting their new life as truly wild, migrating Whooping cranes, which in turn signals the successful completion of our annual mission.

Sayonara - The Class of 2009 are not the only ones we will be saying goodbye to. The balance of today, and most if not all of tomorrow, will be taken up with all of us - OM's migration crew - packing, organizing, and shuffling our belongings from one vehicle to another (no small job) in preparation for relocating the vehicles and and we occupants to our respective locales. After that, we will all be saying Sayonara to one another at our traditional End of Migration dinner, where some big grins and hard farewell hugs will be exchanged, likely along with a few inevitable tears."

Guest blog for church

I was asked to write a guest blog for my church about Haiti and why we should give to the aid relief.

Here's what I wrote:

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Haiti.

The name doesn't bring up the best images: corrupt government officials, riots, child slavery, voodoo, police brutality, gang violence, deforestation...

You know what? What you pictured in your mind's eye is right.

Maybe you wondering if you should make a donation and how much. Asking yourself why we should help by sending our hard earned money to a place that change comes slowly to. A place that, in all probability, in 10 years will look about like it did pre-earthquake.

Because when Jesus looks at Haiti, He sees something different. He sees Maxene, my sweet little Compassion writing buddy. He sees Sonya, a lady who works hard cleaning for the UN Peacekeepers. And yes, He sees the voodoo witch doctor and He sees the government official who took a bribe.

He sees His children.

Some will be with Him in Heaven and some are lost forever. And His heart breaks for all of them.

We are all now given an opportunity "to do our Father's work". By giving to an aid organization who comes in the name of Jesus, we have the gift of helping spread God's kingdom.

On Sunday the 17th, Grace will be taking a collection for Haiti relief. There will be a display with a donation basket at the Serve table. The donations will be sent to World Vision - who is listed as one of the top ten "most fiscally responsible charities".

Now is your chance.

Do it for Him.

Earthquake in Haiti

Folks, a 7.0 earthquake hit the capitol city of Haiti yesterday. The destruction will be unbelievable. If there was ever a place that needs a show of Jesus' love... it is here, it is NOW.

Franklin Graham is already on the move to get aid down there. http://www.samaritanspurse.org/ Please donate if you can. And pray.

Here is their news story.

>>>Catastrophic Quake Hits Haiti

Samaritan’s Purse sends team, resources to help disaster victims

Samaritan’s Purse is sending a disaster assistance team to Haiti after the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere was rocked by one of the strongest earthquakes to hit the Caribbean in decades.

Samaritan’s Purse dispatched a team just hours after the quake to help with water, shelter, medical care, and other emergency needs. We will focus on medical help, shelter, clean water, and hygiene supplies.

An initial shipment of emergency relief items including rolls of plastic shelter material, hygiene kits, and water purification kits are being loaded onto a DC-3 cargo plane to fly to Port Au Prince Wednesday.

Staff with Baptist Haiti Mission, our local partner, report severe damage throughout the area. Power is out, and there is no water.

The massive 7.0 magnitude earthquake was the strongest to hit the country in 200 years and was felt as far away as Cuba. The tremor sparked widespread panic as it brought down buildings including the presidential palace, hotels, a hospital, and the UN headquarters in the capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince

“It's really a catastrophe of major proportions,” Haiti's ambassador to the United States, Raymond Alcide Joseph, told CNN.

Thousands of people gathered in public squares late into the night, singing hymns and weeping. Many gravely injured people sat in the streets, pleading for doctors.

The death toll was expected to climb into the hundreds, but no official figure has been released so far.

“Everybody is just totally, totally freaked out and shaken,” Henry Bahn, a U.S. Department of Agriculture official visiting Haiti told the Associated Press. “The sky is just gray with dust.”

The earthquake was centered about 10 miles west of Port-au-Prince, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The quake was felt in the Dominican Republic, which shares a border with Haiti on the island of Hispaniola. Some panicked residents in the capital of Santo Domingo fled from their shaking homes." <<<

Using One Word to Fight Your Personal Spiritual Poverty in 2010

An interesting blog from the Compassion blog sight.

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Using One Word to Fight Your Personal Spiritual Poverty in 2010
Written by: Chris Giovagnoni
Posted using ShareThis

Do you talk with God? Or do you talk at Him or to Him?

How much of your prayer life, your conversations with God, is about you? You talking. What you want or need. What you think should happen.

