Will You be my Friend?

In preparation for my Colombia trip, I am trying to find sponsors for these 4 beautiful Colombian children from CO517!

They live in the coastal region of Daniel Lemaitre.  Typical homes are made of wooden walls, cement roofs, and dirt floors.  Average income in this area is $95 per month working as street market vendors.

All four of these children are ABOVE AVERAGE in school! 

Jonathan

Jonathan is 9 years old. He lives with his parents and 1 sibling.  He enjoys playing a musical instrument, soccer, and telling stories.

Ana

Ana is 9 years old. She lives with her parents and 1 sibling.  She enjoys art, ball games, and group games.

Josue

Josue is 5 years old. He lives with his mother.  He enjoys soccer, listening to music, and playing group games.

Isaac

Isaac is 7 years old. He lives with his parents and 1 sibling.  He enjoys soccer, ball games, and group games.

Please consider sponsoring one of these precious children! I promise it will change their life and yours in the process!

Random Acts of Kindness

On Memorial Day, I decided to take my "little" cousins to our local flea market.  We had a morning of fun and laughter.  As we were shopping, I was looking for something special. I was looking for sunglasses for my four beautiful, little girls in Colombia whom I will be visiting in 3 1/2 months. I found some I liked, but wanted to check out others before buying.  In the end, we went back to that vendor and I chose four different colors of sunglasses.

As I went to pay, the gentleman looked around me and asked if the kids I was purchasing the sunglasses for were with me.  I told him, no, they live in Colombia.  He asked if they were exchange students and I was able to explain a little bit about Compassion and how I will be visiting the girls I sponsor.  He expressed concern about "some of those organizations" and I told him that Compassion does so much more than they even say.  He told me it was good to know there are organizations out there like Compassion.  He then proceeded to tell me my total-"How about $10."  I am pretty sure I stared at him with my mouth wide open, as the total I had calculated was $18. I sincerely thanked him. "Just tell the girls they look like movie stars in the glasses." That man may never know how much his random act of kindness meant to me.  It wasn't about the money, but the fact that he appreciated my passion for sponsorship touched my heart. I was nearly moved to tears.

Never underestimate the power of a random act of kindness.

So Close, Yet so Far!

My next Compassion trip is to Colombia in October.  I think I am having trip withdrawals right now.  I was blessed to be able to visit three Compassion countries within a one year span, and by the time I take my next trip, it will be over a year since my last trip!  From today, that's 139 days, or about 4 1/2 months. It feels so close, yet so far away! Patience has never been one of my strongest virtues so those numbers seem like an eternity! Yet, I know the time will go fast as flights will need to be booked soon, gift shopping must continue, itineraries will come, and finally packing will commence. Packing alone will try my patience as there just NEVER seems to be enough room or weight!

I am beyond excited for this trip, I am still amazed at how perfectly God has been working out the details.  Not only will I be able to visit a new part of Colombia, but I will be able spend time with some of the sponsors and translators from my previous Colombia trip! I can't wait to spend time with the beautiful children and families of Colombia!

Meet My Girls:

I will be re-visiting Sara and Daniela whom I met April 2013.  I am anxious for my first return visit to see how we bond the second time around. I feel that having our past meeting under our belt, those "awkward" first moments won't be there. Hopefully we will pick up right where we left off!

Sara-age 12, Me, Daniela-age 9

In addition to Sara and Daniela, I will be meeting two new little girls for the first time.  They are both new correspondents from the last couple of months. Valery and Angie have captured my heart without even receiving their first letters yet.  I am so anxious to get to know them through letters, and I just can't wait to be able to hug them!

  

Valery-age 6                                           Angie-age (almost)8

Meeting four girls at once will be a first for me! I was able to manage three in Honduras, so hopefully four won't be too difficult!  I am praying that they will all get along, even create a special bond. (My gut feeling is that they will!) I am open to gift suggestions! I am trying to avoid repeats for the older girls.  I am also hoping for some "outside the box" suggestions! 

