Children

Most of my entries are about a number, an age, a date, or children. I guess since I deal with numbers all of the time, maybe that is why that is a common thread. Children are a huge part of my life - well the two of ours are.

But, other children pull at my heart. I love to visit B's school or E's class at daycare. I love to have their friends come give me hugs. We are all so blessed.

Children. Not all children have the same options that my children have. Nor do they have the same pleasures, abundance, or parental care that our children have. Kenya is where my heart is directed right now. However, I realize that there are children here - where I live - who are missing these same things. What amazes me most, I think, is that they still have Joy. Most of them. Not all of them. Most of them. The reason Kenya is on my mind and heart is because of a blog that I follow. Daily. Yes, I try to go read her blog every day. Mckmama is her name. She and other bloggers are on a Compassion International trip to Kenya. There are 5 other bloggers, here, here, here (you may have to go to this one twice before it shows up), here, and here. Also on the trip are the three trip leaders and a photographer. The reson CI chooses bloggers to go on a trip such as this is obvious. However, it wasn't so obvious to me at first. Selfishly, I wondered why THEY were so priviledged to have this opportunity to go. Then it made sense....what better way for CI to get the word out about these children than through Bloggers who have a huge following of readers. At one count, Mckmama posted 295 children had been sponsored. There are still SO many though. I struggle with this. If you help one, what about the other 2,999. Our family is going to sponsor a child. Maybe 2. One B's age and one E's age. We just have to decide which 2 children. it is only $38 per month to sponsor a CI child. World Vision, another organization helping children, has sponsorships available as well. Through some avenue, our family will begin to sponsor one or two children.

After traveling to Kenya with them via their blogs, I went to visit the website of another familiar organization to our family. Africa Exchange. This is an organization with many sponsors. It is a CBF organization. The director is Sam Harrell. He and his wife Melody have been in Kenya for years. Mark went to Kenya with a group from McAfee School of Theology when he was in graduate school there. While it helps me to know that there are organizations in Kenya helping the people there, I still feel overwhelmed. SO MANY people to be helped in our world. Yet, we have cable in our home, we eat out - frequently, we pay for our children to play organized sports, my children have MULTIPLE pairs of shoes. We are so blessed. I am struggling. A lot. With this issue of poverty. I want to help. I want to know that what I do makes some kind of difference. Through the blogs of the Kenya team, I have been made aware that ANY help - for even ONE child - makes a huge difference. A difference felt by the entire family of the sponsored child, not just the individual child.

I hope that you (do I still have anyone who stops by though? I never post) will consider sponsoring a child. Not only in Kenya. There are hundreds of thousands of children waiting for sponsors. In MANY countries. This link will take you to the Compassion International page of children needing a sponsor. Right now, the total for "all countries" is 2,521. I know that there are many, many more. You can go to this link to see children connected with World Vision who need sponsors. You can go here to see how you can help Africa Exhange with projects they work with daily.

My heart is broken for so many. Children. Orphans. Hungry. Lacking. I am so blessed. Beyond words to describe how blessed I am.