Bags o' fun

I still can't make any announcements on my prospective Compassion tour (still waiting to get a few ducks in a row), but I do have something else fun to talk about.

My mother in law is going to India this fall for work. She has gone to the Philippines before and was hoping to go again, but she is going to India instead. And I'm happy about that! I love India, and my mom and I are going to get carryout from our favorite Indian restaurant and have dinner with her before she goes. I can't wait to see her pictures and souvenirs from her visit!

Possibly the best part about all this is that she has agreed to take gifts for our Compassion kids! She will be traveling with a bag for my Jayid, my mom's girl Amisha, and our friend Blaire's girl Nisha. Amisha probably has the best relationship with my mom out of all her sponsor kids, and Nisha is very precious to Blaire, as well. So we are all very excited.

We are keeping our eyes peeled for mini backpacks or totes of appropriate size, but for now, the gifts are going in a plastic gallon-sized bag for each of our kids. They don't take long to fill up! For all I know, this could be a once in a lifetime opportunity to send gifts to Jayid. I hope that some day I am able to send (or bring!) gifts to each of my kids. I have some special things in mind for each of them. Like Mary- Mary loves to sing, so I would bring her sheet music and music-themed stuff. Said would get art supplies because I don't think I've ever received a letter from him that didn't have at least one drawing on it. And Brenda would get a dolly and fruit loops, because she's little and likes fruit loops. : )

My bag for Jayid is almost full- I have room for just a few more things (some soap and a little photo album with pictures of where I live and my family and stuff.) Here's what else I have packed for him:

*Mechanical pencils (no sharpeners to worry about!)
*A pack of crayons
*A tiny coloring book
*Two Hotwheels cars
*A mini Magna-Doodle (it takes up the most space, but it's really cool.)
*A blue washcloth
*A Transformers toothbrush (I looked for superheroes, because he likes them, but the only superhero ones they had in stock were battery operated.)
*Cavity-fighting kids' toothpaste
*Werther's hard candies to share with his family
*Trolli crawlers (those neon sour gummy worms!) for my boy!

I am also going to include a letter for the field office staff telling them how much I appreciate them and the work they do. Jayid's package will be going to the EI field office, while Amisha and Shima's bags will be going to IN. I told my mom and Blaire it would be cool if they wrote notes for the staff there, too.

I don't know what all Blaire is packing for Shima, but my mom got some cool stuff for Amisha! Two things in particular stand out. She got a pretty pink headband that benefits Amazima Ministries (each headband buys three meals for kids in Uganda.) I have several of these headbands and really like them! You can buy them at Lifeway or online. Lifeway has also started carrying these pretty beaded bracelets made by women in Nepal. I definitely want one! Actually, the one I wanted is going in Amisha's bag! : ) Hopefully they will get more in stock!

Have you ever been able to send gifts to your kids? What kind of stuff did you send? What would you like to send to your child, if you could?

September Letter Writing Topics

Don't forget to write to your sponsor kids at least once this month! Here are some ideas to get you started!