I have been so blessed by the children I sponsor and the correspondents God has chosen for me.  I believe God has brought each child into my life for a special reason.  I just can't help but get excited to spend time with these four beautiful young ladies!  This is probably the ONLY time I will ever wish away summer. Come on October! Get here FAST!!!!!

Colombia Dreamin'

Even before my most recent trip to Honduras, I have been looking forward to my next trip...which is to...well, I didn't know for sure.  I have now visited all the girls that I sponsor so I had planned on starting my line up over...Ecuador, Colombia, Honduras.  I prayed about being able to re-visit my children and and that God would work things out in His time.  The trip details posted for August 2014 to Ecuador in November, and I was really interested, however, there was 1 detail that kept me from signing up so I waited. I prayed about where to go, maybe God had a different plan than I did. There is a trip to Colombia in October 2014, the waiting just about killed me, but the trip details finally posted in January.  As with many things regarding Compassion, I had thrown out a "fleece"-a very specific one that would either "lock" me into the Colombia trip or would leave it all wide open and up for further prayer. Reading the Colombia trip details showed that my "fleece" was wide open, the 1 thing I had asked for was just a tiny bit outside of my range. Yet, as I went over the details and prayed for wisdom, I felt a peace.  I felt that God chose Colombia for me for this year.  I am very excited to be visiting a new part of Colombia-Cartagena!  I will also be able to hug these two girls once again!

Sara                                                Daniela

In preparation for my trip, I have information packets on 5 beautiful children from project CO520 near Cartagena. If you are interested in sponsoring one of these darling children, please let me know! 

This is Yosselyn, she lives in Colombia. She is 5 years old and lives with her parents and a sibling. She is too young to attend school. ! Isn't she a doll??????

This is Diego, he lives in Colombia. He is 5 years old and lives with his grandfather and his mother. He is not attending school because he is too young. He enjoys soccer and art.  How cute is he???

This is Karol, she lives in Colombia. She is 11 years old and lives with her parents and 2 siblings. She enjoys rolling a hoop and playing with dolls. 

This is David, he lives in Colombia. He is 12 years old and lives with his parents and 3 siblings. His school performance is above average and he enjoys soccer!  (he even shares my birthday!)

This is Jimmy, he lives in Colombia. He is 9 years old and lives with his parents and 2 siblings. His school performance is above average!

A Gift from God

Well, my trip to Honduras ended 4 months ago, and my, does time fly!  I have blogged about meeting Laura and Dayana, but have yet to tell the rest of Heidy's story. The first part of Heidy's story happened about 3 weeks before I even left for Honduras - you can read about it here. God blew my mind with His hand in all the details of sponsoring Heidy.  And I was blessed beyond imagination with the time Heidy and I spent together.

A few days before our trip began, we were informed that it wasn't going to work out to visit the second project on our itinerary, so we would return to our first project (Heidy's project HO372) on the second day for church service.  When our bus pulled up, I began to search for my Heidy, and it didn't take long to find her holding a sign with my name (misspelled, but who cares?).  I got to spend the day dancing and playing with this beautiful young lady.  She was quiet and wasn't overly excited about participating, but laughed when I took her hands and did some of the motions along with the group.

Our wonderful tour leaders arranged for the sponsors who had children at this center (there were 3 of us) to visit their child's home.  It was an amazing experience to be able to visit Heidy's home and meet her mother. The next day we returned to the project for a special church service. We were able to enjoy the service and also participate in Communion with the congregation. Heidy stood by me and sat on my lap all during service. Afterward we took a photo with the pastor, her mother, and her friend.

Heidy was shy and quiet, yet very loving.  Her mother kept telling me how excited Heidy was that I was there.  She was huggy and clingy; it was VERY hot, but I didn't mind :)  

Then came Monday-FUN DAY! I was able to see Heidy for the 3rd day in a row.  And on that day, I got to see more of the "real" Heidy.  With the other girls around she was able to open up a bit more and play.  I got to see her face light up with a beautiful, genuine smile.

