Update On Vanitha's and Pushparani's Hope: Giving Tuesday

I've written two posts about Compassion's Giving Tuesday, one of which celebrated Vanitha's story, the other detailing Pushparani's story. I wanted to update you on the giving as of 1:50 PM, Tuesday, Dec. 2. Our goal is $25,000 to fund a Child Survival Program Center in Gujarat, India by midnight tonight, and we're at $6,390 (26%)! Compassion International has passionate friends, so I know this will happen.

Please, challenge your family and friends to fund this phenomenal program. Share Compassion's links about the Child Survival Program, found here. Challenge your own children to pool their money and match what Mommy and Daddy give? Or challenge grandparents to match what the children give? Their hearts will soar, and yours too, and women and children just like in Vanitha's and Pushparani's stories will know Jesus, Hope, Love, and Joy, and be able to pass all of these miracles to others in their villages.

This is the way God chooses to work--he saves us and sets us apart for a purpose--and it isn't to serve ourselves. Praise God!

Vanitha and her child, courtesy Compassion International

Pushparani and her son, courtesy Compassion International

Vanitha's Story

Vanitha is a beautiful young woman from India.

Photo Courtesy Compassion International 

I must spend a few minutes telling you her miraculous story, for I know it will make your day--in a way most of the Internet just can't do today. Vanitha's is a story of God's power and love and redemption.

When she was just 13 years old, a man took Vanitha as his wife, knowing he was HIV-positive and Vanitha was not. Two years later, Vanitha became both a widow and a grieving mother on the same day. Alone and devastated, she was also HIV-positive. Her heart brimmed with sorrow, her spirit lacked hope.

She went to live with her parents and work in a factory, but still. she couldn't afford the HIV medicines she needed.

By the grace of God, three years later, a man fell in love with her, and asked her to marry him--a simple man, a rickshaw driver who knew of her condition.

Their families and elders did not think the union wise, due to Vanitha's condition, but Vanitha liked the man, and he cared for her very much, and would not be dissuaded. They married inside their house one day, before a picture of their god. They lived a simple life, in a one-room abode with an outdoor kitchen--an abode that leaked when it rained, forcing them to sleep in the auto-rickshaw on wet nights.

But they loved one another. Their hearts were united, but not their bodies, due to Vanitha's HIV status. Not only did bringing her husband physical joy seem out of the question, but bearing another child seemed out of the question, too, for Vanitha, who still mourned her son.

“I was a pain bearer. I gave it to everyone who loved me. Nothing good came from me. Now I could not give any joy to my husband. He made a sacrifice: his self,” Vanitha says. “One day my neighbor told me about the Compassion [program] run in a local church. They told me that something good would come from there. I went there to meet the staff and shared with them my problems. There was something different about these people. The sister who spoke to me had authority and love at the same time. I wondered who these people were and why they did such wonderful work without any benefit [for themselves].”

Quote Courtesy of Compassion International: http://blog.compassion.com/world-aids-day-2014-walking-dead/#ixzz3KigoN8MT

The next day Vanitha registered in the Child Survival Program, and the CSP workers put together a counseling session for the couple, which included a doctor who advised them on how to go about having a child in a safe and secure way. The staff and other mothers in the program prayed for Vanitha, and within months she conceived! And gave birth to a healthy child!

Vanitha, her husband and child, Courtesy Compassion International

"I was scared about the child. I had already lost a child, and the thoughts haunted me day and night. But the staff assured every time they visited my home that prayers never go unheard,” Vanitha recalls joyfully.

Vanitha speaks of the blessing Compassion has been to her. Her life seemed hopeless when at 15, her heart and mind were devastated.

“I was forsaken, abused and left to die. The pain in my heart was so unbearable that my body would fall down without any reason. I would sit and stare at the wall bluntly, without any reason. My god did not speak nor hear. Tears streamed down my cheeks every night. What a curse I was! If not for my beloved sisters at the [CSP program], I would be dead and gone,” Vanitha says.

A note from Compassion:

At the end of 2013 there were approximately 35 million people like Vanitha with the HIV virus. But they’re not alone.

