One Word 2012

     Chris G., Compassion's Blog and Social Media Manager, has a unique approach to making a New Year's Resolution. You know, those promises and goals you set at this time of year but never seem to keep. I encourage you to read what Chris has to say here.

     In  a nutshell you should pick a word that will be your focus or theme for the year. It should be a word that will stretch you, guide you and grow you in your Christian walk. It should take you to a greater spiritual maturity. In choosing your word I think there are three main factors that must be considered. First, pray and ask God for the word. Let him lead you to the word that will be your direction in the coming year. Secondly, I encourage you to share your word. Keeping promises and achieving goals is only obtainable when you can be held accountable. Finally, choose to truly live out the word. Make it your daily focus and commit to reviewing your progress. 


      My word for 2012 is "Still". Webster's defines it as: devoid of or abstaining from motion, uttering no sounds, calm or tranquil. I did turn to God for what my word should be. I had no sooner prayed and I was smacked with what it should be. I truly believe God has a sense of humor and at this appointed time he knew what I would be needing.  Those that know me realize I am a Type-A personality who goes all out. i am constantly on the move-maybe not always physically but certainly in my thoughts. My mind never seems to slow down. I am a planner and an organizer. As soon as I begin to wake in the morning my brain kicks into gear and I am off to the races. Things to do! People to see! It is like a whirlwind. So, this year, I am going to try and be "still". I need to take the time to slow down and spend some quality time with friends and family. I need to be quiet and listen to the words (needs) of others. I need to to quietly listen for His words and whispers. Most of all I need to find that peace and tranquility of relaxing and enjoying life. This is not going to be an easy word for me to live out. I will ask others to hold me accountable. I am going to place reminders at home and at work. Each day I will pray to choose to live out that word. 


     I admit it will be a challenge to stay focused on this through out the year. However it will be my goal. Throughout the year I hope to keep you updated on my progress. Now how about you? Will you pick one word to focus on this year? Will you try to make a difference in your own life? I pray that you do and wish you blessings on a great new year! <><

Gifts of Compassion

      If you are anything like me there always seems to be that one last minute gift that you still need to buy right before Christmas. Typically it is for that one person who is the hardest to buy for. You have put it off and are still stuck with an idea with just days left. What to do?


      Allow me to offer a suggestion- Why not take a look at the Gifts of Compassion catalog. This unique Christmas catalog offers a variety of gifts that will meet real needs and can really make a difference. After all, isn't that what Christmas is truly about, making a difference? God sent His son to save us and make a difference in our lives. That is the Christmas Story. 


       How it works is very easy. Follow the link and take a look at the gifts. They range in price from $5.00 to $325.00. They range in variety from bibles to livestock to playgrounds. All of the gifts meet real needs and are life changing. Choose a gift in honor of "that hard to buy for person". Then once the purchase is complete you can choose from a variety of greeting cards that can be sent to your honoree. These cards can be mailed to them, printed out and given to them or even included in an email. How simple is that? It sure beats fighting the crowds in a mall. The best part of this is that it gets others involved in the ministry of Compassion. Who knows what seeds can be planted when you start with a gift like this? 


        This year my wife and I decided to start a new family tradition by buying a gift on behalf of our family. This June we traveled to Honduras to see our sponsored children. One of them, Jorge, has a pet chicken. Therefore we decided our gift should be a chicken. We will purchase it and then take the greeting card and hang it on our Christmas tree as a reminder. We will continue this each year. 


         This Christmas season whether you need a gift, want to start a tradition or just want to pass the word along about this opportunity I encourage you to visit the link and begin to make a difference. 




     

Time to Dream

We just got off the Disney Dream after a nice week on board. We actually did back to back cruises. We did a four day and then a three day. Thanks to the Disney Vacation Club and our points it is rather easy to do this. Considering outside costs of airfare, parking, dog care, etc it makes more sense to stay a week then to do a short term cruise. Also with our points it is more affordable. We actually ended up booking another cruise for December of 2012 on the Disney Fantasy. The Fantasy is currently under construction and will launch in March of 2012. It will be the sister ship to the Dream just as the Wonder and Magic are sister ships.
The one thing I love about Disney is they know how to do it right. Every little touch is important and as always the Guest is always number one. We took an artistic tour of the ship and it was so neat to see how little elements go into storytelling. Case in point is the rugs throughout the ship. They are actually color coded based on your location in the ship. Thematic elements of one area flow into another so there really is no rude interruption to your senses. Disney ships are designed to be classic in appearance and in all elements of a guest's experience. They are so not the floating milk containers that many other cruise ships are.
   The one cool thing about the trip was seeing the transformation of the ship (within an hour) from no decorations to Holiday decor. Between  the two cruises we had to clear customs so we went off the ship for about an hour. In that time a team from the parks transformed the ship. As we were getting off the ship the beginning touches were starting. Shortly after we got back on it was done. Total Disney magic. We did not know it was going to happen and it made the second half of the cruise just a little more special. I posted many pictures on my Facebook page but leave you with this special one of the Christmas tree in the atrium.

