Severe Drought

The Horn of Africa is experiencing severe drought which is endangering millions of people. This is the worst drought in 60 years. 7 million were affected in March to nearly 13 million now. And the situation isn't going to get better anytime soon.  Please read this article on World Vision's Blog and watch this video.

http://blog.worldvision.org/disaster-relief/5ws-on-drought-and-hunger-in-east-africa/

Please make a donation here to help these people suffering. Please put yourself in their shoes. Imagine seeing you child dying in your arms and the desperation of not being able to feed her. Imagine traveling miles and miles and leaving your home just to find food. 

http://donate.worldvision.org/OA_HTML/xxwv2ibeCCtpItmDspRte.jsp?funnel=&item=1754360&go=item&section=10366&xxwvCampaign=2070293

Old Man

I've been hooked on personal stories lately. Mainly those that take place in developing countries that struggle with hunger, war and poverty. The one I'm currently reading is A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah. It is devastating and heartbreaking and hard to read but yet I can't stop reading it. And it makes me so angry. How can anyone treat another human being so inhumanly and without any respect or dignity?

A Long Way Gone is about a boy, Ishmael who lives in Sierra Leone during the civil war in the 90's. He ends up being a child soldier at the age of 13 for the government and finds he is capable of truly terrible acts. Fortunately at age 16 he was removed from fighting by UNICEF. 

Before he became a child soldier he wandered around Sierra Leone for months trying to find a safe place to settle. He lost his parents and ended up separating from his brother after the rebels invaded the town where they were living. Currently where I am in the book, he has not said what has happened to his family, if he does end up finding out. 

One part in the book definitely impacted me. 

"We had traveled for more than six days when we came in contact with a very old man who could barely walk. He sat on the verandah of a house in the middle of the village. His face was too wrinkled to still be alive, yet his dark skin was shiny and he spoke slowly, gobbling the words in his jaws before he let them out. As he spoke, the veins on his forehead became visible through his skin.

'Everyone ran when they heard of the 'seven boys' on their way here. I couldn't run at all. So they left me behind. No one was willing to carry me and I didn't want to be a burden', he said. 

We explained to him where we were from and where we wanted to go. He asked us to stay for a while and keep him company.

'You young fellows must be hungry. There are some yams in that hut over there. Can you boys cook some for me and yourselves?' he politely asked. When we were almost finished eating the yams, he said slowly, 'My children, this country has lost its good heart. People don't trust each other anymore. Years ago, you would have been heartily welcomed in this village. I hope that you boys can find safety before this untrustworthiness and fear cause someone to harm you.'

What is your name? Kanei asked the old man.

He smiled as if he knew that one of us would ask this question. 'There is no need to know my name. Just refer to me as the old man who got left behind when you get to the next village.' He looked at all our faces and spoke softly, with no sadness in his voice."

For whatever reason I have a special place in my heart for the older generation. I was very close with my grandparents so when I hear about anything bad happening to someone of this generation, it impacts me more than another. I can't even begin to imagine what the people in this country where feeling or thinking. Unspeakable acts were happening and people were running for their lives. I can see why the villagers didn't take the old man. Their chances of survival dropped big time if they did. I can see how the old man said to go and not worry about him. He's lived a good life and doesn't want to jepordize another's life. BUT this still isn't okay! The fact that these people had to make a decision like this should never have happened. Put yourselves in this man's shoes. You are old and move slowly. You hear that seven boys are on the way to your village and you know that children are now becoming soldiers so everyone thinks that these "boys" are soldiers; not innocent boys trying to find food and shelter. All the villagers want to leave immediately but wait you can't run like they can. And for any of them to take you it would drastically slow them down. Would YOU want to carry an old man if you were trying to escape rebel soldiers? You don't want to be a burden to any of them so you tell everyone to go on without you. Now you are alone with the threat of seven boys on their way to YOUR village. Can you imagine this? Can you get an idea of what this man felt or thought? This freaks me out! It could be my age. I'm 29 and definitely not ready to die. No one likes to be alone, at least not in circumstances like this. That man was so brave in my opinion. The rebels were vicious and merciless. Who knows what they would do to that man?  Someone of this age should die peacefully, not by fire, or gunshot or being cut up. Another man about 60ish was caught by the rebels and they shot near his head and he ran around in circles saying "My head, My brains!" while the rebels laughed at him. This just infuriates me to no end! How can such atrocious acts happen like this? 