For #GivingTuesday (December 2), we’re raising money to open a Child Survival Program (CSP) in Gujarat, India, like the one that assisted Vanitha and her family, to give other impoverished women like her a chance to be healthy moms and give their children a healthy start.

But we need your help to meet our $25,000 goal by the end of the day Tuesday! Learn more about our #GivingTuesday efforts and help us spread the word by sharing on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Instagram how you’re giving back on #GivingTuesday.

Help other women like Vanitha become healthy moms for #GivingTuesday.

Donate at this Compassion link for Giving Tuesday's Gujarat, India Child Survival Progam start-up.  This is a one-time, tax-deductible gift.

~ Update #1 At 9:40 AM, we're at $5,195, 21% of our goal. I know we will get there, by the grace of God! God loves Compassion. Thank you!

A Marathon of Thanks, Part 3

Psalm 100:4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

~ Children are my passion and in that I have a partner, Peter, and maybe Mary, too. They both love to bless children at church or here at home. I'm clinging to God's promises and praying that he teaches me boundaries fast, so I can pass on balance to my brood as they serve others.

~ Teaching four year olds regularly at church has been a good, solid learning experience. One aspect of the learning has been discerning what makes a Sunday School curriculum appropriate for preschoolers--something I've wrestled with for my students. The Gospel Project, a curriculum my church is locked into for another year, is not appropriate for preschoolers. I've worked with other preschool ages in the last two years as well, and I've gathered anecdotal notes in my mind for future reference, should I ever want to partner with my son Paul as he writes Christian curriculum.

When I was first told, upon volunteering in the children's department, that I would be teaching every other week, I thought it was a bad idea for my family for various reasons. I had read the welcome packet carefully and it didn't say how frequently a teacher serves, so I assumed it was once a month, which was typical in most churches. Once I knew the truth, I didn't feel like I could back out. But God knew what he was doing. I love my students and I'm always happy to see them, and Peter is too. Mary comes in occasionally, too, to work on her leadership skills. I'm filing away so much about how to teach the very young about Jesus, God, and faith.

~ When I first offered to watch my neighbor twice a week, it didn't seem like much of a stretch. Even my husband, who is always hesitant to add new responsibilities to our plate, didn't think it would be a big effort to add another child two nights a week. We already have this neighbor boy for AWANA nights and twice a month for Bible study. However, in our previous experiences with him--lasting not much more than 2 hours at a time--we hadn't seen the full range of behaviors and issues he struggles with. Adding him into the mix for 5 to 6 hours twice a week has changed our lives quite a bit. It's not a paid endeavor because I wanted to help my neighbor, not add another bill to her life. Nor did I think it a good idea to have a financial relationship with a neighbor. As such, if we feel we can't handle the situation, we can back out, but that would be devastating to our young friend, because he loves coming here. So we have discussed as a family how to make this work, where the boundaries should be, how to streamline the whole experience, how to minimize certain behaviors, etc.

One thing I've noticed is that when we are not serving our neighbor, we are enjoying each other more. We more keenly appreciate the blessing that is nuclear family, and we take note of the blessing that is sacrificial love--that is, giving up our ideal evening for the sake of another...our neighbor child and his working grandmother.

There are still times in that 6-hour segment that I wrestle with God, wondering why in the world I got myself into it. But the voice I always hear confirms that love is stretching. Love is hard. Love can be as a dull ache at times. But we don't love alone. And love doesn't leave us the same, but better.

~ I've been married 14 years. I can tell you we didn't bargain for special-needs children and the rocky ride they turn a marriage into. I'm thankful that my marriage is not defined by any one response, any one day, any one attitude. It's defined by a mutual love for Jesus Christ, and a mutual awe for His grace and mercy. It's defined by unyielding commitment. It's defined by hope. I'm thankful for my husband.

Tonight, I'm thankful for all the little journeys. The stretching of me as a wife, a mother, a teacher, a giver, a sharer of Hope.

