Today I will not be highlighting one child, but all the children. Here's a photo that my friend Kirby took while he was in India with the children an the harvest from their farm:
They are so beautiful.
Here are some photos from my time in India with the children at the orphanage in 2009:
The children washing their own clothes as well as the younger children's clothes too.
Paul and I first became sponsors in 2013. Since then, we have sponsored 4 children from the orphanage. I cannot tell you what a blessing it is to be able to sponsor these children and know they will not be hungry. We print out their picture along with their age, birthday, what they like to and put it on our fridge. Here are some of their photos.
With every sponsorship, we tell our kids about the children and they become a part of our family. We pray for them together, and talk about them regularly. Sponsorship's become teaching moments for my children. I teach them to care for others, to think of others more highly than yourself, and to love others just as God has loved them. I really don't know if any of this will resonate with them, or change them in any way, but heck it sure does change the lives of the children we sponsor at least.
We are not rich with piles of money to give away. We have 4 kids, pay for childcare, I'm going to school, and we both work full time to make ends meet. When we first thought about sponsoring we didn't know if we could make the commitment, but once we broke down the cost of our every day life, it really didn't make any more sense to not sponsor. To sacrifice a couple cups of coffee a week, and a dinner out here and there - it was doable! Our dollar stretches so far in these extreme impoverished countries that $48 can pay for all the food, housing, education, and clothes for an entire month!
There's still time if now is not the time for you to sponsor. Pray for the children, and have God make the path for you to be able to bless them.
DAY 29
This is all the beans I have left to last me a couple days.
Breakfast: Bean and potato tacos. Costs .25 cents
Lunch: Mexican rice with potatoes and over easy egg. Costs .25 cents
I made the last batch of rice that I had. This could last a whole 'nother week!
Dinner: Rice and potato tacos. Costs .25 cents
Late night snack: Remember that baguette I forgot to bring on my trip? Well here it is!
Toast with cinnamon coated frozen bananas. Costs .10 cents
My daily food total for today would have been $13.55 bringing the donation total up to be $578.60.
DAY 30
Breakfast: Nothing like a good piece of broken bread to start the day. Costs .02 cents
Lunch: My usual quick lunch of rice beans and potatoes. Costs .25 cents.
Dinner: Finished with my favorite noodle stir fry with my last egg. Costs .35 cents
My daily food total today would have been $10.55 bringing my total donation total to be $589.15, round it up and I'm able to give $600! This number includes every drink, every snack, and every meal I would have consumed for 30 days. What an eye opener.
Y'all want to know something else? I had left overs from my own stash!
This along with about 6 more corn tortillas (didn't make it in the photo) left.
That means I was living on <$1 each day during this journey. Crazy how we can make the adjustments in our lives to save almost $600 in 30 days. Along with the $600, I was able to raise another $400 from friends and family who wanted to help with my goal. That's $1,000 more than 30 days ago if I had done nothing. That's $1,000 to help sponsor a child for almost 2 years!
I did not reach my goal of 7 sponsors, but did raise 2. 2 more than 30 days ago. 2 more children that will be able to be fed, educated, and cared for. If there's anything I have learned from this journey, it's that we can all make a difference, no matter how small you make think your donation or commitment is. WE made that difference TOGETHER!
Update: We had a sponsor sign up last minute and now our total is THREE sponsors!
Here is the orphan we have JOINED TOGETHER in sponsoring. Meet Manggou y'all!! He's 10 years old and lives in Myanmar. This busy boy enjoys running and football. He's in 4th grade and says his favorite subjects are History and Myanmar. We WILL BE ABLE TO underwrite all his expenses to provide an education, rehabilitation, access to nutritious meals and clean water, medical and dental care, all in a LOVING FAMILY environment! His smile says a thousand words for us all.
"I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples."
- Mother Teresa
I'm proud of you and all that you accomplished during this challenge.
ReplyDeleteGaining just one sponsorship is a success but you exceeded that and raised awareness for extremely underprivileged children. Awareness now has the potential to develop into action later.
I witnessed you resolutely maintain a strict meal plan without ever complaining about hunger, limited variety, or any of the myriad of other issues that arose. You sat side-by-side with us at home while we ate "normal" meals - even cooking for us as much as you normally do.
This was a truly admirable quest requiring astounding self-discipline and focus. I know that praise/recognition is not the end game for you. Helping children that need help is the goal. But in order to achieve this, you did have to endure and operate in a manner completely different from the rest of us. You did it, Baby. You did, in fact, make a difference. And in the process earn a well-deserved pat on the back.