I don't want to start ranting and raving but I had to write about this. The civil war in Sierra Leone created such horrific acts and untrustworthiness among everyone. It took away the children's childhood. It created nightmares for many and made people make tough decisions. Loneliness swept the country, that would not end for a long time. Ishmael was very fortunate to live and get out but a lot weren't. However he had a lot to recover from. 

Free and Refreshed

I used to be an excellent hoarder. Not quite tv worthy but I had a hard time letting go of "things." I constantly thought "Oh, I'll need that soon!" or "I know I'm going to wear that again!" And both times the answer was NO! I wasn't going to need it and I wasn't going to wear it again. Why do we have such a hard time letting "things" go? Why do we hold onto school things, old clothes, books we'll never read again, decorations we never use, and  so on? Why are we so tied to our "things"?

Probably about five years ago I started giving away more and more of my stuff. When I lived in Fort Wayne I volunteered at a domestic violence shelter for women and their children. I was constantly bringing in stuff to donate. One young girl liked my gray gaucho pants so I gave them to her. Another mother had two children with her and they needed clothes. I wasn't supposed to give specifically to families but I did.....I gave to the children of this mother. Can you imagine being a child or teenager of a mother who was being abused and now you are hiding in a shelter? It's not like they come in with a lot of clothes. Now imagine what it's like to go to school.......kids are mean. My heart went out for the children in this shelter. They needed someone to care about them and love on them.

I found it very freeing to not be attached to my "stuff." I hate feeling bogged down. Have you ever felt stressed by the clutter in your life? I did for sure. But once I cleared that clutter and gave it away, I felt light and refreshed. Does anyone know what I mean? I like to travel and I did it for three years. But I hated all the stuff I needed to take with me. I hated putting my stuff in storage. Do I really need this much "stuff"???

Back in the day I was an excellent shopper, just like I was an excellent hoarder. In college when I lived on my own I bought way too much stuff and today I probably don't have a quarter of it. I was ridiculous. I'm finally learning. My husband and I moved last March from Florida to Ohio and we got our own place in September. Our life in Florida was seasonal so I never set up "home". However for now Ohio is home but I still can't seem to decorate my home. It's a catch 22 for me. I want my home to feel homey and like home like my parents house felt when I was growing up and still does but.......at the same time I don't see the point of pictures and decorations when there is no need for it necessarily. There is so much need in this world, why should I be buying decorations? I'm in no way implying that you shouldn't decorate your home, this is just something I struggle with. I don't expect others to think this way. I know decorating your home isn't evil or bad but at what point is enough? At what point are you going overboard? At what point is materialism taking over?

Is anyone else a hoarder? Use to be hoarder? Or what about a clutter-free gal now? Does giving free you and refresh you? Can anyone live with necessities only?

Jump Around

Back in 2006 I was living in Fort Wayne, IN. I was 24 and a college graduate and had no clue what I wanted to do when I grew up. I was onto my 3rd job after graduating (in 2 years) and I had recently ended a relationship that broke my heart and I just didn't have a clue. I felt alone and desperate to find my "purpose" you could say.

For some time I had wanted to volunteer and I finally got to it. I went to the local Y and choose to work in a domestic violence shelter. I've always felt very blessed and fortunate so I wanted to give back. At the time I wasn't an active Christian. I prayed when I needed God and that was it, but it was the beginning of having a  heart for those who need help and love and compassion.

In 2007  while I was home on vacation from working on the Mississippi River I decided I wanted to sponsor a child overseas. My grandparents had sponsored two while I was growing up and it's something I always remembered. This was another difficult time in my life. I was tired of picking losers, well actually they choose me and I was too stupid to say no. I was still trying to find my way in this world and my grandpa wasn't doing well. He ended up passing away while I was home.

