My Journey with Compassion Honduras – Child Visit Day 2

Monday, May 19^th couldn’t come soon enough! I was meeting 6 year old Emely, and Eduar Caleb (a 9 year old boy I have sponsored for over 5 years). As they were coming in from out-of-town (Emely from project HO224 in Intibucá near Siguatepeque to the north of Tegucigalpa, and Eduar Caleb from project HO506 in Danlí to the south), there would be no project visits today.

We first went to the main bus terminal to pick up Emely, her mom Olga and her tutor Maritza. I was not prepared for the beautiful sight of seeing my precious redhead Emely walk out of the bus terminal dressed like a true princess in a full length princess gown complete with long gloves up to her elbows! She had travelled almost three hours on the bus in her princess dress, with a strong desire to look her best for her meeting with her “madrina” from Canada! She was personality plus and such a playful and joy-filled child!! I don’t think she stopped smiling all day!

We then went to the Compassion Honduras country office to pick up Eduar Caleb, his grandma Maria Luisa and sponsorship coordinator Elisabeth. I was greeted by a big bear hug from sweet Eduar Caleb. He was thrilled to see me! He is the grandson of pastors and is being raised by a single father, who is a teacher. His mother abandoned the family when Eduar Caleb was only 2 years old, but he still prays for her every day for God to protect her wherever she is! What a soft heart he has! His grandma Maria Luisa takes care of Eduar Caleb and his older brother Kenny when their father is away teaching.

                           After introducing Eduar Caleb and Emely to each other ... 

... we headed over to City Mall to spend another afternoon full of food, fun and games!

 It was the first time for both of them being in a big mall and they loved riding the escalator

over and over. Emely was determined to go up by herself! 

             What simple joys that bring so much happiness, something that is often lacking in the materialistic North American society we live in. To see the pure joy on their faces despite their difficult living circumstances deeply touched my heart! Such precious children of God they are! We first shared a special time of exchanging gifts, then headed to the food court for lunch.

          While there, Eduar Caleb even sang me two praise & worship songs he sings in church as part of the children’s choir, and he’s also learning to play the piano from his older brother Kenny, who already plays the keyboards in the worship band at the tender age of 12! May God continue to have His protective hand over these young lives as they seek to serve him with all their hearts!

After lunch we headed over to games arcade where we had a blast on the bumper cars – Emely, being too small to ride the bumper car by herself, joined me in my bumper car (but I let her sit in the driver’s seat which made her squeal with joy). She was giggling and laughing the whole time!

 

The fun & games unfortunately ended all too soon, and we had to take 

the kids to the bus station for their return trips home.

                           We dropped off Emely first and I bid farewell to her and her mom Olga ….

….. then Eduar Caleb and his wonderful grandma Maria Luisa accompanied me to where I was staying, as their bus stop was further along from my friends’ home. Eduar Caleb broke down when saying goodbye to me; he was such a sweet child and I told him how special he was to me and that I would return to Honduras one day, and visit him in his hometown next time. He was happy to hear that!

Along with my wonderful Compassion host Scarlett acting as my photographer, I was also blessed with the photographic skills of my Compassion-appointed driver Gerardo! What a wonderful young man of God he is! If the future of Honduras rests in the hands of young people like him, the sky’s the limit as to what God can accomplish in Honduras for His Kingdom, amen!

Now I’ll have one day’s rest to prepare myself for child visit day #3 on May 21^st with my bubbly birthday twin Sherly, and older teen girl Katerin – stay tuned for more excitement!!

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If you would like more information on child sponsorship and/or how you can be an agent of positive change in the life of one of these precious children of God, please email me at:  judy_8494@hotmail.com or click on this link à http://www.compassion.ca/advocate/judymyers.

My Journey with Compassion Honduras – Child Visit Day 1

I left for Honduras on May 14, 2014, a short six weeks after having returned from visiting my sponsored kids in the Dominican Republic. I wasn’t sure how my heart was going to react, as I had not quite yet finished processing the emotions from my DR trip! I prayed that God would stretch the walls of my heart to allow me to fully experience the emotion of meeting my Honduran kids.

