Hope for Haiti

Recently I chose to spend a weekend living in "poverty" in order to learn more about myself and the world around me. During that weekend, I found out about a program that allows orphans in Haiti to go to school and get an education. And guess what? It only costs $100 to send a kid to school for the entire year! A hundred dollars. That amount just struck me. I mean, I could easily spend $100 in a matter of minutes at REI, the mall, or even the grocery store these days.

At first I thought to myself that giving $100 to help a kid in Haiti would be an easy thing for me to do. Then I thought about the opportunity to get other people involved in this effort. So, I present to you, THE $1 CHALLENGE:

I am looking for 100 people who would give a dollar to help send a kid in Haiti to school for a year. A dollar. Think about that for just a second.

I have already approached a few people regarding this challenge and they keep on asking if they can give more than a dollar. I really like the idea of finding 100 people to get on board with this, so here is my promise to you. All of the extra dollars given will go into a jar and we will send as many kids to school as the jar will allow. Make sense? Great.

Do not even let yourself wonder for one second what you get out of this. The real question to ask yourself is what do these kids in Haiti get out of this?

For decades, Haiti has remained the least-developed country in the Americas. Somewhere around 80% of the population lives in poverty. 80%!! As of 2003, Haiti was the ONLY country in the Americas on the United Nations list of Least Developed Countries. As if that's not enough, foreign aid makes up approximately 30%-40% of the national government's budget.

What we have here is an opportunity to make a difference in some kids' lives. So as we head into the holiday season and start thinking about all the decorations and gifts and travels that we are budgeting for, stop and think about Haiti for a minute and figure out how much you will give.

Reflections

This season of Thanksgiving is reminding me that I have a lot to be thankful for. My parents are one (or do they count as two?) of the things I am most thankful for. I have been blessed with Godly parents who have taught me and my siblings to trust God in every circumstance. They have reminded us over and over that everything is from Him and that all the glory belongs to Him. Any time the economy has taken a plunge (which seems to be a consistent and unavoidable theme in the oil and gas industry), they have never shown us the slightest hint of anxiety or worry, EVER. They have always put our needs and desires above their own and they have never considered us to be under them, in the sense that they've never made us wash the dishes while they sat and chatted just because we were the kids. I am so thankful for that. Everything in our family has always been a family effort. Everyone pitches in gladly and no one gets told what to do. Jenny, Ben and I are all quite different and I think we've all required a different set of parenting skills. Our parents have been so adaptable and so in tune to our wiring that they have made parenting look graceful and effortless, and I know it is not. They have taught us by example their whole lives, and I hope I can pass it on to my own children.

36 days...

I leave for Spain in 36 days. More than anything I just can't wait to see my sister...and of course to speaka tha spanish. I don't think Jenny will be allowed to leave the country for prolonged periods of time anymore without taking me with her. In fact, I think I am going to kidknap her when she gets back so we can be roomies.

Warning...

Do NOT get your dogs bathed during the month of November. They may come home smelling like pumpkin spice cologne.

Scrooge!

I have been known to say I do not LIKE Christmas. (gasp!) I've even been called a scrooge on more than one occasion. This is mainly because I hate how commercialized it has become, and how we feel obligated to buy gifts for people that they don't need or necessarily even want. I know that I, for one, have enough STUFF and really could do without any extra STUFF. Now don't totally misread me, there is definitely joy in giving... (and there is also joy in receiving). Jesus is a prime example of giving. He asks us to give to the poor, those in need, widows and orphans, and even each other.

See John 13:34-45. "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this men will know you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Loving one another often includes giving. It's not always a "giving" of material possessions, but rather the giving of yourself. It can be a gift of time, love, compassion, encouragement, even truth. How is it that we have gotten so far from the meaning of Christmas that we spend $450 billion on mostly useless stuff?

I love this video. It captures just how much we have lost sight of the PURPOSE.

Fall Colors in Texas?

Saturday I met my parents in College Station to watch the Aggie game, which they won! And, we got to SIT in the SHADE the whole game... now you really can't beat that. It turned out to be a great day for a road trip through the rolling hills of central Texas (aside from all the roadkill that I could have done without). The leaves were all turning colors and it was so beautiful. I was pretty surprised to find the fall colors actually, since I guess you don't hear much about that happening in Texas. I had just noticed on Friday that the trees around our neighborhood were starting to turn. I wonder how they know it's time when it is 88 degrees outside? Here are some pictures from the weekend...

What is wrong with this picture?!?


These guys have figured out what it takes to make it in Texas!