(Yes, I said *after* this post...)
I think yesterday I cried my tear ducts dry! With my tearful morning sister conversation (talking about everything from the children in Uganda, the deployed men & women in our military, and songs that make us cry.) And then more reading from the Compassion trip, and watching live coverage of the funeral, and then Kevin coming home lastnight after the funeral (when I gave him the tightest & longest hug I've given in a while.)
Oh yah, and there was that time when both boys were crying (Austin, hysterical for about an hour and Jake on-and-off waking up crying during that same hour)... yah, this mama shed a tear of momentary frustration/hopelessness during that time too! I think I even said outloud, "when is he going to be easier?!?" And then I stepped into the bathroom, got my bearings, whispered a prayer (I think it sounded like "God, help me!") and plugged on, just breathing through it. Like I said, my tear ducts have to be dry by now! So no tears today!
So if you want to see the sweetest thing ever, read THIS post (Shannon describing her face-to-face meeting with the child she's been sponsoring) and then watch THIS short video (of the meeting.) Oh my goodness! If you only have time for one, just do the video, but it is so powerful after reading her account of it and knowing her emotions and the story behind the little boy. If this doesn't tug at your heartstrings, I don't know what will! It's so, so precious!!!!!
This one guy gave an optional family offering to his kid's family, a gift of $20. It put a new ROOF over their home!!!! These children ALL know their sponsors names, and are so thankful to them. You have to read THIS post, so amazing.
I pay a monthly $32 to AKC for Daisy's Pet Insurance. Health Insurance for a dog. Not that she's not worth it, but she has other insurance now so I'm going to be stopping that anyways. And decided to put it towards a sponsorship. But it is funny (not ha ha funny), that I'm paying the same amount to insure my dog in case she gets stung by a bee or something, when the same amount will *change a childs life*. Yes, we are in a tight financial spot (as many people are these days), but I never see the money anyways, and won't miss it.
$32 per month, thats a few Starbucks. And it will buy a child medical care and education. I sound like an advertisement, but it's really just been amazing to see and hear from these REGULAR people! When you see commercials on TV, you never know how real it is, how much money goes to the child, if it really makes a difference. So I go with my first reaction, which is that of skepticism & DOUBT. But hearing from these normal people, with no conflict of interests or different agendas, it's just a very strong testament to the power we have to make a change, even if in just one person's life. Some of those kids will be released from poverty and go on to change others lives. (<-- short video of a child doing just that.)
I mainly just wanted to share Shannon's meeting (story & video), but ended up talking up the Compassion ministry, A . LOT. So there you have it. I will try not to post about this again, because if you are interested, I think I've provided enough links... THEIR words are the ones to be reading!
2/17 Edited to add: Here is a picture of our boy! Though I wanted a child from Uganda (since I've seen how things are over there), I saw that there were kids in other areas of Africa who had been waiting longer for a sponsor. I figured they were probably in similar situations, so I chose him. He's an 8-year-old orphan in Kenya, and it just so happens that he has the same birthday as Austin. I'm not sharing this for any reason other than that I'm so excited about it. (Can you tell?) To put it a bit more bluntly: I'm not pointing to myself, please don't think that. I'm excited about this program, this opportunity, and these children. It's about them, (and Him!), and the idea that we can make a difference to one of them.
(Tell your Compassion story here)