A Marathon of Thanks, Part 2

Psalm 100:1-5 A Psalm for giving thanks. Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

Daddy

~ Mommy, Peter, Paul, Mary, Beth

~ new used van

~ my jobs

~ good food

~ children with similar interests (that would be college football--they just froze through a game in light snow at the local university)

~ affectionate children

~ clean water

~ Bible

~ good preaching at our church

Psalm 50:23 The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!”

Mommy

~ Jesus-following husband

~ four precious children who bless my socks off

~ warm blankets making for a cozy home

~ watching It's a Wonderful Life together on Thanksgiving, after the dishwasher was humming and the pans were washed

~ Christmas books, gathered Friday at the library. As I sat on the floor at the library, browsing the Christmas picture-book section, it was amazing the feeling I had that I had just done this yesterday--but it was last year! Twelve months gone in a blink. These last 12 were among the hardest months of my life, but sitting there looking at the books, the actual speed of life flabbergasted me. Grab the children close and savor the time with them. Cuddle with more books. Set aside the phones and tablets and perfection.

Look the one life we have in the face, and view it as an hour-glass gift. And it isn't just about enjoying the children, but impacting them for Christ too--about building the relationship facilitating that. Fathers may have the greatest impact on whether a child follows Christ, but a mother's love and devotion and daily discipleship probably speak more to how a child follows Christ. Mothers are a gift.

~ His mercies are new every morning; he gives courage enough, energy enough, wisdom enough for today, and asks us to give tomorrow to Him. He asks us to give sacrificially of our time, talents, money, growing us beyond who we in our flesh could become.

~ Ann Voskamp's Advent family devotional book coming in the mail: Unwrapping the Greatest Gift: A Family Celebration of Christmas (based on last year's The Greatest Gift devotional)

~ My son Paul writing his own Advent devotional. He's been busy with a clipboard, Bible, and various resources, and last night he led us in his first short devotion. He's a Bible scholar with an eye for writing curriculum--even homeschool curriculum. Maybe we'll be partners someday, and he can handle all the business stuff?

Lamentations 3:23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Peter

~ family

~ tree lights (Peter put the tree up early, distracting sister Mary from a serious wind/rain storm the previous Monday by filling the house with Christmas tree and ornament mess. It sort of worked, but she still wanted her throw-up bowl part of the time. Her storm phobia is far from gone, but will hopefully be dormant, giving us all a break during the snow months. Anyway, the tree, for the first time ever, was up three days before Thanksgiving. We had everything cleaned by Thanksgiving, which was good.

~ God

~ Legos

~ house

~ carpet

~ bed

~ couch

~ chairs

~ babysitting my neighbor friend

Paul

~ good food to relax with

~ hot wheels

~ brother

~ candy canes

~ Beth, that she always likes to play the games I make up

~ power of God to write Advent devotional

~ warm clothes

~ football tickets

~ pretty tree

~ playing piano, knitting

~ Jesus

~ toys


Mary

~ pretty ornaments

~ paper chain Paul made

~ paper star Paul made

~ my family

~ my sister, how she is so cute and she plays with me

~ nice comfy chairs and couch

~ working dishwasher, washer and dryer, heater

~ clean towels

~ lamps


Beth

~ my family

~ my ballet dancing (her own, not in lessons)

~ our home

~ my siblings

~ God

~ my toys

~ beautiful tree (actually, she's had her way with it, moving ornaments around, so it's pretty sorry looking right now. I let the tree be theirs and my notion of good-taste decorating go out the window, except when they try hanging lights everywhere to the point of madness. These are children who buy lights at garage sales and thrift stores, giddy for the day they can put them up. Mary's birthday is coming up and she wants a small fake tree for her bedroom, about up to her shoulder, which I will grant because it won't end up at Goodwill in less than a year like some toy will. My children's love for Christmas decor has endured year after year.

~ candy canes

~ cocoa

~ Mommy and Daddy

~ my sister, that she plays with me

A Marathon of Thanks

Psalm 136:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.

Some long over-due thanks. This isn't all, but it's a start. More from the children tomorrow, when cooking isn't occupying our time.

~ Peter's had several opportunities for leadership, and he's doing me proud. He's a verse teacher at AWANA for the 3rd and 4th graders, and he's my assistant at Sunday school with the 4 year olds every other week. He prepares for and teaches the girls' science several times a week, including setting up and conducting the experiments once a week. The Lord's grace and blessing is shining upon my boy, I just know it!