When you’re listening, are you interested in what’s on God’s mind? Or are you really just listening for God to talk about the subjects you choose?

I mostly talk at God. That’s a 99-percent most. God usually can’t get a word in edgewise in “our” conversations. I’m talking. And I’m talking about what I need and what I want, as if they are somehow different, and as if I know better than God what I need.

“Hey God. I’m not interested in that subject. Why do you keep bringing it up?”

But once a year, at the beginning of December, I make an extra effort to get over myself. I ask God, “What do you have planned for us next year?”

It’s like asking your father, “Hey, Dad! What are we going to do this weekend?”

2010 in One Word

So, even though I’m not your father, you should do this:

Ask the Holy Spirit what He has in store for you in 2010. Ask Him to give you a one-word theme for the upcoming year. Not a phrase, not a statement, just a single word.
That last sentence is more for you than for the Holy Spirit. He knows what’s going on.

But this is for you – One Word. It’s a document for you to download, written by Dan Britton, Senior Vice President of Ministry Programs for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

One Word contains suggestions to help you make this “one word” thing a spiritual discipline rather than some nifty hoot of an idea that will quickly fade away like a worn out New Year’s resolution.

This practice of asking God for His yearly theme in my life gives me strength in the tough times. It renews my spirit, giving me a sense of purpose when I feel hopeless, annoyed, angry, afraid … anything but in control and confident.

It helps me stay connected with Christ and His plans for me throughout the year. Not perfectly, but definitely in times I probably would not.

Every year, with a little prayer time, I have found God eager to tell me what He has in store for me in the following year.

Remember this, and I can’t emphasize it enough, you’re not choosing a word. The Holy Spirit is giving it to you.

In 2009, the Holy Spirit laid the growth card on me. And when I told you about it last December, I said it sounded painful.

Well, 2009 wasn’t really painful. But it wasn’t easy either. I got to grow through a lot of old habits and immaturity.

And even though 2009 is almost over, the growth isn’t. The words the Holy Spirit shares with us each year establish the foundation for the words we get in the future, which means I’m going to be growing the rest of my life. Duh!

For me, 2009 was a year to begin getting beyond my “only child” behavior, which tells people the world revolves around me and they should wise up, stop resisting and get with the program.

It seems I’ve made a little progress, because for next year God’s word to me is:

SHINE

It sounds promising.

ELITE LIST: 10 Most Fiscally Responsible Charities

ELITE LIST: 10 Most Fiscally Responsible Charities

Posted using ShareThis

The short list:

1. GIVE KIDS THE WORLD
2. ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND
3. COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL
4. TEACH FOR AMERICA
5. THE NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL
6. MICHAEL J. FOX FOUNDATION
7. HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES
8. INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE
9. BEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY
10. WORLD VISION

Heroes for Today: Football team of Maryville, MO high school

Here is a whole bunch of heroes - the players of the Maryville, MO high school football team. Let's hope they remember into adulthood how good it felt to do this. It might have changed some of their lives...


His team trailing 46-0, Matt Ziesel scored a touchdown.

Matt Ziesel, a freshman on the St. Joseph Benton High School football team, has Down's Syndrome, and so hasn't played an any of the actual games, never mind scored a touchdown... until now. St. Joseph Benton coach Dan McCamy 's team had the ball but were losing 46-0 when he approached opponent Maryville High School's defensive coach David McEnaney, asking Maryville to let Matt Zeisel, a 5'3", 110-lb running back, score a touchdown. Demonstrating great sportsmanship, Maryville agreed, and the moment is captured here in all its video glory: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ylwXOxKb7I

As he headed across the field to talk to McEnaney, McCamy wasn’t sure what the reaction would be. He asked the players to avoid physical contact with Ziesel but to make it as real as possible for him.

“The (Maryville) players, they didn’t hesitate at all,” McEnaney said. “They jumped right on board.”

The Shoeboxes Begin Their Journey

Himself and I took the shoeboxes we collected from church over to the collection point today. Not bad for a first year – we had 53 boxes (plus some were taken over to the Chic FilA). I hope to triple that number next year!

While we were at the collection center dropping off the boxes, Best Friend and Pirate 1 showed up with their boxes. Pirate 1 jumped right in on helping process the shoeboxes. I bet he’ll be helping even more next year!

The display at church.

All of 53 of the boxes at the collection center, ready to be processed.