During this vacation in November though I finally started to seek God and read the bible. I wanted to know more and learn. This is where life started getting good. Changing up for a minute..I'm currently reading Radical by David Platt. In it he talks about how we have changed the Gospel to the American Gospel. We hear what we want and twist it to fit our lifestyles. And I have to agree. We are so darn blessed here in the U.S. that we don't know what it's like to be uncomfortable. We don't know what it's like to eat one meal a day if at all. Or to walk miles to fetch dirty water. Or to only own the clothes on your back. Life is good for us here.

Back in 2006 when I started volunteering I knew how good I had it even though my life wasn't going the way I wanted. I had a college education, a roof over my head, a nice car, plenty of clothes, food to eat, clean water and much more. All my needs were met for and some of my wants. When 2 billion people live on less than $2/day, how could I complain? I've always had a heart for those who have less than me even before I really began reading the bible and going to church. The reason I bring this up is because poverty is a huge issue in this world and something ALL Christians should be concerned about (really ALL people but especially Christians).

An excerpt from Mr. Platt's book "This frightens me. Good intentions, regular worship, and even study of the Bible do not prevent blindness in us. Part of our sinful nature instinctively chooses to see what we want to see and to ignore what we want to ignore. I can live my Christian life and even lead the church while unknowingly overlooking evil."

An example of this is slavery. Christians made excuses and tried to twist the words of the Bible to say slavery of another human being is OKay! But it isn't. Just because you go to church doesn't mean you won't be blind to certain injustices. Mr. Platt states in his book he was blind to the poverty in this world. He lived as if it didn't exist. A man of God, a pastor was blind to poverty. We all are blind to something. Poverty is a big issue for me. I'm concerned and what to help. Way back in 2006 I was already starting to care for those who struggled but like I said I have a blindness as well. Something that I don't like to confront but should-which is totally different than this conversation so I'll move on (just didn't want to make myself look perfect, b/c I'm far from it).

You know how some things just pop out to you or you just get. Poverty is that for me. I don't understand how people can turn a blind eye to it. I don't understand how people can keep living like others aren't suffering across the ocean. Another excerpt from his book:
"We look back on slave-owning churchgoers of 150 years ago and ask, 'How could they have treated their fellow human beings that way?' I wonder if followers of Christ 150 years from now will look back at Christians in America today and ask, 'How could they live in such big houses? How could they drive such nice cars and wear such nice clothes? How could they live in such affluence while thousands of children were dying because they didn't have food and water? How could they go on with their lives as though billions of poor didn't exist?"
Mr. Platt asks "Is materialism a blind spot in American Christianity today? Is materialism a blind spot in YOUR Christianity?" I used to want all those nice things like a huge house, nice cars, expensive clothes but things changed IN me when I choose to trust Jesus and die to myself. Of course I can still get caught up in wanting things but I don't have that same desire I did before. For me when I think about all those who have so little I can't imagine having so much.

I'm in no way wanting to come off as a perfect Christian giving away all I have. I'm still greedy at times and I don't always give as much or as often as I should. But this is something that I'm passionate about and believe more should be done to help. I know everyone has more to give and we need to stop thinking of me, me, me. Not to boast or brag but to show that I practice what I preach..........about two weeks ago I was serving and my very first table was telling me how she and her significant other were celebrating. He had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and had been approved for disability earlier than they thought it would happen. The lady had a tumor and was put on disability the year before. My heart broke for these people. The man looked too young to have Alzheimer's and it's such a horrible disease. My grandpa had it so I'm somewhat familiar. I decided I would pay for their dinner. It's the least I could do. When I left the "check", all it said was 'Thank you for coming in. Your dinner has been taken care of.' When I came back the lady told me that they had gone to Jr Prom together way back when and they found each other last year. Both of their spouses had left them. How devastating but luckily a happy ending.  The lady had been a nurse and was going to take care of him now.

I do tend to talk about other countries more than America and its mainly because we have so much help here. But there is always someone that needs something here in America and it's right in front of us. That day I paid for dinner. It doesn't have to be huge, just something to show love and compassion.