Ten Years Later...

.... I sit here reflecting back on the past ten years. That one day in September changed so many things. I am really not sure that even now it has truly sunk in how that one morning forever changed us. I was teaching pre-school then and watched in horror at the initial news report. I had just gotten my white chocolate mocha and reported to work when the news reports began. I watched in horror as a second plane went into the other tower. Then I watched as the towers went down. I think of all of the images that is the one that disturbs me the most. First it seems so inconceivable that a structure like that could just disintegrate. Second I can not imagine what it must have been like being trapped there and to realize that everything was about to end. Even as a Christian with hope I cannot imagine what I would have been thinking.

    I think we learned how fragile life really is. Things can change at any moment. I think we also realized how important relationships are. I saw heroes that day- there in New York, in Washington and on a plane in the air above Pennsylvania. We changed in so many ways. The way we react in certain situations, the way we travel, the things we no longer take for granted are all changed. Things have changed for both better and worse. I am sure that we all could spend hours documenting the changes and how we have been impacted.

    Personally ten years ago I was starting out in a new marriage. I had two children that were not even ten years old and are now in college. The home we now live in is smaller and in a different location. I have a totally different job. The amazing thing is that ten years ago I did not even know what Compassion International was. Those that know me realize how important Compassion is in my life. It is truly the one thing that defines me and the one thing that my wife and I truly embrace together as a mission. I would like to think that perhaps the impact of what I had seen on 9/11 and how we reacted to it softened my heart a little to prepare me for my ministry.

  It is my prayer that today, a decade later, we take a moment to pray for those that were lost, those that were left behind and those that struggled to make a difference in those following hours and days. I pray that we realize how fragile life can be and that we do not ever take others for granted. We can be a light in the darkness. I pray that you make relationships count...things can change in a minute....Blessings. <><

Reflections on Jorge

Our sponsored Jorge is a wild man! That is all I can say. Our favorite saying from the time we first saw his child packet (and boy was he pitiful looking) is "He's soooo cute". When we met him back in 2009 he was all over the water park. I mean all over the park! He is all boy and does not slow down. We were a little surprised when we met his this time. He was a little quiet and shy to warm up. However once he did he was a blessing. He was so excited to show us his chickens. He literally just ran after his rooster and caught it. He was so proud of us he took us to his public school as show and tell. He wanted us to meet his classmates and teacher. We were thrilled to hear that he is a good student and works hard. Looking at his report cards and evaluations he is right at the top of his class. We are so proud! For our fun day we went to an interactive child museum. Good Choice! He had a blast and we all had a ton of fun. We used to think of our daughter Stephanie (far right in picture) as a boy-she was a tomboy growing up. She bonded with him right from the start. Outside of the child museum they had several races and they were totally two of a kind.
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It was rough seeing their home and neighborhood. It is in a very unsafe urban area. They are close to the project but really after dark it is not safe. Their home is basically one room tacked onto the back of a family members home. Everything is crammed in and a family of five live in a space no bigger than my family room. Elsy, Jorge's mom, is having some health issues. She was having a biopsy the week after we were there so we   keep her in prayer. Her one son also was in the hospital with a blood disease. He is not a Compassion child so expenses are tough for them in that situation. Please keep them all in prayer. We look forward to going back in two years and seeing how he has grown.