1. Local holidays. There are plenty of big holidays in Compassion countries this month. Brazil's independence day and Mexico's independence day are both in September. Check out your local library or an online encyclopedia to see what's happening in your child's country this month. 
2. Teachers. Teacher's Day in India is this month. Even if you don't sponsor a child in India, it would still be fun to write about teachers! Ask your child what her teacher's name is. Ask him what his favorite thing about his teacher is. Tell her that you'll be praying for her teacher. Explain to your child how teachers are honored in the United States (for example, bringing them small gifts in the springtime, or the traditional gift of an apple.) Who was your favorite teacher in school? Why were they your favorite? What are some important lessons you learned from your teachers that had nothing to do with academics? For example, one of my high school English teachers was a very kind man who, through his gentleness and good-nature, got respect from all the students without ever having to raise his voice. We didn't want to disappoint him, so we all behaved. I also had another English teacher who was a very good friend to me, and I came back to visit her several times after I graduated, before she moved to another state. When I was upset or stressed about something, I would often go to her classroom, even if I didn't have her classes anymore. Remind your child that teachers work very hard, and it's important to show respect and be grateful for all that they do. 
3. Cousins. My little cousin Deborah is not so little anymore. This month she will turn 15- which makes me feel extremely old. She lives in Georgia. I remember the night of her due date, I was spending the night at a friend's house (I was still in elementary school, maybe 5th grade) and I kept calling my mom to see if she had heard anything about the baby yet. She was born three days later! When she was a few months old, my grandparents and I took a trip to Georgia for a week to visit her and her parents. I had the best time! I have always enjoyed spending time with Deborah, even though I don't get to see her very often anymore. She has grown into a beautiful young lady who has a heart of gold, loves to play soccer, and loves Star Wars (which is awesome.) I'm glad that I grew up so close to my cousins. In many other cultures, cousins are as close as immediate family- cousins are often called "brother" or "sister." This may very well be the case where your sponsor child lives. Ask your sponsor child if he or she has any cousins. What are their names? Do they get to play together? Do they get to spend a lot of time together? Were you raised close to your cousins, if you have any? What did you like to do when you were your sponsor child's age? I spent a lot of time with my cousin Melissa when I was growing up, and have sent pictures of us when we were little to my sponsor kids. Our kids love learning about our families!
4. Harvest. Now that the weather is getting cooler and the year is coming to a close, harvest time is coming. This is the first year that my family has had a proper garden, and I am looking forward to writing about its successes to our sponsor kids. Ask your sponsor child if her family grows any fruits or vegetables. Many of my kids have written to me and described the foods that their families grow, often saying that they grow their own food and take the rest to sell in the market. Said visits his grandmother in Kilosa every year to help her bring in the crops and get things ready for the next planting season. Even if you don't have a  garden of your own, you could still write about nature's bounty, telling your child about your favorite fruits and vegetables, and telling him that it's important to eat healthy foods like these, so he can grow up healthy and strong. In the past, I have even sent fun stickers of fruits and veggies to some of my younger kids, and I write down the names of the produce in English next to the pictures. You can print out coloring pages to send, too. Be sure to mention how thankful you are to God, who planted the original garden in Eden, for the food that comes from the earth.
5. Autumn. Many of our sponsor kids live in areas that don't have the same seasons that we do. The first day of autumn is September 22, and this would be a great time to write to your child about the change in seasons. One of the best things about this season, of course, is the way the trees change colors. Send some photos of the stunningly beautiful orange, red, and yellow trees that are found around the US this time of year. You can find coloring pages on autumn, and I have a ton of fall leaf stickers- some with little happy faces on them! I have never tried to send pressed flowers or the like to my sponsor kids before, but I have thought about laminating a pretty fall leaf (or covering it on both sides with clear tape) and sticking it on some construction paper to send. There are also tons of fall-themed crafts you can find online, which can be especially fun if you yourself have kids. You can do leaf rubbings with crayons or fall leaf pictures with paper, like this one.

Sad news.

Hi everyone. I have some sad news to deliver.

The Indonesia trip is basically canceled. At least, for me it is. It has been a pretty dramatic day and a half. It turns out that the folks at Compassion were unable to arrange the east Indonesia (ID) part of the proposed trip, so they had to make it just western Indonesia (IO.) The trip also got moved to June. I found part of this out this morning, but didn't have any concrete answers until this afternoon. So I fretted about it all day at work. Then I found out the rest. They got back to me so late because they were trying to find out if it would be at all possible to bring Tasya to me if I still wanted to go on the trip, but when I told them where she lives, they agreed with me that that really wasn't feasible. She lives so far east, and in such a remote area, that it can't happen. So I am sad. I am sad that now I am not sure when I will ever get to meet Tasya in person. I am also sad because I have been telling everyone "hey! I'm going to Indonesia!" and now I feel weird saying "well, actually, I'm not. Not in 2014, anyway." There was no way we could have seen this coming.

