My brother manages to get work whenever and wherever he can. He has been the grave digger for the small cemetery for the past 2 years and people also hire him to do things around their homes. I am thankful that he is able to get some work. It is just not enough. The home is in bad condition and desperately needs to be repaired. They don’t have any indoor plumbing so that means no bathroom. Nicu has been trying to make some repairs and improvements to the home but he barely makes enough money to survive. One of my goals was to be able to have some money so that we could purchase some food for him and his family. They are all very skinny. The children are skinny. They don’t look scary skinny or sickly but they are very small. I worry that they don’t have enough food and that they are not receiving enough nourishment for their growing bodies. I remember when I was that age and I just remember being so hungry all the time. When I lived with my father, we just didn’t have enough food. He received an agricultural allowance which was less than a $1/day. It was not enough. Others did what they could to help us but we just never had food. I remember gnawing on a loaf of stale, old bread that was hard as cement. Sometimes that was all that I ate for the day. You don’t know what starving is until your body is literally starving. I have never forgotten that feeling. It’s a horrible reality. I remember at my young age being scared that I might die in the middle of the night because I was so hungry. And sometimes I would go to sleep hoping that I would die in the middle of the night so that I wouldn’t have to be hungry anymore. It is hard to understand what that feels like until you have been through it. It’s a reality that no child should ever have to know. I don’t want my niece and nephews to ever know what that feels like. But I fear that they already do. I want to make sure that they never go hungry. It just brings such a feeling of despair and loneliness when you’re so hungry like that. Nicu’s children are so bright, cheerful and full of life. I am amazed at their resiliency and strength. They are fighters. You have to be. You develop survival mechanisms so that you will keep living. His children just radiate happiness and hope. While we were there, Gabriela and Andrei both recited poems that they learned in school. They were so proud and I was so emotional watching them. Gabriela is a ray of sunshine. She resembles me in looks and it feels so strange to be looking at her as she sits on her bed in the same house where I once lived. At times I would look at her as we sat next to each other and it was like I was looking at a younger version of myself. Only she is better than me. She is happy and full of life. I admire her. Andrei is a little more shy but he has a happy spirit. When he smiles his eyes light up and melt my heart. Cristian is the shyest of the three. He is more quiet and more reserved. Our personalities are similar in that way. He is so cute and sweet. I love these kids like I love my own kids. To me they light up the room. These little kids are fighters. I can tell that they are clever and bright with many hopes and dreams. They deserve all that this world has to offer. They deserve a future and happy lives. A life free of the harsh realities they are faced with. As a parent it is so hard for me to see their situation. I was in that situation and now I can’t imagine having my kids be in that situation. That is how I feel when I see them. I feel like they are my own kids and I want to fight for them. Fight for a better life for them. Fight so that they never have to do without basic necessities like food and clothing. They don’t have a voice. They are powerless in their situation. How kind the good Lord has been to rescue me from a desperate situation only to bring me full circle. Once I was that child without a voice and now I am a woman with a voice and a purpose. How appropriate that I return to my home and to the same situation I once knew to help better the lives of those left behind. I want to fight for them because they are worth fighting for. How I would move heaven and earth for them because I love them. Because they deserve it. Because they are pure and represent all the hope that this world has to offer. Because they are an undeniable part of me, part of my soul. Who will fight for them if I don’t? I think about the worth of a soul and the value of human life. I think about my brother. What is his worth to me? I think about Gabriela, Andrei and Cristian. What is their worth to me? I would go to the depths of hell to fight for them, for all my family. You have to fight for those you love because sometimes life is not kind and sometimes you find yourself in the bitter depths of the darkest abyss and you wonder who will fight for you to bring you a glimmer of hope in your darkest hour. No one is immune from pain, sadness and a broken heart. But it is during those dark hours that God works miracles through the hands of others to bring Hope, Comfort and Love to ease the pain. Through helping my brother, I have healed the broken heart I had as a little girl. Through the kindness and generosity of so many people, I have the means to help them and to supply them with basic necessities.