At the end of the day, Heidy held on to her doll tightly and got very quiet.  As we walked to the buses, I was walking with Laura (as she was always the first to claim my hand) and Heidy began to lag a bit behind.  She got the attention of our translator because she wanted me to know that she loved me with all of her heart.  This, coming from a girl who just learned she had a sponsor a week before I showed up; coming from a girl who still knew me so little after only a few hours each day; from a quiet, shy little girl...THIS touched my heart to the core.  The words and smiles from this beautiful little girl remind me what sponsorship is all about. I was there for HER and yet, in so many ways, she was there for ME.

My precious little Heidy is beautiful gift from God.

Poverty: Why Can't We Just Fix-it?

Today's society is a "fix-it" society.  If something is not what we see as "normal," "good," or "fair" we deem it "broken" and in need of being "fixed."  Some people put in excessive time and effort to right the wrongs of this world, while others simply throw money at the "problem" until it goes away.

Poverty is one such issue that is often considered a "problem" to be "fixed," however, I challenge you to view it in a different light:

"Poverty is not necessarily an issue to solve; it is an opportunity to serve.  As we go through each day, our heart's cry should be, Lord, where would you have me give, serve, and invest myself to bring hope to the poor?"
~Orphan Justice author, Johnny Carr

While visiting the beautiful country of Colombia, the Compassion staff encouraged us not to view the poverty we saw as something to be "fixed," but as a place for us to serve, to come along side people, and offer them hope and encouragement for the future.

We met sweet young Mai, whose father is not a part of his life, but he knows that God is his father, and he has hope in knowing that God cares about him.

I was able to spend time with this beautiful young lady.  While I wish I could remember her name (I think I met about 100 children that day), I will always remember her face and her precious hugs. Her capacity to love was amazing!

We met so many children who were so happy to tell us about their sponsors-from Canada, the USA, Australia, and all over the world.  Spending time with us may be as close as they ever get to meeting their own sponsors, but I hope we were able to bring even a fraction of the joy that they brought us.

Saying good-bye to my precious angels

Sponsoring a child doesn't instantly fix their situation or solve the issue poverty...but it does give them hope.  Gives them hope in a brighter future. Shows them that someone cares about their life, that someone loves them-even if they have never met them. So please, consider sponsoring a child and giving them help they need, love they crave, and hope they deserve in the name of Jesus.

Behind the Smile

Behind this beautiful smile, who is this little girl?

Is she the happy-go-lucky little girl she appears to be?

Is she able to do the things all little girls do?

Does she play with dolls?

Does she play dress up with her friends in their mother's high heels?

Does she giggle and play in the school yard?

Does she jump rope and play tag?

Does she dream of growing up to be a teacher, doctor, or scientist?

Does she dance on her daddy's toes and feel like a princess?

Does she cuddle with her mama and hear her affirming words of love?

Behind these sparkling eyes, what is really going on?

Does she have enough food to eat?

Does she have clean water to drink?

Does she have enough clothes to wear?

Does she have a bed to sleep on?

Is she cold at night?

Does she even have a doll of her own?

Does she have the love and affection all children crave and deserve? 

Does she know she has value?

Does she know that who she is is more than enough?

Does she know God loves her?

All I really know about this darling little girl is that she is from Colombia and this very photo received over 1100 "likes" on Instagram.  I have personally been to Colombia and have seen the kind of poverty that many children and families there face.  I have seen the hill-side homes, the dirt floors, and the cramped living spaces.  I have heard the stories of violence, drugs, and fear.  BUT I have also seen the joy and hope Compassion has brought to many of these children.  I have heard the stories and the testimonies of the love of God and the amazing things he has done for His people. You, too, can be a part of that hope; you can be the reason Behind the Smile. Sponsoring a child changes their life and yours.  Please Sponsor a child and find out what is truly Behind the Smile of a child living in poverty.