Pirate 1 helping with processing.

This is what it's about...

"Little Bird's Box" ready to go somewhere in the world.



"Little Red Truck"

A Hero for Today: Efren Peñaflorida - CNN Hero of the Year

CAVITE CITY, Philippines (CNN) -- At 16, Rhandolf Fajardo reflects on his former life as a gang member.

"My gang mates were the most influential thing in my life," says Fajardo, who joined a gang when he was in sixth grade. "We were pressured to join."

He's not alone. In the Philippines, teenage membership in urban gangs has surged to an estimated 130,000 in the past 10 years, according to the Preda Foundation, a local human rights charity.

"I thought I'd get stuck in that situation and that my life would never improve," recalls Fajardo. "I would probably be in jail right now, most likely a drug addict -- if I hadn't met Efren."

Efren Peñaflorida, 28, also was bullied by gangs in high school. Today, he offers Filipino youth an alternative to gang membership through education.

"Gang members are groomed in the slums as early as 9 years old," says Peñaflorida. "They are all victims of poverty."

For the past 12 years, Peñaflorida and his team of teen volunteers have taught basic reading and writing to children living on the streets. Their main tool: A pushcart classroom.

Stocked with books, pens, tables and chairs, his Dynamic Teen Company recreates a school setting in unconventional locations such as the cemetery and municipal trash dump.

Peñaflorida knows firsthand the adversity faced by these children. Born into a poor family, he lived in a shanty near the city dump site. But he says he refused to allow his circumstances to define his future.

"Instead of being discouraged, I promised myself that I would pursue education," he recalls. "I will strive hard; I will do my best."

In high school, Peñaflorida faced a new set of challenges. Gang activity was rampant; they terrorized the student body, vandalized the school and inducted members by forcing them to rape young girls, he says.

"I felt the social discrimination. I was afraid to walk down the street."

Peñaflorida remembers standing up to a gang leader, refusing to join his gang. That confrontation proved fateful. At 16, he and his friends "got the idea to divert teenagers like us to be productive," he says.

He created the Dynamic Teen Company to offer his classmates an outlet to lift up themselves and their community. For Peñaflorida, that meant returning to the slums of his childhood to give kids the education he felt they deserved.

"They need education to be successful in life. It's just giving them what others gave to me," he says.

Today, children ranging from ages 2 to 14 flock to the pushcart every Saturday to learn reading, writing, arithmetic and English from Peñaflorida and his trained teen volunteers.

Our volunteers serve as an inspiration to other children," he says.

The group also runs a hygiene clinic, where children can get a bath and learn how to brush their teeth.

Since 1997, an estimated 10,000 members have helped teach more than 1,500 children living in the slums. The organization supports its efforts by making and selling crafts and collecting items to recycle.

Through his group, Peñaflorida has successfully mentored former gang members, addicts and dropouts, seeing potential where others see problems.

"Before, I really didn't care for my life," says Michael Advincula, who started doing drugs when he was 7. "But then Efren patiently dug me from where I was buried. It was Efren who pushed me to get my life together."

Today, Advincula is a senior in high school and one of the group's volunteers.

Peñaflorida hopes to expand the pushcart to other areas, giving more children the chance to learn and stay out of gangs.

"I always tell my volunteers that you are the change that you dream and I am the change that I dream. And collectively we are the change that this world needs to be."

Amazing elephants - Edie and Emily

Here is an incredible story of just how intelligent elephants are. The two mama elephants are wild living orphans rescued and brought up by the Sheldrick Trust.

When you look at the photos, remember they have been living in the wild for quite a while.


On the 18th Edie brought her calf back to the Voi Stockades, wise enough to know that she needed the assistance of her erstwhile human family to save her baby, who was growing weaker because she lacked sufficient milk to nourish it during such a difficult time. With her were Mweya, Mpala and Morani and Irima. Dairy cubes and other supplements were hurriedly sent down from Nairobi, to help Edie’s milk bar and save little Ella, who thereafter became visibly stronger by the day, her mother having enjoyed supplementary feeding.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to us and the Keepers Emily was trying to do the same, but her baby born last December, being older, was in a much more dire condition and, in fact, not far off dying. Therefore Emily’s journey from Ngutuni was painfully slow because little Eve was so weak, but finally she managed to make the Voi Safari Lodge waterhole, which is about 3 or 4 kms. from the Voi Stockades.