For the record, I still feel that it is my calling to go out into the world and visit these places where Compassion works. I am still planning on taking a trip with Compassion next year. I have to get a few details nailed down- the other trip I'm considering isn't an advocate partner tour, and I really do need the discount (I'm waiting to hear back if that is possible for a non-advocate partner tour, and there is some disagreement among fellow advocates as to whether this is possible. So I'm waiting for official word from Compassion.) I also need to work out a few details regarding the payment, since the final payment for this trip would be sooner than the elusive Indonesia trip was going to be. I am still going on a trip. I'm just not announcing where for a few days (hopefully Monday or Tuesday of next week.) I am still doing my fundraising for this very reason. I will be changing the title of my GoFundMe page as soon as I can.

In the meantime, I would really appreciate your prayers. I cannot accurately convey to you through written word how incredibly stressed I am right now. In addition to all this stuff going on, we had to have one of my family's dogs put to sleep this week. There's some other stuff going on, too. I am just praying for a relaxing weekend with lots of clarity and positive answers to my questions.

Sweet Greetings

Happy Mail Call Monday, everyone!

This week we got a short letter from Jayid in India. This was a form letter on holidays and festivals.

Festivals we celebrate at our project: 
Christmas
Good-Friday
Easter

Festivals we celebrate at home: 
Diwali
Holi
Eid

We celebrate this festival- Christmas- by December. Easter- April and Eid- September. 

Typical food we eat during the festivals: 
1. Biryani [yummy!]
2. Paneer [not my favorite]

Our project holidays in summer and winter are from May 1 to 7 and December 26 to 30

Dear Jessi, 
I am child development worker writing a letter on behalf of Jayid. He is fine. Family members are good but pray for his mother she is suffering from fever. Now he join school and attends daily. Yes he tells that he eats onion bhajis. He says thank you for stickers and letter. With love, he says. 


I am definitely praying for Jayid's mom, and will ask if she is doing better in the next letter I send to him! I was very tickled that Jayid wrote that he also likes to eat onion bhajis- back in May, I told him how my mom and I visited an Indian restaurant for my birthday, and onion bhajis are one of my absolute favorite foods. So it was neat to hear that Jayid likes them, too. : ) Also, it was interesting to learn that Jayid's family, like many Indian families, celebrate all sorts of holidays, from the Muslim Eid to the Hindu festivals of Holi and Diwali, to Christmas. Though there is some strife between religions in India, I have always found it interesting that the people there celebrate each other's cultures and holidays in peace and harmony. I pray that one day his parents will also want to celebrate Christmas in their home!

48 hours.

I am going. I am going to Indonesia.

I don't think that I really had any major doubts that this is what I should do or would be doing. But yes, it's actually happening. Or it will be. I have already started fundraising efforts. I'm not sure how much the first payment will be for the trip, but I think I'm pretty close to having it together. Registration opens on Wednesday. I don't work until really late that day, so I fully intend on calling as soon as Compassion opens (two hours later than my time zone!) and asking to sign up. This is an advocate partner tour, so I know that there is a discount either on the down payment or the trip itself, which is pretty awesome. And we will be visiting ID and IO. This morning trip details for just an IO trip were posted, so I was able to get a better idea about what will be going on during the trip.

I am really, really excited about this opportunity, and I kind of wish I could fast-forward until Wednesday so I can get registered! I can't wait to find out more about the trip. I can't wait to find out the exact dates (I sent an email back in July and got the tentative dates) so I can mark them on the vacation calendar at work. I can't wait to find out exactly where all we're going so I can learn more about the area. In general, I just can't wait!

I would really like to share my trip-related prayer requests with you all. There is a lot to pray about, for sure. So I've divided it up into categories.

