This is an image that I simply canNOT get out of my head/heart. This woman is raising her 2 daughters in a shack that we would not keep a lawnmower in. Her kitchen is an eternal flame of sorts just outside her home, which is located downhill from the neighborhood outhouse. Her youngest child is indeed naked, all day - no diaper or simple garments. The woman has just been diagnosed with Leukemia.
I will never escape the moment that I met her or when she showed us with pride her home and meager belongings heaped on the bed (which the 'HOUSE" was just big enough to fit). That's why we go on these trips, right? To open our eyes and change our lives? In my heart, that can't be all of it....I went to make a difference & continue to make a difference after I returned to my home - a mansion by Honduran standards. I am blessed. I have an able-bodied husband with a great job that provides for our family, a healthy & vibrant 5 year-old, 2 working vehicles & a 2 bedroom house with a finished basement and indoor plumbing...how could I want more?
That is the question I have lived with for a year. The conclusion is, I can't & I shouldn't. I am too blessed compared to others. I need to share my good fortune and my skills, ie. knitting. A washcloth could make a huge difference in this lady's life and the life of her children. I am hoping on this trip not to simply hand-out items we have collected and didn't sell in a garage sale to the communities I visit in Honduras, but really meet the people I am helping & make a difference. I am not hoping to change the world for all, but change the world, for the better, for all of those I meet both in Honduras and here at home. If you feel the "tug" do NOT ignore it, embrace it. You don't have to travel the world to make a difference, just listen to your heart.
I will never escape the moment that I met her or when she showed us with pride her home and meager belongings heaped on the bed (which the 'HOUSE" was just big enough to fit). That's why we go on these trips, right? To open our eyes and change our lives? In my heart, that can't be all of it....I went to make a difference & continue to make a difference after I returned to my home - a mansion by Honduran standards. I am blessed. I have an able-bodied husband with a great job that provides for our family, a healthy & vibrant 5 year-old, 2 working vehicles & a 2 bedroom house with a finished basement and indoor plumbing...how could I want more?
That is the question I have lived with for a year. The conclusion is, I can't & I shouldn't. I am too blessed compared to others. I need to share my good fortune and my skills, ie. knitting. A washcloth could make a huge difference in this lady's life and the life of her children. I am hoping on this trip not to simply hand-out items we have collected and didn't sell in a garage sale to the communities I visit in Honduras, but really meet the people I am helping & make a difference. I am not hoping to change the world for all, but change the world, for the better, for all of those I meet both in Honduras and here at home. If you feel the "tug" do NOT ignore it, embrace it. You don't have to travel the world to make a difference, just listen to your heart.
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