Another "Compassion Friend"

On Monday, I got to meet this awesome young woman, Meredith, who works for Compassion.  I first became aware she existed in reading her posts on the Compassion Blog. I really liked the way she wrote, and every time I read one of her posts, it seemed something just 'clicked'. Then, I discovered her personal blog as I continued my project of reading the Compassion blog chronologically. Again, I saw she is someone who seems to be reading my mind.  So I told Gayle I wanted to meet her, and I did!  I got to spend a few minutes talking to her until Elarie started crying (oops!).  She is just a few years older than I and it was great to see where God has placed her.

Anyway, it was really cool to meet her after finding her online. Usually when I find a cool blog, I just have e-communication with the author, if any at all.

P.S. I think I should just refer to all the Compassion people I talk to as my "Compassion friends". So if you hear it, I mean people who literally work at that big building on Voyager, not just people who have compassion. But just because "Compassion" and "friends" are labels for my blog posts, it does not mean I can really label this "Compassion". uh, Ima go sleep now, I think I am rambling.

I Hopped on a Jet to Colorado. . .And a New Way of Living

My extreme desire to go back to Colorado fuels many thought that evolve
in to posts, so as I am flying over canyons to go visit my beloved
Colorado, I write.

Have you ever grown so tired of something that you can bear it no longer
and are desperate for a change?

That happens to me a lot. School. Home. California. Complacency.

Maybe even the US. I would like to state how I hope to be stationed in
another country (not a super hot one though) if Jay and I marry.

I got so sick of school. I graduated early, piddled around in college,
and at 18 said goodbye to school.

I got sick of being a kid in my mom's house. So, 2 weeks after my 18th
birthday, and 3 years ago today, I moved out. I wanted to break away and
develop myself into an adult. Still not there yet. Check back later,
although I make no guarantees.

I became utterly disillusioned with California. The
California way sickens me. The weather nearly drives me to insanity. So
at . . .you guessed it, 18, I moved to Colorado. I could say I never
looked back, but maybe I did just a teensy bit.

And then, guess what. That is right, God dragged me, kicking and
screaming (in my heart) back to California. But not before He opened my
eyes to a huge problem in the world.

He taught me to fight against a static life, and then showed me a huge
problem that stayed hidden in the darkness of complacency. It was time
to really go dynamic.

See, social sciences were pretty far down on the list of tolerable
classes. I did well, but rarely enjoyed those classes. How can you call
history a science anyway? But even if I was like my Uncle Ben, this cool
20 year old guy who knows his history, I doubt I would have been
prepared for reality. I never understood why I should care who Abraham
Lincoln's wife was or why four score and seven years before our fathers
brought forth upon this continent a new nation. Okay well maybe it is
important how and why America was borne, but why did I have to memorise
a speech about it?

What made sense to me, though, was dealing with the present. Maybe not
half the hullabaloo in Government, and most definitely not that super
boring economics class, but, to be honest, despite my dislike of
Economics and my indifference toward Government, they are relevant. Of
the seven classes I took for social sciences in junior high and high
school, why were five history and two current? Does the past matter that
much?

I do not see how knowing so much about when supposedly cavemen moved to
Africa matters, when today in Africa, hundreds of children are dying
hourly of preventable causes. Seriously, why should I give a rat's booty
about cavemen? HELLO, kids dying!! That is just not right.

So, while I could continue to complain about those government people
who do not get economics themselves, and force us to learn so much
history, I am kinda done with that. I acknowledge that history has its
place as a lesson for the future. But we are writing some really bad
history books today. I wonder if (providing the rapturist does not
snatch his people up [sorry if you do not get it]) we would be
considered as barbarians because of the way our society as a whole does
next to nothing to fight the nastiness of poverty. Sure, there are
people who help. Some do what they can. But those who can do more,
largely do not.
Here comes an illustration--imagine you find out your child has a brain
tumour and is plagued by severe headaches. You could give him some
Advil, and maybe alleviate some of the pain, but there is no way on this
earth you would stop there. If you know he has a problem bigger than
your over-the-counter medicine's abilities, you are going to go to a
doctor who can do more. Deadly diseases require radical treatment.