I know I jumped around a lot in this blog. I have so much in my head that it's not coming out the way I want but I hope you got something from it=) The one thing for me is that I saw way back in '06' when I wasn't following God the way I should have been I was already finding my path. I just didn't know it.

Give a Little

I believe I have ADD.....it is very hard for me to read one book at a time be/c so many interest me! I think I have about seven going right now.....

One of those seven is Give a Little-How your small Donations can Change the World by Wendy Smith. I was immediately interested in this book. Most Americans are not rich and don't have an extra million to give away yearly but most of us do have an extra twenty, fifty or even a hundred we can give away to help someone. And the good news is that those little donations DO MAKE a DIFFERENCE! You don't have to be Bill Gates or Oprah to impact change

From Wendy's book: "One of the world's deepest pockets, perhaps the deepest pocket of all, is the collective and generous pockets of American citizens. And, I'm not talking about wealthy citizens only; I'm talking about everyday individuals who have an enormous leverage that most know nothing about. That leverage is the billions of dollars you donate to charities every year. In 2007, your donations amounted to $229,000,000,000. That is NOT a mistake. The figure is, indeed, $229 billion."

To put it into perspective:

• $229 billion is greater than the gross domestic products of 136 of 180 countries around the world
• $229 billion is over 21 times Wal-Mart's profits of 11.3 billion in fiscal year 2007
• $229 billion is 114.5 times the total giving by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2007 ($2 Billion)

During the first half of the twentieth century, Polio was one of the most feared diseases in the developed world. The disease caused paralysis and use of the iron lung to force air into and out of the lungs. There were tens of thousands of infections each year in the U.S. with a peak of 57,628 cases in 1952--more than 21,000 resulting in paralysis. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a polio victim himself, established the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis in 1938. The foundation hired Eddie Cantor, a star in radio and vaudeville, to lead a campaign to combat polio by asking his fans to send a single dime to the President. The campaign was called "the March of Dimes," referencing a popular newsreel called The March of Time. 

In the first year 1.8 million was raised, with $238,000 arriving one dime at a time! The White House was forced to hire extra clerks to help manage the waves of mail and according to some White House workers, the difficulty of finding official mail among the millions of envelopes of dimes nearly halted daily operations within the government. 

Donations increased every year. Even during the war, dimes poured in with nearly 20 million raised by 1945. In total, the campaign raised a total of 622 million by 1959. Those dimes helped fund research by Dr. Jonas Salk, who produced an effective vaccine that reduced the number of infections from over 20,000/year in the early 1950's to approximately 3,000 in 1960. By 1979, the disease was eradicated in the U.S. An ocean of dimes had eliminated one of the country's worst nightmares. 

$3/year could help eliminate tuberculosis, the widest-spread disease around the world and responsible for more than 5,000 deaths every day

$20 provides 400 lbs of food to hungry children in the United States

$50 pays a teacher's salary in Afghanistan for a month, allowing 30 children to get an education

You don't have to be rich to help someone. You just have to be willing to give. By giving up eating out once a month, that money can feed starving children. By giving up one Starbucks, you can help eliminate tuberculosis. One idea I found that I fell in love with is fasting from a meal, snack or coffee and instead giving that money to charity. Can you imagine how much you could give if once a week or month you fasted from something that is a luxury?

If you don't have a lot of extra cash after everything is paid and your family is taken care of, whatever you have will help and make a difference. Don't be afraid to give a little. Every little bit adds up especially the more you do it and the more everyone does it =) 

CAMFED

I was raised in a home with two loving parents and was told I had to go to school. But who in America isn't told when she is a child that she has to go to school? We've all (yes there are some exceptions) been through preschool, elementary, middle school and high school and some college. It's natural to us. It's part of our daily life. I've never known anything different........


But around the world in Africa, Asia and the Muslim communities, it is a privilege and usually not for girls. Families are poor, living on less than $2/day. Most families can only send one child if any and it is a boy because the idea is that boys will be able to use the education more than a girl would. Where does that leave the girls then? At home, illiterate, getting beat by their husbands. A poor woman doesn't know how to stand up for herself. She doesn't have the confidence or courage to say stop. Our culture in the U.S. is so different. It is hard for me to grasp why other cultures are this way. Why they think or act in certain ways. It is mind-boggling to me. 


