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Thankful Thursday

Visitors Center

Coming off of the World Vision conference I could type for days about the things I am thankful for. I cried a lot this time as I have in the past at the heartache faced by those around the world, but also tears of joy about the love and compassion poured out by people working together to make a difference.

  • For the fact that I NEVER for one single second have to wonder where food is going to come from for Nadia.
  • For the fact that I NEVER for one single second have to worry that there won’t be doctors and medicine available should she get sick.
  • For the fact that I NEVER for one single second have to wonder if my child will live another day because the only water available to me is miles away and the color of mud.
  • For the fact that I NEVER for one single second have to worry that civil unrest is going to bring rape, pillaging and death to my doorstep.
  • For the fact that I NEVER for one single second have to worry that some fanatical anti government group is going to come and kidnap my child to turn her into a child soldier or a sex slave.
  • For the World Vision workers around the world that have given their lives to try and make the world a better place for children. I pray for their families’ comfort.
  • For the World Vision staff in Seattle that do SO MUCH good with the money they are entrusted with.  To see them in action made me feel even better about giving money to WV (and I wouldn’t have thought that possible).
  • For all the corporations in America that make in kind donations to WV. Those donations are used to help the poorest of the poor here in America and around the world.
  • For Miyon, Tiffany and Lori (and Marla while she was with the team) for all their support they offer to the Child Ambassadors.
  • For all the Child Ambassadors. These are people from every walk of life who believe so strongly in the difference that can be made by those who care that they volunteer their time to tell others about child sponsorship.
  • For all the people who have ever sponsored children through me. Trust me that you are making a difference in the lives of these children and their community. You are being a shining example to them.
  • For the children that Mike and I sponsor and the sweet, sweet letters and photos that are sent to us.
  • For the children whose picture folders I have that expire tomorrow and go back into the system. I pray that they will get sponsored soon since they are going to the top of the pile. Especially for the orphans who have lost their parents to the global AIDS pandemic…and just don’t have access to the meds that we do in America.
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Thankful Thursday +3

Hello. I missed the TT last week because we were in Seattle for the World Vision Child Ambassador Retreat. This was my 3rd time to attend and Mike and Nadia came along because I couldn’t bear to leave her for that long. I would have been totally distracted if they had stayed in Texas.

The retreat was a great blessing once again and I am oh so THANKFUL that I get to be a part of this program for World Vision. If you are new to our blog, I am a Child Ambassador for World Vision. Child Ambassadors are all sponsors who volunteer their time to share sponsorship with the people in their circle of influence. It has been one of the greatest blessings of my life to do this and to bring life and opportunities to the forgotten children of the world. If you are interested in finding out more or sponsoring a child, please visit my World Vision page.

Or you can call/email me anytime. I will be blogging more about the trip as I decompress all the information, but here are a few statistics:

  • In 2000 approximately 33,000 children were dying EVERY DAY because of preventable causes like diarrhea and malaria. The 2007 statistics have gone down to 26,000 children. Still a horrific number of children dying every day, but organizations like WV are MAKING A DIFFERENCE!!!
  • 80% of the world (or 5 billion people) have one meal a day or one meal every other day. That was shocking number to me. I so often take it for granted that I eat multiple times every day and have a choice of foods at every meal. Even the poorest of the poor in America are eating more than the vast majority of the world.
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World AIDS Day 2007

  

 If you are already a World Vision sponsor thank you SO MUCH for your giving to help children around the world who are in need.

Today is World AIDS day and World Vision has been working tirelessly to help the orphans of the AIDS pandemic that is sweeping across Africa. Most of you know that I volunteer as a Child Ambassador for World Vision. God has blessed us that we are able to sponsor 5 children around the globe and being a Child Ambassador gives me the opportunity to share with even more people about these precious children. The numbers are staggering and we can’t give up on saving this generation. Each day 6,000 children are orphaned to the AIDS pandemic. That’s 2.5 million new orphans every year. Globally 61% of the people who die from AIDS are women.