They immediately rushed back to the Stockades to get Keeper Mishak Nzimbi, who has known Emily since the day she came into the Nursery aged just l month. Mishak is, and always has been, the favourite Keeper of all our elephants, irrespective of age, and deeply trusted by Emily. Mishak walked straight up to Emily and her calf who was lying at her feet and was greeted by an outstretched trunk. He had come armed with the supplements provided for Edie, and when the calf managed to struggle to its feet to suckle, he and the other Keepers slowly accompanied Emily and her baby back to the stockades. It was a laborious journey that took the next 6 hours because the baby could only walk a few paces at a time and had to rest frequently, but in the end they made it.

For the next 2 days Emily remained at the Stockades, delighted to find Edie, her baby and some of the group already there, and embrace the newcomers newly arrived from the Nursery, namely Lesanju, Lempaute, Sinya, Shimba, Mzima, Wasessa, Tassia and Taveta. Mercifully, it had already rained in Voi, and the country was turning green, so fresh green grass and new shoots were also readily available. Once little Eve had regained some of her strength, being a wild baby, she took to giving the Keepers quite a run around, but soon understood that they were friends, rather than a foe. Other members of Emily’s unit have since begun to trickle in whilst yet others are still elsewhere. By month end both Emily and her baby along with Edie and hers were well on the road to recovery and were able to move further afield from the stockades.

Edie and feisty little Ella.

Emily and Eve.

Emily, with keepers Julius and Mischak working things out.

Emily following the keepers back to the stockade to bring her baby to safety.

Whooping Crane Class of 2009 is heading south!

I used think that herding cats or kindergarteners was about the most difficult thing you could do. That is… until I started following the reports on the hand-raised whooping cranes that will be following the ultra lights to Florida.

I’ve taken some clips of the “Early Bird E-bulletin” we get every morning. Wow! These folks are really dedicated!! If you'd like to donate to help with the migration, go to: http://www.operationmigration.org/contribute.htm



Date: October 9, 2009
Reporter: Liz Condie
Subject: MIGRATION LAUNCH POSTPONED
Location: Necedah, WI

Today was almost the twelfth consecutive day of no flight training with the Class of 2009. In fact, as a result of poor weather, there have only been a handful of training days throughout the past few weeks. All three Cohorts have been together at the Canfield site for some time, and while they are socialized, until this morning they had not flown as one group. And to say that that was happened this morning, would be considered a bit of a stretch.
All the birds were released from the pen together, but getting them all in the air and following was another story. Here a bird, there a bird, everywhere a bird.


Date: October 13, 2009 - Entry 1
Reporter: Liz Condie
Subject: TWO 'SNOWY' CAMPAIGN UPDATES
Location: Necedah, WI

While Wisconsin may have seen snow in October before, this is the first year we've experienced it before leaving on migration.


Date: October 15, 2009 - Entry 2
Reporter: Liz Condie
Subject: GOING NOWHERE
Location: Necedah, WI
We woke to a third morning of rain and wind, and as the weatherman said, "If you don't like today's weather, wait a while, it's going to get worse." Dropping temps and freezing rain could be in the offing. Ugh.
Obviously, the OM team and the Class of 2009 will once again be going nowhere.


Date: October 16, 2009 - Entry 2
Reporter: Liz Condie
Subject: 2009 MIGRATION IS UNDERWAY - of a sort
Location: Necedah, WI
Six days after our October 10th target departure date, the Class of 2009 finally got off on the first leg of their first migration. Sort of....
Camp came alive early. At 4am the temp was 26F and the sky was clear and filled with stars. There wasn't a leaf stirring on the trees - all signs of a potential fly day. By 6:30, vehicles were being warmed up, and the entire team was in motion.
Just after sunrise this morning (7:17am) all four pilots left OM’s hangar for the short flight to the East pensite. While Chris, Brooke, and Richard circled above, Joe, today's lead pilot, landed and signaled the ground crew to open the pen doors. Bev subsequently reported that six were reluctant to come out of the pen, but eventually they got airborne.
And that's when the Crane Rodeo started.