~ Peter has also become a real worker, some days doing more honey-dos than he can count. He rather likes being my main assistant, since Daddy is gone so much. He's resembling a man more and more.

~ My boys are in that stage where they stop and really listen to my discipling, especially Paul, who is the better listener with the longer attention span. They especially love to talk about life and the Lord at night, when they're supposed to be falling asleep. :)

~ Dyslexia is scary for the parent/teacher to deal with, but I'm understanding it better all the time. When Mary would ask, after 3 years of trying to learn the teen numbers: "How do you write a 16 again?"--I would feel a serious wave of anxiety with even a tinge of nausea. How is it possible she doesn't know this yet? How will she ever get a job? What am I doing wrong? But now, I get it. Dyslexia is a problem with automaticity. They hesitate, think, then write--it doesn't mean they don't know it. They're just slower. I no longer panic (except when Beth asks me how to write a 10, which makes me wonder if she too will struggle).

~ Mary's reading speed and fluency are picking up! All About Reading Level 2 has been such a blessing for us. And Beth is excelling at Level 1 as well. This has been the year with the most curriculum changes. We just switched from Winston Grammar to Easy Grammar and that is working far better as well.

~ Sheila, our sponsor child from Uganda, is doing very well earning her required high school credits. Her writing amazes me; English is her best subject. Compassion kids don't typically graduate and think primarily of themselves and how they can maximize their own futures. Instead, they focus on giving back and making a success of the communities they started in. Their stories always inspire me to keep giving, and keep praying for Compassional International. Their work is just phenomenal. I pray Sheila will get into the Leadership Development Program Compassion runs, so her college fees and living expenses will be paid for while she attends higher education. I will keep mentioning this possibility to her.

~ We used to have just one older vehicle, which we shared. Then about 4 years ago my husband obtained a 24-year-old vehicle from a PA friend, whose mother has passed away and left it in poor body shape, but with relatively low miles. It was embarrassing to drive and of course as with all older cars, we had to put money into it, but it worked for us. Still, my husband didn't love driving such an ugly, old car, and he quietly prayed. He cleans a church where he is well-liked, and one of the employees, in her seventies, along with her husband, was obtaining a brand new vehicle and they decided to give our family their 2000 Toyota Sienna van for free. So for the first time we now drive two vehicles from the 21st Century--a 2003 Windstar van and a 2000 Toyota Sienna van. We have been car loan free since moving to Ohio from CA in 2005--a situation allowing me to be home with the children and homeschool. We used to have a Sienna van and we drove it to well over 200,000 miles before someone hit me and totaled it, leading to us getting the 2003 Windstar. This newer Sienna van has only 124,000 miles, so we'll likely have it another 100,000 miles or more. Yippee! The Lord is good!

~ I wrote over a week ago about hormones and migraines, and indicated I that was trying Naproxen this month post ovulation to day four of cycle, to try to prevent menstrual migraine (200 mg every 12 hours). Wow! What a difference. I highly recommend this for anyone struggling with menstrual migraine or PMS. Not only did this eliminate menstrual migraine, but it eliminated PMS and bloating as well. I only felt a tinge of nervousness a couple days before day 1 of cycle, which is a miracle. The NSAID inhibits the release of prostaglandins, the hormone leading to all the trouble. I'm not sure why Naproxen works better than ibuprofen, but possibly because it comes in a 12-hour dosing, ensuring that there are no break-through symptoms? The stubborn headaches I had were when I missed the dose by a few hours. (I write this all casually but this has been a many-years prayer request and I'm grateful for the opportunity to research the Internet, because my doctors haven't helped.)

Note: I should add that younger women would probably only need Naproxen 3 or 4 days before menses to 3 or 4 days into menses. My headache cycle is longer due to perimenopause. The idea is to prevent the onset of symptoms, so start the regimen just before you normally would become symptomatic, and continue through one day past the usual duration of symptoms.

Happy Thanksgiving, Friends! Bless you.