Showing posts with label Trip Upates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trip Upates. Show all posts
Friday, November 13, 2009
Tuesday, October 13th Update
PART III
My brother manages to get work whenever and wherever he can. He has been the grave digger for the small cemetery for the past 2 years and people also hire him to do things around their homes. I am thankful that he is able to get some work. It is just not enough. The home is in bad condition and desperately needs to be repaired. They don’t have any indoor plumbing so that means no bathroom. Nicu has been trying to make some repairs and improvements to the home but he barely makes enough money to survive. One of my goals was to be able to have some money so that we could purchase some food for him and his family. They are all very skinny. The children are skinny. They don’t look scary skinny or sickly but they are very small. I worry that they don’t have enough food and that they are not receiving enough nourishment for their growing bodies. I remember when I was that age and I just remember being so hungry all the time. When I lived with my father, we just didn’t have enough food. He received an agricultural allowance which was less than a $1/day. It was not enough. Others did what they could to help us but we just never had food. I remember gnawing on a loaf of stale, old bread that was hard as cement. Sometimes that was all that I ate for the day. You don’t know what starving is until your body is literally starving. I have never forgotten that feeling. It’s a horrible reality. I remember at my young age being scared that I might die in the middle of the night because I was so hungry. And sometimes I would go to sleep hoping that I would die in the middle of the night so that I wouldn’t have to be hungry anymore. It is hard to understand what that feels like until you have been through it. It’s a reality that no child should ever have to know. I don’t want my niece and nephews to ever know what that feels like. But I fear that they already do. I want to make sure that they never go hungry. It just brings such a feeling of despair and loneliness when you’re so hungry like that. Nicu’s children are so bright, cheerful and full of life. I am amazed at their resiliency and strength. They are fighters. You have to be. You develop survival mechanisms so that you will keep living. His children just radiate happiness and hope. While we were there, Gabriela and Andrei both recited poems that they learned in school. They were so proud and I was so emotional watching them. Gabriela is a ray of sunshine. She resembles me in looks and it feels so strange to be looking at her as she sits on her bed in the same house where I once lived. At times I would look at her as we sat next to each other and it was like I was looking at a younger version of myself. Only she is better than me. She is happy and full of life. I admire her. Andrei is a little more shy but he has a happy spirit. When he smiles his eyes light up and melt my heart. Cristian is the shyest of the three. He is more quiet and more reserved. Our personalities are similar in that way. He is so cute and sweet. I love these kids like I love my own kids. To me they light up the room. These little kids are fighters. I can tell that they are clever and bright with many hopes and dreams. They deserve all that this world has to offer. They deserve a future and happy lives. A life free of the harsh realities they are faced with. As a parent it is so hard for me to see their situation. I was in that situation and now I can’t imagine having my kids be in that situation. That is how I feel when I see them. I feel like they are my own kids and I want to fight for them. Fight for a better life for them. Fight so that they never have to do without basic necessities like food and clothing. They don’t have a voice. They are powerless in their situation. How kind the good Lord has been to rescue me from a desperate situation only to bring me full circle. Once I was that child without a voice and now I am a woman with a voice and a purpose. How appropriate that I return to my home and to the same situation I once knew to help better the lives of those left behind. I want to fight for them because they are worth fighting for. How I would move heaven and earth for them because I love them. Because they deserve it. Because they are pure and represent all the hope that this world has to offer. Because they are an undeniable part of me, part of my soul. Who will fight for them if I don’t? I think about the worth of a soul and the value of human life. I think about my brother. What is his worth to me? I think about Gabriela, Andrei and Cristian. What is their worth to me? I would go to the depths of hell to fight for them, for all my family. You have to fight for those you love because sometimes life is not kind and sometimes you find yourself in the bitter depths of the darkest abyss and you wonder who will fight for you to bring you a glimmer of hope in your darkest hour. No one is immune from pain, sadness and a broken heart. But it is during those dark hours that God works miracles through the hands of others to bring Hope, Comfort and Love to ease the pain. Through helping my brother, I have healed the broken heart I had as a little girl. Through the kindness and generosity of so many people, I have the means to help them and to supply them with basic necessities.