The little girl above is from Swaziland where an entire generation of middle age people has been wiped off the face of the earth. In Swaziland the life expectancy has dropped to 36 years old. 40% of the population in Swaziland is HIV positive and there are 80,000 AIDS orphans. 

I ask you to stop and think about that for a moment. It’s not just numbers. Each number represents a child. These children are not worth any less because they live in Africa or Haiti or India. The biggest problem is that these children do not live in countries like America that are filled with social services and programs for the poverty stricken.

In many countries in Africa an ENTIRE generation of adults has been decimated by the disease.  Below is the information of 10 children’s picture folders that I just received. These children are not available to be sponsored through any other way than through me.  The link above will take you to the photos of all the children listed below. If you want further details about the child, just post here or email me for the information. For $35 a month you can make a difference in the life of one of these children and their community by partnering with other sponsors here in America. You can always go to my personal World Vision web page and do a search for children from other countries. http://worldvision.dwimble.com/

I have not done this post to make anyone feel guilty, but just to ask you to pray today for all the people around the world suffering from the AIDS pandemic. On a global level it’s the children that are suffering the most due to the actions of their parents and other adults around them. And I ask you to consider sponsoring one of these children. Either for your family or in honor of someone else this Christmas season.

  1. Owethu from Swaziland. Female. DOB October 22, 2005. She lives with her mother and has no siblings.  She is in satisfactory health.

  2. Sakhile from Swaziland. Male. DOB July 4, 2005. He is an orphan who lives with relatives and his siblings. He is in satisfactory health.

  3. Amani from Kenya. Male. DOB December 1, 2000. He is an orphan who lives with relatives and his siblings. He is in satisfactory health.

  4. Stephanie from Haiti. Female.  *now sponsored :)*

  5. Aluncedo from South Africa. Female. DOB October 25, 1999. She is an orphan who lives with her grandmother and sister. She is in satisfactory health.

  6. Geraldo from Mozambique. Male. DOB March 7, 1999. He lives with his father and siblings and is in good health.

  7. Aphelele from South Africa. Male. DOB January 4, 2001. He lives with his mother and sisters. He is in satisfactory health.

  8. Telma Jorge from Mozambique. Female. DOB July 7, 1998. She lives with her parents and siblings. She is in satisfactory health.

  9. Longelech from Kenya. Female. DOB October 9, 2001. She lives with her parents and siblings. She is in satisfactory health.

  10. Gemechu from Ethiopia. Male. DOB January 1, 2004. He lives with his parents and sister. He is in satisfactory health.

Stephanie Longelech Geraldo Albino   

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Thankful Thursday + 1

This is one day late because it’s been a crazy week of preparing for the trip.

o For this AWESOME outfit from Tiffany, Miyon and Marla at World Vision. I just started crying when I saw it. It’s the perfect gift for me because of how I adore my volunteer work for WV.

o For the willing volunteers from our church who will travel to Reynosa, Mexico on Saturday morning to spend a week with the Isaiah 55 ministries. They will be assisting the missionaries with the construction of the deaf school and part of the group will be leading VBS for the children down there. Mike and I desperately wanted to go on this trip becuase of the time we spent with the missionarys in January, but we will be praying for them.

o For all the people in the church who are not going, but who gave generously at the Silent Auction and raffle and garage sale to make this trip a possibility.

o For all the people who sponsored World Vision children from China who are sending gifts with us for their sponsored children. One sponsor got a shirt from the Stockyards and one from the Cowgirl Musuem. It’s so fun to think that these kids will get a Texas shirt from their Texas sponsors.

o For everything working out with booking our plane tickets, hotel, tours and more. It’s a relieft that we can just get on the plane and everything is done and paid for.

o For the girls at the Hurst Guaranty bank who have seen me about 12 times in the last week looking for “just a few more clean 100’s.”

o For all the support of the been there done that parents who have offered all sorts of entertaining and helpful advise about the trip.

o For the fact that we leave in just 4 days!!!!