Childhood memories

I've started this post more than once.

I've typed and deleted several things.

But, now, I've decided to share one of my fondest memories from my childhood.

I don't even know if the world today would allow this to happen.

Way back in the mid-seventies my family moved to far West Texas, true West Texas.

On our first Sunday in this tiny town we met a family.

They lived on a ranch 20 miles out of town.

We had Sunday lunch with them at the ranch.

It was decided my siblings and I would stay a couple of days while our parents settled into their new jobs.

The next day 8 kids, ages 15 through 6, climbed onto horses, bareback.

We only took 3 horses, which meant a pile of kids on each horse.

Thankfully, for the horses, we were all tiny.

We headed north through the desert scrub until the designated spot to tie-up the horses.

Then, we hiked to the Rio Grande (remember, true West Texas) and waded down the river in water barely covering our ankles.

Until we hit the mud.

Grey, slimy, glorious mud.

At this point in the river the water was about waist deep on me and the mud was knee high.

The mud fight was epic.

Every inch of us was covered in mud.

We got back to the house about the same time our parents drove up.

The mud was so thick they couldn't tell us apart at first.

My mom found a pebble in my little brother's ear.

I tell you, it was an epic fight.

What an amazing day.

8 kids.

Bareback on horses.

In far West Texas.

Screaming, yelling, and flinging mud in the Rio Grande.

Without an adult in sight.

Like I said, I don't know if the world we live in now would allow this to take place.

Those years in far West Texas opened up a whole new world to me. So much freedom to run around doing crazy things. A different culture, a different landscape. I'm extremely thankful for the time I had there.

You might not live in a place where your kids can experience different cultures first hand, but there is a nifty magazine that allows them to explore and a year subscription is free.

It's called Explorer and you can sign up for it here.

Compassion Explorer is full of crafts, games, recipes, devotionals, and stories from around the world.

When I was a kid, I loved reading books and magazines. I still love reading books and magazines. It's such a great way to explore without leaving home.

Explore getting Explorer for the kids you love. Introduce them to a whole new world. You've got nothing to lose and they've got a lot to gain.

Back to school

Around here most of the kiddos have been in school for a week. Some private schools and states have been in session for a few weeks and some haven't started up yet. I guess we sort of fall in the middle. And, my guess is that the majority of us, no matter when we start, take education for granted.

In honor of education and its importance I give you some facts gathered by Compassion International.

• Worldwide, nearly 80 percent of primary-school-age children attend school. In least developed countries, this figure is around 66 percent.
• The largest out-of-school population is in sub-Saharan Africa, where around 45.5 million children of primary school age are out of school.
• Of the 67 million primary-school-age children who do not attend school, 53 percent are girls.
• Worldwide, only 49 percent of children of secondary school age actually attend secondary school.
• Of the 49 percent of secondary age students who do not attend school, 52 percent are girls.
• The world’s functional illiterates include more than 130 million children who do not attend school, 73 million of them girls.

These numbers are heartbreaking. 

 I looked up information about the education system in The Dominican Republic where our Compassion kiddos live. I found out it ranks as one of the worst in the world. Heartbreaking. The article by Katie Manning came out May 12, 2014 for Deutsche Welle and states extremely low pay makes it hard to get qualified teachers. Can you imagine trying to live on less than $350 a month? When I taught for a private school I only made about $6 an hour. Teachers there make even less. Hard to comprehend that's possible. Schools are also extremely overcrowded and dropout rates are high. 

At least I know our kiddos are getting extra attention through the Compassion programs they attend. My hope is that education reform will truly take place in their country. 

You can help a child/children reach for the stars and get the educational help needed by sponsoring he/she/them through Compassion.

This is what inspired us

The following is what inspired our family to sponsor children through Compassion International.

Patricia Laura of Ten Thousand Homes

Back in July this list came out in The Huffington Post. I was THRILLED, GIDDY, ECSTATIC to see Ten Thousand Homes included.

I know Ten Thousand Homes is a remarkable place. It holds a part of my heart and because of this I've decided to "interview" the ladies of TTH and introduce them to you. These Q & A sessions are being posted in the order I receive them.

First up is Patricia Laura, originally from Brazil. You may have heard of that country. It had some kind of soccer thingy there recently. 

How did you come to be part of Ten Thousand Homes? In 2012, God had revived in my heart the dream of being a missionary and a friend showed me a website with information about TTH. Then in 2013 I came to Africa and had been serving for only 1 month and here God told me that I should return full-time. I was invited to come back and do the YWAM DTS. I came back two months later.

Was it an easy decision to join the staff? No. I had a ticket to go back to Brazil after finishing the school and God spoke to me clearly to stay. The hardest part was telling my parents and friends that I would not return to Brazil soon.

How long have you been on staff? 6 months

What is your role at Ten Thousand Homes? I have been added to the Community Development team and help in all that is necessary. I keep praying to God to tell me exactly what to do.

How do you describe hope? For me HOPE is to see and believe that the situation can change in spite of circumstances.

Why is hope important to you? HOPE brings joy, faith and truth.

What is a dream you have for Ten Thousand Homes or yourself? I have a dream of seeing God's love changing this nation through the TTH family. For myself I have a dream to have my own family.

What is one thing you want people to know about Ten Thousand Homes? TTH is not about food or a house, it is about Love, Hope and Relationship with God and people. 

Thank you, Patricia, for sharing. You are so beautiful. I love your heart. I need to hug your neck.

Extend

I've been thinking about my word for 2014 for a couple of weeks now.

Three words kept bouncing around:

Extend
Expand
Embrace

There wasn't a particular order and sometimes I would completely forget one of them and have to rack my brain for the missing word.

Extend was always there.

When I think of the word I picture my hands stretching out from my body and my fingers spreading wide - expanding, ready to embrace. 

I want to extend, reach out to friends I haven't seen for some time, even though we live in the same city.

I want to extend, explore areas of creativity that I've shut down in the past.

I want to extend, stretch my comfort zone.

This year I want to always be extending my hands, reaching out for and with grace and mercy.