There are many who do what they can to help with the symptoms of
poverty, but the evilness of poverty is a beast that cannot be conquered
alone. It is imperative that we go to those with more authority, whether
it is the individuals in the spotlight or the masses. Either way, we
must persist until the proper treatment is administered to fight this
deadliness.

And we must not fail to remember that poverty is a result of sin. Not
that people in poverty are at fault, but because there is sin in the
world, Satan has power. Poverty is not eliminated solely with money. The
hope is that we share the hope in Jesus Christ.

I refuse to be complacent in what is, by comparison, an easy life. I am
tired of living for myself, and I know that there is something greater
out there. I have developed a worthy passion. And it all began with
those boring classes (especially history). I learned in all my
disillusion and subsequent changes how to go about seeking something so
much bigger. I hope to find others who will join me. But dropping out of
college and moving to Colorado are not necessary--it is the spiritual
changes that are necessary, and for people like me, the physical ones
add to the excitement.

Now, excuse me while I gaze out the window at the canyons of Utah (?)
below.

Things I learned. . .

As if there is anyone who does not know, I sponsor a Compassion kid.  His name is Tamirat, and he lives in Ethiopia.  He is about my age (just 3 months younger). The cool thing about Compassion is they do not just ask for your money and leave you in the dark.  They want you to know about their programs, to know about the child you sponsor, and about his/her culture.  I wanted to know about Ethiopian culture and have a reference of things to talk about.  In reading Compassion's info about Ethiopia, and with a quick visit to Wikipedia, I learned some new things about Ethiopia:

• Their new year is September 11, my birthday :)
• Amharic, a semitic language, is the official language
• Addis Ababa is the capital
• Ethiopian cuisine does not have pork because of religious influence 
• Ethiopian cities are largely at high elevations, many higher than Colorado Springs (>6000ft), where Compassion's headquarters are. 
• Ethiopia is one of the oldest countries in the world (question--are any other Compassion countries mentioned in the Bible?)

All of these are off the top of my head.  

I learned about Africa in 7th grade--a full 9 years ago.  Of course, I remember very little, even about the Congo, which I wrote a report on.  But Compassion, by way of their blog and other media, has really helped to get me out of my American box.  In 7th grade, Mrs. Whitmire was teaching us geography and history, but a middle school World History class does not teach the true state of the world.  I am so much more educated in reality by Compassion.  I love knowledge; I  love information--I have been called a walking concordance, a walking dictionary, and a walking encyclopedia.  And yet, I do not watch the news (seriously, I do not have TV, and only read news on Facebook). I believe I know more about the state of the world than your average American.  The world is getting smaller, and it would seem we would be more aware of what is going on, yet I am astounded by the level of ignorance my peers have (and that I used to have). 

I would be interested to see what other people learned about their kid's country--comment below if you have anything cool that you learned

Colorado Again

I have bought tickets to go visit Colorado. Super excited about that, more so than turning 21.


I still hope to be living there come November. Seems time is running out. Yesterday, I went back to see when I responded to Gayle's posting looking for childcare. Just five weeks before she hired me. In five weeks my life went from going nowhere fast to working for the coolest people ever. And I really miss that job. I find it hard to believe God called me back to California, since it seems to have been disaster after disaster, but thanks to old writings, I am reminded that he gave some pretty darn convincing reasons.

Had I not worked for Gayle, I would not be a Compassion sponsor today. Compassion is not just some organisation I send some money to every month. By this ministry, I have become more educated about the state of the world and I have learned so much more about the love of God. I actually care about strangers.

sigh. . .I do truly believe being back in Colorado Springs would be right. Not fully sure why.

This life is so crazy, and I have no idea what the next year holds. Heck, I do not even know what the next two months have in store for me. But I do know one thing. Whether I reside in Colorado again or not, those 16 months were some of the best in my life, and have changed me for good. As in both beneficially and permanently.

P.S. If you click the first place I mention Gayle, you can read the cool stuff she wrote on the Compassion blog.