Would I be able to handle it so soon after meeting my DR kids? I asked myself. But I was quickly preoccupied with my luggage staying behind at the San Salvador airport while I was flying to Honduras. Would it arrive in time for me to sort all the gifts I had brought for my kids? I couldn’t even imagine showing up at my first child visit day with no gifts in hand! But then I realized that God had everything under control (as He always does!). He knew the desire of my heart to bless my children, so when we returned to the Tegucigalpa airport on May 15^th, my luggage was there waiting for me, having arrived from El Salvador on a morning flight! Thursday evening was busily spent sorting all the gifts into their respective back packs – what a relief that was!

When I woke up on the morning of May 16^th, my first child visit day in Honduras, I found myself just as excited as I was in the DR on child visit day! The word I chose to describe my experience in the DR was “indescribable” and it was that much, and more, in Honduras. My chosen word for my Honduras trip was “unforgettable” – I will never forget the precious moments shared with each of my 7 (and soon to be 8) Honduran children, each experience being unique in its own special way.

Friday, May 16^th began when my wonderful Compassion host Scarlett Martinez picked me up at my friends’ home where I was staying for my first 9 days in Honduras. We first headed to Compassion project HO204 in northern Tegucigalpa to meet 10 year old Anderson (who shares the same birthday as my father). He was a bit on the quiet side, but that didn’t stop him from giving me a big welcome hug when he saw me! His mom Belkis was also there to meet me! I was taken on a tour of his project, met the project director Sonia, all the project tutors and was shown his child information file by his tutor Sueanne.

 We then headed to his home, where I met his sister Jancy and his cousin (and best friend) Jafet. We exchanged gifts and took LOTS of photos together. His eyes lit up when he saw the World Cup soccer ball I had brought for him!

We then all loaded into the van (me, Anderson, his mom and his tutor) and headed to nearby project HO203 where my 12 year old daughter Faviana was anxiously waiting for me! She was the most sweet, tenderhearted young girl I have met in a long time! 

            She became very emotional when she gave me her beautiful handmade gifts, then we had a tour of her project and met Dr. Carlos Alvarez, the project pastor and medical doctor, an anointed man of God who has grown his church from 50 people 12 years ago to a current membership of 6,000 members spread out over a network of home cell churches! To say I was inspired after speaking with him was an understatement, to say the least!

            We then headed to Faviana’s home, where she lives with her younger sister Sofia and her cousin Gabriela, under the loving supervision of her grandma Reina Isabel, a Godly woman who has raised these three girls most of their lives! I sensed that I have become a mother figure to Faviana as her own mom has had nothing to do with her since she was a small child; it broke my heart to hear this.

            She was thrilled with the gifts I had brought for her and we had many moments to share special words with each other, sprinkled with lots of hugs! As we did at Anderson’s home, we all prayed together with the family, and upon leaving, I was thrilled to meet her great-grandparents Jesus and Eva.

It was time to all pile back into the van, adding Faviana, her grandma Reina Isabel and project HO203 sponsorship coordinator Lidia to the mix. We headed to City Mall for an afternoon full of food, games and lots of fun!!!

We first ate lunch at the food court then headed over to the games arcade! Did we ever have a lot of fun that afternoon, especially on the bumper cars! We followed that with me treating everyone to delicious ice cream, before heading back to drop the kids off at their projects.

 We dropped off Anderson first, and I had the honour of meeting HO204 project pastor Roger Rivera and his lovely wife Carla. Anderson and I must have given each other a least a half dozen “final” hugs!

It was then time to head back to Faviana’s project. She was completely overcome with emotion saying goodbye to me, and I spent quite a long time comforting her. I told her I would carry her in my heart always and that I would return one day to see her again. Her spirits lifted after hearing me say that!

Child visit day #1 was over much too quickly, but my wonderful Compassion host Scarlett had captured so many precious, unforgettable moments acting as my photographer.

I was very grateful to her for her labour of love and was able to relive all these moments in the evening, looking forward with excited anticipation to the following Monday’s child visit day #2 with Eduar Caleb and Emely!

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If you would like more information on child sponsorship and/or how you can be an agent of positive change in the life of one of these precious children of God, please email me at:  judy_8494@hotmail.com or click on this link à http://www.compassion.ca/advocate/judymyers.

A portrait sketch I received left me speechless!

I was left speechless when I received this portrait sketch made for me by my 17 year old sponsored daughter Jhoselin Rosales at Compassion project BO571 in Cochabamba, Bolivia. She also wrote me a lovely tribute on the back of the sketch.

Translation of writing: "In this sketch, I sketched you. It didn't turn out perfect, but I did it with much love and affection. I hope that you like it. From your daughter who loves you very much, Jhoselin - May God bless you!"