Research has shown that some of the best aid is health and education. It is amazing what happens when a girl is given the opportunity to go to school and learn. Ann Cotton, a Welsh woman started the organization Campaign for Female Education or Camfed, now. When she visited a particularly poor part of Zimbabwe she learned that what prevented most girls from going to school was poverty. The families simply couldn't afford the fees and books and uniforms. 


From the CAMFED website: http://us.camfed.org/site/PageServer?pagename=what_index

In sub-Saharan Africa, 24 million girls can't afford to go to school. A girl may marry as young as 13 and has a one in 22 chance of dying in childbirth. One in six of her children will die before the age of five. Research shows if you educate a girl she’ll:

• Earn up to 25 percent more and reinvest 90 percent in her family.
• Be three times less likely to become HIV-positive.
• Have fewer, healthier children who are 40 percent more likely to live past the age of five.

Since 1993, Camfed has fought poverty and AIDS by educating girls and empowering young women. More than 1,451,600 children in impoverished areas of Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Ghana and Malawi have benefited from our innovative education programs.

We believe every child has the right to an education. Camfed uses a community-based, holistic approach to bring about change in Africa. The girls we support are selected by the community as being the most in need. We don’t just provide her with books or school fees. We help her throughout her development, from her elementary school years until adulthood. Our package allows her to get into school, do well academically, and maximize the value of her education after graduation.

I learned of this organization in the book I'm currently reading, Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. Here's an excerpt from the book:

"Perhaps the greatest surprise is that Camfed alumni have themselves become philanthropists. Even though their incomes are tiny by Western standards, they still support other schoolgirls. Ann says that Camfed's high school graduates are each helping an average of five other girls at any one time, not counting their own family members, whom they also support. 

'They are becoming real role models in their communities', Ann says. 'It may be that the neighbor's child can't go to school because she doesn't have a skirt, so she'll provide that. Or maybe she'll pay another girl's school fees. This was something that we didn't expect at all. It shows the power of education'."

Please head over to the CAMFED website and check out the amazing things that are being done by determined and passionate women.

Depraved Indifference

Ordinary Hero Blog: An Immediate Need In Ethiopia

Ordinary Hero Blog: An Immediate Need In Ethiopia: "I have so many things I need to post but not enough time or posts in one day :) I want to post today about an immediate need that we have in..."

What's this all about?

I started a blog last May to help me get through a difficult time. I was struggling to find a job and I didn't know what I wanted to do. I was lost. I didn't know who I was or where I was going. I was a newlywed and happily married but inside me I was a mess.

For some time I knew I wanted to encourage people, I just didn't know how or in what way? There is so much negativity, pessimism, and cynicism in our world that I wanted there to be a place where someone could go and not be hit with that stuff. So I started Sun is Shining......and.....Life is Good blog.

On May 27th it will be a year that I've been blogging and I've done it everyday. In the beginning my blog gave me a purpose everyday and something to look forward too. It helped me stay positive and encouraged during a rough time. As the days and months passed though I started figuring out who I was and what I was passionate for.

The more I read and hear about life in developing countries (especially Africa) my heart breaks. I can't imagine living the way they do when I am so, so, so blessed here in the U.S. For me personally I feel I have a responsibility to help. How can I live like a queen here (compared to people in developing countries) while people are suffering so badly over there?

As I started getting passionate for "the least of these" I would write about it on my blog but the blog I had started was suppose to be encouraging and uplifting and I wasn't always writing the most positive things. I had to spin it a little to make it positive. Like, here's the situation and yes it's not good BUT here's how we can help and make it good. My heart is overtaken with the help that these people need and I want to talk about it and yell about it and get passionate but I can't on my other blog.......so here's my new blog where I do just that. I advocate for those who are suffering and don't even have their most basic needs met. Here's where I say "Why is this happening? How can people be so cruel and mean?" and "What can WE do to help?"