Date: October 16 - Entry 3
Reporter: Liz Condie
Subject: THE REST OF THE STORY
Location: Necedah, WI
This will be a poor substitute for an exciting lead pilot report, but I'm afraid for today you will have to make do with me as other pressing duties are keeping Joe away from his computer this afternoon.
By the time the dust...er.. cranes settled this morning, we had all 20 birds safely tucked in a pen - but in four different locations.
Back at the East site, from whence this willful bunch of 20 recalcitrants began this morning, are: 912, 918, 927, and 929. In the pen at the West site are: 901, 907, 910, 904, 913, 914, 919, 911, and 903. Keeping each other company at the Canfield site are 905 and 925.
Thanks to 906, 908, 915, 924, and 926 - and their fearless leaders, pilots Brooke and Richard, we can say the 2009 migration has officially begun - sort of. Brooke managed to lead three birds and Richard two, over to the our first Juneau County stopover site. Bev and Brooke have already moved to that location where they will remain camped until our next move.


Date: October 17, 2009 - Entry 2
Reporter: Liz Condie
Subject: FOUR MORE AT STOPOVER #1
Location: Necedah, WI
Joe, Richard, and Chris took to the air again shortly after 4pm to try and take advantage of the late afternoon calm. Erin and Geoff manned the pen doors for the release. Four of the 13 chicks that remained on the refuge, (those at the East site) are in the air (following Richard) and are enroute to Stopover site #1 where Brian Clauss is waiting to call the birds down.
CraneCam viewers were treated to quite an extended view of the departure as the trike circled around giving the chicks time to 'latch onto the wing'.
Now we have 11 birds at Stopover #1 and 9 still at the refuge. It may not be the fastest way to do a migration leg, but it is progress - - and we'll take it!


Date: October 20, 2009
Reporter: Liz Condie
Subject: AM I ALLOWED TO SAY, "D--N"?
Location: Necedah, WI
Although east winds opened a potential window for us this morning, we thought a flight today might be a challenge – and it proved to be that and more.
The pilots deployed for an attempt to lead the nine chicks remaining at the West pensite to our Stopover Site #2, as well as to pick up the 11 birds from Stopover Site #1 and lead them there as also.
Everyone was off and running - Heather and Erin to release the birds at the West pensite; Bev and Geoff to Stopover site #1 for the release there, while Brian Clauss went to get in position in the tracking van. Jack Wrighter, Gerald Murphy, and John Cooper were each in a vehicle at the East, North and Canfield pensites to play swamp monsters, in person or with vehicle horns, in case birds decided to land out there.
When Heather and Erin released the birds, Joe, today’s lead pilot, got eight of the nine into the air. One bird, 911, hung back and wouldn’t come out of the wet pen. (Poor Erin got a freezing cold soaking trying to coax him out of the wetpen.) Despite Joe circling and circling to try and get the birds to form up on his wing, they wouldn’t cooperate, and it was another Crane Rodeo.
While Joe flew off with one bird on the wing, Richard swooped in to help with the round-up. And Brooke, who had been on his way to Stopover Site #1, turned back to also lend a hand.
Eventually they got seven birds back on the ground at the West pensite, which, including 911 who never got out of the pen, made eight. Joe managed to make it to Stopover site #1 with his one bird, 907.
So the scorecard now reads: 12 at Stopover Site #1 and 8 still on the refuge. I guess that's progress - but d--n, will we ever get going?!?


Date: October 21, 2009 - Entry 1
Reporter: Liz Condie
Subject: ONE WORD TELLS THE TALE
Location: Necedah, WI
Today's story can be told in just one word - rain. The inclement weather moved in last evening, persisted through the night, and as it continues, negates any opportunity to fly this morning.
Heather and I are debating whether this is, "Operation Stagnation" or, "Operation Frustration". Seeing this is the 12th morning past our target departure date, I guess both descriptors work.


Date: October 22, 2009 - Entry 2
Reporter: Liz Condie
Subject: DIFFERENT DAY - SAME STORY
Location: Necedah, WI
Maybe weathermen have a quirky sense of humor. This morning's forecast called for a 40% chance of rain - despite the fact that it hasn't stopped raining since early last evening. Large or small, every indentation in the ground is brimming with water. The puddles are everywhere - and they are likely to grow larger as the prediction for tomorrow is a 100% chance of rain.