My brother manages to get work whenever and wherever he can. He has been the grave digger for the small cemetery for the past 2 years and people also hire him to do things around their homes. I am thankful that he is able to get some work. It is just not enough. The home is in bad condition and desperately needs to be repaired. They don’t have any indoor plumbing so that means no bathroom. Nicu has been trying to make some repairs and improvements to the home but he barely makes enough money to survive. One of my goals was to be able to have some money so that we could purchase some food for him and his family. They are all very skinny. The children are skinny. They don’t look scary skinny or sickly but they are very small. I worry that they don’t have enough food and that they are not receiving enough nourishment for their growing bodies. I remember when I was that age and I just remember being so hungry all the time. When I lived with my father, we just didn’t have enough food. He received an agricultural allowance which was less than a $1/day. It was not enough. Others did what they could to help us but we just never had food. I remember gnawing on a loaf of stale, old bread that was hard as cement. Sometimes that was all that I ate for the day. You don’t know what starving is until your body is literally starving. I have never forgotten that feeling. It’s a horrible reality. I remember at my young age being scared that I might die in the middle of the night because I was so hungry. And sometimes I would go to sleep hoping that I would die in the middle of the night so that I wouldn’t have to be hungry anymore. It is hard to understand what that feels like until you have been through it. It’s a reality that no child should ever have to know. I don’t want my niece and nephews to ever know what that feels like. But I fear that they already do. I want to make sure that they never go hungry. It just brings such a feeling of despair and loneliness when you’re so hungry like that. Nicu’s children are so bright, cheerful and full of life. I am amazed at their resiliency and strength. They are fighters. You have to be. You develop survival mechanisms so that you will keep living. His children just radiate happiness and hope. While we were there, Gabriela and Andrei both recited poems that they learned in school. They were so proud and I was so emotional watching them. Gabriela is a ray of sunshine. She resembles me in looks and it feels so strange to be looking at her as she sits on her bed in the same house where I once lived. At times I would look at her as we sat next to each other and it was like I was looking at a younger version of myself. Only she is better than me. She is happy and full of life. I admire her. Andrei is a little more shy but he has a happy spirit. When he smiles his eyes light up and melt my heart. Cristian is the shyest of the three. He is more quiet and more reserved. Our personalities are similar in that way. He is so cute and sweet. I love these kids like I love my own kids. To me they light up the room. These little kids are fighters. I can tell that they are clever and bright with many hopes and dreams. They deserve all that this world has to offer. They deserve a future and happy lives. A life free of the harsh realities they are faced with. As a parent it is so hard for me to see their situation. I was in that situation and now I can’t imagine having my kids be in that situation. That is how I feel when I see them. I feel like they are my own kids and I want to fight for them. Fight for a better life for them. Fight so that they never have to do without basic necessities like food and clothing. They don’t have a voice. They are powerless in their situation. How kind the good Lord has been to rescue me from a desperate situation only to bring me full circle. Once I was that child without a voice and now I am a woman with a voice and a purpose. How appropriate that I return to my home and to the same situation I once knew to help better the lives of those left behind. I want to fight for them because they are worth fighting for. How I would move heaven and earth for them because I love them. Because they deserve it. Because they are pure and represent all the hope that this world has to offer. Because they are an undeniable part of me, part of my soul. Who will fight for them if I don’t? I think about the worth of a soul and the value of human life. I think about my brother. What is his worth to me? I think about Gabriela, Andrei and Cristian. What is their worth to me? I would go to the depths of hell to fight for them, for all my family. You have to fight for those you love because sometimes life is not kind and sometimes you find yourself in the bitter depths of the darkest abyss and you wonder who will fight for you to bring you a glimmer of hope in your darkest hour. No one is immune from pain, sadness and a broken heart. But it is during those dark hours that God works miracles through the hands of others to bring Hope, Comfort and Love to ease the pain. Through helping my brother, I have healed the broken heart I had as a little girl. Through the kindness and generosity of so many people, I have the means to help them and to supply them with basic necessities.
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