• Funding. Travel costs money. Since this is an international trip, it's sort of expensive, by some standards. I thought about it and it's actually a pretty good deal, considering everything that's covered. My payment to Compassion for the trip will cover my round-trip flights to and from Indonesia from Los Angeles; hotels; all meals; transportation in-country; translators and security if needed.....basically all aspects of the trip except souvenirs, a flight to California and back, and my passport and shots. A lot is covered for a really awesome price. But it's also the most expensive thing I've ever had to pay for. I know God wants me to go on this trip, and He will make a way for me to get there, but I will need help. I can't make it on my own. Right now I am doing a few fundraisers. I am selling crafts to help fund my trip (I have a facebook page here- if you're on facebook, please "like" my page!) and that has been going well. So far I've made $70! And I have a few orders from friends outstanding that I should get paid for soon. I have also set up a fundraising page on GoFundMe, which you can find near the top right corner of my blog page. And I will be doing other fundraisers, too. I already got approval from Krispy Kreme to sell coupons for their donuts as a fundraiser. When Chick Fil A puts out their 2014 calendars, I plan on asking if I can do that fundraiser, too. If you can think of any other similar programs, let me know! But please pray that my fundraising efforts will be blessed, and in a timely manner so I'm not freaking out close to time to go on the trip. 
• Travel. I live in Kentucky. The farthest I've ever been from home is when I visited Miami. The longest airplane flight I've ever been on was Louisville to Atlanta. I've always traveled with family- my parents or my husband. Please pray for a stress-free trip: no flight delays, no major turbulence, a comfortable flight, ease in adjusting to the time change (I live in the Eastern time zone; the biggest time difference I've experienced is an hour.) I've also never had to deal with passports, visas, and all that stuff before. Pray that I don't mess anything up and get stranded somewhere. : )
• My health. Please pray for my anxiety before and during the trip. My anxiety disorder is NOT going to stop me from going. I've already decided that much. I refuse to let it keep me home. But I still need prayer. I get nervous when traveling around my own city if the destination is somewhere I haven't been before. I don't know what it's going to be like getting on a plane by myself; having a layover by myself; getting to Los Angeles by myself; being halfway across the world with a group of strangers.....it will be different, most definitely. But I will survive. And I would really appreciate your prayers, for my anxiety and also my sometimes overly sensitive stomach. I'm sure that aspect of the trip will be an adventure as well. 
• My travel mates. I will have a roommate on the trip. Pray that we get along well. Pray that I encounter nice people along the way. Pray that at least one person in our group will be understanding of my anxiety issues if they should arise. 
• The kids. Pray that we'll all have a great time together! Pray that they will know they are loved. Pray that we can help the unsponsored kids be matched with sponsors. 
• My friends and family. One thing I have been praying about regarding this trip is how it will impact people around me. I have a lot of hopes in this area. I hope that my journey will lead to more of my friends and relatives becoming sponsors. I hope that this trip will affect my friends and relatives who don't have a relationship with Jesus. I hope that it will be an eye-opening experience for my friends that may not understand how good they have it here in the US, living our comparatively wealthy lives. 

So. Now it's only 48.5 hours until registration day, and I can call Compassion to enthusiastically shout into the phone "I WANT TO GO TO INDONESIA! SIGN ME UP!!!" It's going to be a hard wait! 

Kindness, Week Thirty Three

I am still doing my daily acts of kindness, but I am a little slow updating my blog! Here are the acts of kindness for last week, almost in time to share this past week's!

August 13- Made my mom a present. My mom has been pretty stressed out lately. One night I was up late working on my crafts that I'm selling to fund a certain adventure next year (more on that soon!), and I decided to make her something. She really loves the minions from Despicable Me- people save minion kids' meal toys for her, and one year for her birthday I got her a minion t-shirt! So I made her some little minion figurines, and she loved them.