I've also included the photo that she did the portrait sketch from. I think it's a very credible likeness of me!

She also sent me a photo of her and her family as well as one with her best friends.

 And everything arrived in perfect timing for "Mother's Day"!! Feeling incredibly blessed right now. Thank you God for blessing me with the honor and privilege of sponsoring these precious children of yours!

If you would like more information about child sponsorship, and how you can sponsor your own "budding artist" through Compassion Canada, please click on the following link --> http://www.compassion.ca/advocate/judymyers

My ray of sunshine from Rwanda!

I received the most wonderful surprise last week! I have been sponsoring Bryan, a young boy in Rwanda through Compassion Canada since he was 11 months old. He was part of Compassion's Child Survival Program pilot project a couple of years ago, and Rwanda was one of the countries chosen as a pilot during the implementation stage. I have been anxiously waiting for an updated photo of him as the last one I had of him was when he was 14 months old. 

Well, last Wednesday my long wait was over! As Bryan's third birthday is coming up on June 20th, they have finally sent me his updated photo! And now, to put a smile on everyone’s face, here it is!! Doesn’t his smile just light up your heart?? He just radiates pure joy! Now, whenever I'm going through a difficult day, all I have to do is look at his photo and instantly feel better again!

If you would like information on how to sponsor your own "ray of sunshine" like Bryan, please click on the following link:  http://www.compassion.ca/advocate/judymyers

Indescribable experience in the Dominican Republic!

After my experience travelling to Bolivia with Compassion in March 2013 where God did a tremendous work in my life, I wasn’t sure how my heart would handle going on another sponsor trip so soon, as I had left my heart and soul in Bolivia. God then opened the doors for me to join a Compassion U.S. sponsor tour in April 2014, this time to the Dominican Republic (DR). If I could choose one word to describe my experience in the DR, it would be “indescribable”. God has an incredible way of stretching your heart beyond anything you could humanly believe possible. How was it that my heart was still in Bolivia and now also in the DR??!! Indescribable!!

To prepare my heart for the DR, I was thrilled to have the honor of visiting Compassion’s Latin America & Caribbean field office located in Deerfield Beach, Florida (near Boca Raton) one day before I was to meet my DR trip teammates at the Miami airport on April 4^th. The wonderful staff at the Compassion Florida office virtually rolled out the red carpet for me and I was privileged to share my sponsorship journey with them, as well as have one-on-one reports from a few of the servant leader specialists on staff.

Our first full day in the DR (April 5^th) had us visiting project DR436 in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in inner-city Santo Domingo. But you wouldn’t know it by walking inside the church building and feeling and seeing the joy through the hugs we received from so many precious children and to see the joy of Jesus Christ radiating out of the smiles on their faces – you guessed right, it was indescribable! I then had the honor and privilege of meeting Wander, the sponsored child of dear friends Dan & Brittney, and to give him a few gifts on their behalf. He was such a joyful and happy child, and we got to hang out the whole afternoon doing various activities together. It was such a special time, that it almost felt like I was visiting my own sponsored child!

There was also a special girl Dahiana who stuck to me like glue during the day along with her older sister Daniela. Such precious memories that will stay with me my whole life! We also were incredibly inspired by our home visit with a young 20 year old mother who, although living in very difficult and seemingly hopeless circumstances, had a radiant hope and faith in Jesus Christ and a determination that her children would break the cycle of poverty in their family, in Jesus’ name!

During our time at DR436, I had the honor and privilege of finally meeting an incredible servant leader who I had heard so much about from fellow sponsors and advocates. Jonathan Almonte, a recent graduate from Compassion’s Leadership Development Program (LDP), deeply impacted my life through the heart-to-heart conversations we were able to share that day. If the future of the DR is left in the hands of young people such as himself, I have no doubt that the DR will be a model for other countries to follow.

Sunday, April 6^th was the BIG DAY!!! Child Fun Day with our sponsored children!!! The emotions flowing through my heart were – you guessed it – indescribable!! We arrived at Compassion’s office in Santo Domingo to await the arrival of our children. One-by-one the children were brought in to meet their sponsors. And I had to wait to the very end, as I was meeting the largest group of children – 8 in all. I was overwhelmed and thrilled to meet them all (my “Team Canada” kids – Carolina, Dalvin, José, Jesús, Diana, Isaías & precious Ruth Esther (who stole EVERYONE’s heart), plus John Carlos who is sponsored by my church’s youth group).