Date: October 23, 2009 - Entry 1
Reporter: Liz Condie
Subject: MIGRATION DAY #8
Location: Juneau Co. WI
You might think that with all of our trailers and motorhomes parked within steps of each other, that communication between team members would be a simple matter. The reality is that at any one time we can have 16 people all going in different directions and all doing different jobs. Not surprisingly, this often leads to several left hands not knowing what the right hands are doing. In the absence of knowledge, assumptions are made.....and you know what they say about ‘assume’.
This is how today got to be Migration Day #8. Yes, that's right, it's Migration Day #8. But, no, you haven't missed anything. While I’ve been waiting for ‘a departure flyover’ and all of the birds to be at Stopover #1 to begin counting Migration Days, I discovered that Joe has been updating the Whooper Hotline daily counting October 16 as Migration Day #1. Sooo, that is how today, October 23rd, got to be Migration Day #8.
Yesterday afternoon, the last eight birds still on the refuge made an inauspicious departure when they were crated and moved to Stopover Site #1. Hopefully, the strange location will encourage their attentiveness and loyalty to the aircraft on the next leg of the migration.
A whooping big thank you from the Class of 2009.


Date: October 31, 2009 - Entry 1
Reporter: Liz Condie
Subject: WIND-CONSIN OR WET-CONSIN?
Location: S. Juneau Co. WI
Last year, for obvious reasons, we took to calling the Dairy State, 'Wind-consin'. This year however, 'Wet-consin' has been struggling mightily to wrest away the title - and it may be winning. Yet another fight broke out between them last evening as Wind fought Wet in a titanic battle that raged on through the night.


Date: November 1, 2009 - Entry 2
Reporter: Liz Condie
Subject: BREAKING NEWS 8:40am CST-ish
Location: Sauk Co, WI
It appears as if the cranes and planes are coming in to circle the pen at Stopover #3 in Sauk County - and - it appears as if they have all 20 birds. No doubt you'll be as anxious as I am to read the lead pilot's report of today's flight.
Tune in later this afternoon. Note that it could be quite late this afternoon before it can be written and posted. Everyone now has to drive back to the refuge, pack up, disconnect, and secure our motorhomes, hook up trucks and vans to trailers, clean up and break camp, drive the 60 road miles back to our new camp site, and then get set up there.


Date: November 5, 2009 - Entry 1
Reporter: Liz Condie
Subject: SO LONG WISCONSIN - - HELLO ILLINOIS!!
Location: Green Co. WI
DistanceTraveled: Green Co. WI to Winnebago Co. IL - 34.0 Miles
Accumulated Distance: 130.4 Miles
As you can tell by the subject line above, we've left Wind-consin (or Wet-consin) behind and are now in flyway state number two, Illinois - or as Brooke calls it, "the land of flat".
As darkness fell yesterday it got colder and colder. That was good news. The return of the chilly temperatures heralded a change in wind direction. As the winds swung around from the south to blow from west and then from the NW, the temperature continued to drop.
By early morning it was 29F, and while we had almost negligible westerly surface winds there were gusts up to 2mph. Aloft the NW winds were stronger, reading around 10mph which meant if it wasn't to trashy, the planes and cranes would have a tailwind to give the a little push.


Date: November 7, 2009
Reporter: Liz Condie
Subject: Migration Day 23
Location: Winnebago Co. IL
As with yesterday, today's weather is not amenable for a flight with cranes and planes. We have a mild 54F. But even on the surface the winds are strong, 5 - 9mph out of the SW, and aloft they are blowing a stiff 35 to 40.
Whether you say it in Spanish, - demasiado viento; in French - trop de vent; or in German - zu windig, it's too windy. This will be Down Day #2 in Winnebago County, IL.


Date: November 8, 2009 - Entry 1
Reporter: Liz Condie
Subject: Migration Day #24
Location: Winnebago Co. IL
If, instead of being in Illinois, we were in Holland, Poland, or Italy, we would describing this morning's conditions as: te winderig, zbyt wietrznie, and troppo vento, respectively.
Yes, once again it's too windy for the cranes and planes, so this will be Down Day #3 in Winnebago County.

Writing Buddies - Photo Update

Besides the sponsored kids, I have 6 "writing buddies" thru Compassion. For whatever reason, their sponsor don't write. So I (and others) get to fill the gap with these kids. Each month I send a letter talking about all sorts of things like upcoming holidays, places we visited on a trip, what I have been doing at church and so on. I try to find a coloring page that somehow relates to the letter. It's a lot of fun.

Alomgir from Bangladesh

Angel from Guatemala

Felix from Dominican Republic

Franklin from Boliva

Kevin from El Salvador

Merlyn from Peru