Jeyelly and Sofia- Reflections on Sisters

We got to visit Jeyelly and Sofia on our second visitation day. I actually had been at this project in 2007. It was one of the projects on our tour that year. Interestingly enough God had ordained that we be there on that day. You see it was child registration day and the children were having their pictures taken for those child packets. I had been tossing a football around all morning with this cute little girl. I found out later she was registering at the project and quickly became her sponsor. Karen and Jeyelly's mom spent the day at the water park talking. Her mom shared quite a lot with us that we kept in prayer . I have not met Sofia until this trip. In January 2009 Jeyelly wrote to us that her sister was now in the project. Again another God moment. She could be assigned to any of Compassion's international partners. Pulling some strings I found out she was in the United States system but her packet was assigned out to Compassion Sunday events. If she did not get a sponsor by the end of May I could sponsor her. When we went back to Honduras in 2009 I debated about having her come to the visitation day but did not want to Compassion to have that cost for something that might not happen. Two weeks later we became her sponsors and I knew I would meet her this year on our visit.
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 We arrived at the project in the midst of chaos. There was a medical mission team going on at the project and the streets were packed. Seems that this project is very well used. We did have a surprise as we ran into a friend from our previous two trips with Compassion. Abraham used to be on the Compassion staff but had left to pursue his ministry ambitions. He was there helping the medical team with translation. Pretty cool to run into him and get to say hello.  We spent most of the morning at the girl's home. They had moved from where they lived before and their home was very sad. Located at the top of a hill ( you actually have to climb a winding stone/dirt stairway) it is literally tacked on to the back of another house. There is one bedroom separated from the main room/kitchen area. You could look through the floorboards and see the ground down below. They had decorated it nice though. The two sisters took the time showing Courtney and Stephanie all our letters and pictures. I know Jeyelly bonded with Steph and Courtney bonded with Sofia. For fun we went to to this arcade type place in the mall that had games and rides. We also took along their younger sister to join us. Turns out she is also in the project and is sponsored by someone else.
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 We are covering the family with prayer. Their living conditions are certainly not the best especially in bad weather. Their father seems to be living elsewhere. Marleny, their mom, seems not to be in the best place right now faith wise. She does have a job now at the supermarket but I know that staff at the project are mentoring her to keep her involved and rooted in her faith. We would have liked to have spent more time with them. The day went by so quickly. We will return, God willing, in 2013 to attend Jeyelly's Quinceanera. In the meantime we will be writing and praying faithfully.

Linda~Reflections on a Princess

How can I really begin to reflect on the one person that has impacted me more than anyone else in this world? The girl on the left is Linda the day we first met her in 2007. Just that look of love that she had when talking to Karen and I broke my heart. I understood the love that she had for us was unconditional. It is the same love that Christ has for us. It was that love that showed me how important the ministry of Compassion was. The one thing I remember from that trip was her telling me that her father had died, she considered me like a father and she wanted me to be there for her 15th birthday. I also remember how nice she dressed just out of respect for us. Totally blew my mind. Fast forward two years to 2009. There she is again on the right with a big smile and looking even more beautiful. We shared a day of memories. Two things especially stood out. She had brought all our letters with her to show us how important we were in her life. The other was talking to her mother and understanding the role we were playing in her life. We were making a difference and her mother considered us  as Linda's other set of parents. What an honor!

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 Finally this year- as promised we were there for her 15th birthday celebration. When she came out of her home my breath was taken away. Only two years has passed but she has grown into a most beautiful young woman. The smile is still there but now she has an air of confidence about her. I have no doubt she will succeed and will be going to the University. She has good grades in school, helps to teach Sunday School and is active on the Worship Team at her church. Thankfully her home was better than I could have hoped. Located in the city it is stone and well secured. It is not what we are used to but it is better than some of the others. There are so many little things she did to make us feel special: 1) Things we had given her prior were on display in her home, 2) Karen had crocheted her a blanket two years ago-Linda in turn crocheted her a purse this year. Knowing my love for things Disney our gifts were in a Mickey Mouse gift bag and she gave me a special winter hat because it reminded her of Goofy. Not sure if this was good or not. 

3) Finally I happened to notice that on the invitations to her party she used the Disney Font. Seriously this was her party and it was about her and she took the time to think of something that thoughtful. This is the type of girl Linda is. There is just so much appreciation for us that it really causes me to think. There is the adage that "your first is always the most special". Taking this to sponsorship I guess this is true. Linda will always be my princess and will have impacted me in ways that I may never understand. There are many children that have been sponsored at events and concerts because I have told my story of Linda. She does not realize it yet but she has already made a difference in the Kingdom. Call it a ripple effect. It is my dream that she applies for the Leadership Development Program in Honduras in a couple of years and is accepted. She wants to be a doctor and we will be there to continue our sponsorship if God is willing. That is my prayer- will you please join me in it? Blessings <><