I was then almost as excited to meet Querubín, my Compassion host for the day! Another incredible servant leader who graduated from the LDP along with Jonathan, and who has now graduated from university as a medical doctor! What an honor it was to have him act as a mentor and inspiration to my kids throughout our day together! Both Jonathan and Querubín have unofficially joined my new “Dominican family” and I will be upholding them in prayer along with my own sponsored DR kids.

What a privilege and honour it was to be the hands and feet of Jesus, giving hope to the beautiful Dominican people, in Jesus’ name. A few special moments from Child Fun Day – Jesús holding my hand as we walked towards the bus at the zoo, my birthday twin Dalvin giving me a model house he had made for me and telling me the Bible I had given him was his favorite gift, the wide smile on Diana’s face as she hugged the stuffed teddy bear I had given her, Carolina’s reaction to seeing the psychology book I had brought for her, and the pure joy on the face of Jesús as he tried out the baseball glove I had given him. The appreciative look in his eyes was worth a million dollars; it was as if he had forgotten about his difficult circumstances for a few moments and was able to dream of a better future!!

April 7^th saw us begin our day being inspired by the testimonies of some current and recently-graduated LDP students. What great hands the future of the DR is in!! Such wonderful and inspirational servant leaders. Our afternoon was then spent visiting project DR002 in Batey Alemán, a Haitian resettlement town a couple hours’ journey to the east of Santo Domingo. I had the honor of meeting young Stuard on behalf of his sponsors, and to give him a few gifts from them along with taking a few special photos to pass on to them. We saw so much joy and hope in the faces of the children and families who were part of the Compassion project there. We also had the privilege of praying for healing for the pastor’s wife, who is suffering from cancer.

In Luke 12:48, Jesus stated, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked”. As God’s agents, His hands and feet in this hurting world, it is our mandate to remove the “cement blocks” that suffocate children: poverty, abuse, neglect, and injustice of all kinds. We need an entire army of us who will commit ourselves, as it says in Proverbs 31:8, to “speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute”.

I highly recommend Compassion if you are looking to make a difference in a child’s life. I have definitely been changed. As Mother Teresa liked to say, “Not all of us can do great things, but we can all do small things with great love.”

If you would like more information on child sponsorship and/or how you can be an agent of positive change in the life of one of these precious children of God, please email me at:  judy_8494@hotmail.com or click on this link à http://www.compassion.ca/advocate/judymyers.

What an exciting year 2013 was for me!

I flew into Toronto, Ontario a full 10 days before our departure for Bolivia, as I wanted to reconnect with many friends I had not seen in many years as well as to visit Compassion Canada’s head office located in London, Ontario. That had to be one of the top highlights of my time in Eastern Canada, to finally meet all the Compassion people I had come to know so well through conference calls and emails, to finally put a “face to a name”. I had so much fun volunteering in the letter production department for a full afternoon as well as touring Compassion Canada’s office and having the privilege of meeting Barry Slauenwhite, Compassion Canada’s President. 

The day finally arrived to meet my Bolivia teammates at the Toronto airport (March 23^rd). After changing planes in Miami, we flew overnight to Bolivia, landing in the capital city of La Paz (with an altitude of 13,000 feet above sea level!!!) on the morning of Sunday, March 24^th. After a quick breakfast, we left our luggage in the care of Eddie, one of Compassion Bolivia’s wonderful staff members, while we left to visit our first child development project BO173 where my sponsored child Marcelo attended. Nothing prepared me for the incredible impact of meeting 6 year-old Marcelo and his beautiful family, and attending a church service at his project. As many of our group members started having adverse reactions to the altitude, we headed back to the airport for lunch before boarding a plane to Cochabamba in central Bolivia, which has an altitude of “only” 8,500 feet!!

Led by our wonderful tour guide Raquel (a former sponsored child), the following three days saw us visiting two more child development projects, visiting the Compassion Bolivia field office and spending the afternoon with a group of incredibly-inspiring Leadership Development students, awesome young people who had graduated from Compassion’s child sponsorship program with not only top marks in school, but also with an impressive record of selfless and compassionate servant leadership in their churches and schools. This trip was starting to drastically change my outlook on life; it completely changed not only my perspective of the world, but my perspective of God. Seeing God actively at work and shining His light in the dark places and seeing Jesus in the faces of the children and families we met just blew me away. I don’t know what it was that made this trip so much more impactful than any other missions trip I’ve been on. But, on second thought, I do know why. God was working overtime to break my heart even more for what breaks His! What a privilege and honour it was to be the hands and feet of Jesus, giving hope to the beautiful Bolivian people in His name.