August 14- Met a friend for lunch. This was no ordinary lunch, though. This was the day my sweet friend Amanda arrived from Japan! She is currently serving in Japan as an English teacher, and has been over there for more than a year. Now she is on a little summer break! She got in on this morning and I went over and met her, most of her family, and my mom for lunch.

August 15- Saved another patient from barf smell. This is probably the grossest act of kindness. I had a dentist appointment on this afternoon, and it was late in the day, so I was kind of nervous. I walked over there from work and as soon as I got into the waiting room, a baby (the younger sibling of a child being seen by the dentist) started projectile hurling around the waiting room. Oh my goodness. I will spare you the details of EVERYTHING that happened there that day, but once I got back to the exam room, I thanked the dental assistant for rescuing me from the smell and sounds, and she said "you know, there was another person out there who looked like they were really anxious to get away....if it's ok with you, I'll go get them and stick them in an exam room in the back, even though it's early." And I said go for it. Bleh.

August 16- Stayed at work. So I was unable to get all my dental stuff taken care of the day before...I was getting a crown and it needed some more porcelain, I guess. They said that I could come back the next day, but that would mean I would have to leave work in the middle of the day for a little while. I cleared it with my boss, but then I ended up calling and rescheduling. We were short-handed and it was busy and it was really better for me to stay there that day. I was needed.

August 17- Played nice. Let's just say, for the sake of privacy for all those involved, that I was put in a situation where I had to be around someone who has decided they don't like me all of a sudden. OK, it was a wedding. And there was someone there who has been kind of a brat lately- but I haven't done anything to them. They kept shooting me dirty looks and talking about me in a veiled way in my presence, but I ignored them, instead of telling them they were being really weird and lame. I had several things I wanted to say to this person, mainly "what the heck is your problem", but I just ignored them, and then they went away and sat at a different table. So much for seating charts. Oh well.

August 18- Served at my church. This was the third Sunday of the month, so it was the day that I got to work in the nursery. Normally I work in the "crawler" room, but I asked if I could work in the "crib" room since I have restrictions for a few more weeks. Help was needed, and I didn't want to flake out on them because of my back. Also, serving your church is really important, no matter how  big your church is or how many people are there each weekend. You can be a greeter, help with the bulletin, work tech like Brandon does, work in the nursery, volunteer in the library, or even help pull weeds or vacuum or other cleaning-type things!

August 19- Visited someone at work. I was out running errands on this day, and stopped by a friend's workplace to say hi and give them a hug, since I had seen earlier online that they had a bad weekend and were having a bad day. I don't know about you, but I really like getting visits at work. It makes me feel special, even if it's only for a few moments.

Sweet Greetings

It's Mail Call Monday! Two weeks in a row I have something to share! : )

I was so happy to get a letter from Joane this week! I usually don't hear from Joane very often, but I have already had several letters from her this year! I'm so thankful for her sweet letters. 

18 June 2013

Dear Jessi

I feel very happy having the occasion to write you this letter. First of all, How are you, your activities, your health and your family? My family and I are fine. My school is going very well thanks to God. In my area, it is very hot and it rains every afternoon. Yes, my family and I grow corn, beans, canary seed. Yes, I have many cousins in my family. Thank you for the letters and your prayers, thank you for the information, thank you for the card and thank you for the stickers. I'm praying for you so that God bless you.  On June 9, the project organized a party for every children in the project. It was World Children Day. We danced, recited poem, sang, and ate. Do you celebrate it in your country, I'm having a good vacation thanks to God, eating, walking, and eating a lot of mangoes. I bank on your prayers, while I will keep praying for you that everything you do can be well. 

Joane

It's always nice when I know what Joane's talking about in her letters- sometimes she's vague in her responses, and by the time I get them, I've forgotten what I asked her about! : ) It was nice that she told me what her family grows- I told her about my parents' garden when they were planting it this spring. And I smiled when she said she's eating lots of mangoes! They're my favorite fruit! I always like reading about the Children's Day celebrations at the different projects.