To finally meet my Bolivian son Heiber for the first time after 12 years of sponsorship was a surreal moment, to see the difference Compassion has made in his life, and to see what a wonderful young man of God he has become, to have a little 4 year old angel named Rossa literally fly into my arms so excited to see me, and to meet 6 year old Marcelo and his wonderful family. Then it was meeting my two newly sponsored daughters, 12 year old Maribel and 10 year old Maria to end my stay in Bolivia on a high note. Having Maria literally melt into my arms as if she had been waiting for me her whole life made me say to myself, “Now, THIS is why I do what I do!!” Why am I so passionate about being a Compassion advocate? It’s all about the kids, and young women and men who have such a heart for God, and being privileged to give them hope for a better future – in Jesus’ name!

After returning to Canada on March 31^st, I stayed in Toronto for a couple of extra days and was treated to a trip to Niagara Falls for the first time by my dear friends Patty, Evelyn and Sarita. We had so much fun taking pictures in front of the waterfalls then crossing the border to the United States to do some shopping at some fabulous outlet malls. I then headed back to Calgary to the reality of work and my daily routine! But the memories of my Bolivia trip will stay with me for a lifetime, through the hundreds of photos I took and the many lifelong friendships that were made with my Bolivia teammates.

As God totally blew my heart wide-open in Bolivia, the remainder of 2013 saw me close to triple the amount of kids I sponsor, as more and more kids were placed on my heart. In honour of Compassion Canada’s 50 years of ministry of releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name, God challenged me to dedicate 50% of my salary to child sponsorship. When I showed myself faithful to His provision of my needs, He challenged me even further to increase that amount. What I have learned through this exercise in faith is that you cannot out-give God! If you show yourself faithful to His calling, He will show Himself faithful to you and shower you with blessings beyond your wildest imagination. What He has taught me through this year is that, as His hands and feet in this hurting world, it is our mandate to remove the “cement blocks” that suffocate children: poverty, abuse, neglect, and injustice of all kinds. We are so seriously blessed in Canada; we have SO much, it’s just unbelievable! It’s so strange to think of how much we have and how little others have. Why were we blessed with so much? Could it be partly because we are to be a blessing to others with what we have been blessed with? This last point pretty much sums up the state of my heart right now!

Before I knew it, I was heading to London, Ontario to attend Compassion Canada’s 50^th Anniversary Gala celebration on October 26^th. I returned to Compassion’s head office on October 24^th and 25^th for two more awesome days of volunteering once again in their letter production department, and truly experiencing the full extent of the process your letters go through once they arrive at the Compassion office to the moment they are tracked and sent overseas to the various Compassion countries. It gave me a deeper appreciation of the hard work and accountability that goes into the processing of each letter, both to and from our sponsored kids.

Then the night of the gala arrived and it was an incredible event, beyond my wildest imagination! From meeting the country directors from Peru, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, to the Area Director for South America and the Vice President of Latin America & the Caribbean, and culminating with the honour of meeting Dr. Wess Stafford, the recently-retired President of Compassion International and the newly-appointed President Santiago (Jimmy) Mellado, as you can imagine, I am still floating in the clouds.

God has been so good to me this past year, and 2014 looks to be an incredible year filled with even more blessings. I have moved off my trip to India until 2018, when I will be combining it with visits to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to visit my sponsored children in those three countries. 2014 will instead see me visiting my sponsored kids in the Dominican Republic (April) and Honduras (May), and ending with a return trip to Bolivia in October to attend the Compassion graduation of two of my sponsored sons Heiber and Aaron in La Paz, as well as visiting my other Bolivian sponsored children in Cochabamba, Oruro and Santa Cruz. During these three trips, I will be meeting 30 of my sponsored children (25 of them for the first time!!), as well as meeting a boy in the DR that my church’s youth group sponsors. I’d better think about starting to write a book about my sponsorship experience after these trips are over with!!

For more information about changing the life of a child through sponsorship, please click on:

http://www.compassion.ca/advocate/judymyers