359 and counting....

As I am about to pack up my Christmas decorations, put away my gifts, clean out my cupboards of the excessive goodies that landed in my kitchen, freshen up my home to usher in 2014, I am reflective once again.

Bounty is what I have just experienced.  Blessings beyond comprehension to most of the world has been bestowed upon me and my family.  My effort to scale back this year still produced more than I could imagine and I am humbled.  I am also aware that the blessings that God has given to me are not mine to hoard but to pay forward and to bless others. 

As I am allowed to experience 3rd world cultures and then return to our 1st world culture, my senses always go into over load and I ask questions about what difference do I make.   Months have past since my last trip but I remain burdened with these questions and thoughts,
as I am acutely aware of what having 'nothing' looks like.

What must one meal a day of ground corn be like?  What does a mother do when her kids are hungry and she cannot feed them? 

 What happens when the ragged t-shirt, the only t-shirt owned, has too many holes and you can't buy another one? 

What happens when your family is sick and they need water to hydrate themselves, clean themselves and the closest source is miles away? 

What, what, what?

As I am preparing to pack up my 'stuff' I ask this of me and of you.

(Not my house! :) )

**Why do we have storage bins? 
**When were they last opened?  Do you even know what is in them?
**Why do we in this country rent storage units for our excesses?  **If we are functioning on a day to day basis with ease why are we holding on to more 'stuff'?
**If I cleared out my closet of clothes not worn in the last year, how much space would I find?  How much clutter would disappear.  Who could benefit from my abundance?
**If I cleared out my basement, garage, spare room, would I miss anything? Do I really need 'it' or do I just cling to an illusion that all of my 'stuff' makes me significant, important or ??????
**If I gave to charity the 'bangles and baubles' that collect dust and cause me to stress over storing or dusting how much easier would my life be?

When I leave this earth nothing goes with me.  When I leave this earth, my 'stuff'  will be sifted through by those who are not emotionally attached and quite possibly have no clue as to its value emotionally or perhaps monetarily and they will discard, try to sell or give it all away. So I beg the question, why do we hang on to our 'stuff'?  

Our excesses can help everyone.   As you begin your new year and as I write there are 359 more days until Christmas if you are reading this the day I post this blog.  Between now and then stop, reflect on what you have stashed, stored, stuffed and never use.  Could you sell it or give to another who really could use your excess?  You would not miss it.  You would be helping another and you will be unencumbered with stuff.  Think about it. 

359 days and counting until Christmas, make this year one of, less focus on you. Focus your thoughts and actions on how to bless others who cannot repay you for their need is so great.   Is the purchase you are about to make really necessary?   Could you do 'with out'  with the intention of helping someone stay alive?  Or perhaps you could match gift.  A purchase for you and you send an similar amount of money to help one who cannot help them self? 

I tell you from the bottom of my heart you will never be happier.  Open your hands, clean out your closets, cupboards, garages, storage units and provide for those who cannot provide for them selves.   Trust me your hearts will be full of joy, your life will become less cluttered and cleaning out is wonderful therapy!

PS: If you want to unload 'stuff' to Hands of  Hope (www.handsofhopeonline.org/ ) we collect your extras to provide money for the essentials of life, if you are in the Chicago area.  If you are in another part of the world, find a worthwhile organization give to them!  Make a difference in your life and in the life of one who cannot even fathom even a closet in your home.   

From the Bible I leave you with this admonition.  Mathew 6:19   “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,  but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

When is it enough?

 

“He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have.” Socrates


Is your shopping done?  Are you 'over doing it' again this year?  Are the gifts you are choosing going to satisfy beyond the opening?  What would happen if you decided to cut back and think outside the box to help someone who could never gift you?   As you choose to read this blog...think about doing Christmas just a bit different this year.  You might just like it!

Christmas is coming too fast. I am making myself mentally slow down.  I am going to minimize the things that used to be a 'high' priority for me during this season.  I am blaming no one for what I have made Christmas into.  I love gifting those of I love and take mental notes during the year of things that might be a delight to those I buy or give too.  Giving truly makes me happy.

So why am I putting on the brakes?  Why am I taking this season at a slower and easier pace?  Why am writing to unknown readers about my choices to rethink my way of doing Christmas giving?

When I take stock of all the blessings that have been bestowed upon me as a human being and those I love, then I compare my life with those who truly are without blessings, hope and a chance to ever change; I must step back to ask what can I do to help those who need it?  How can one person make a difference?  Can one person make a difference?  Why should one person try to make a difference?

Have you ever thought about what if you were that 'other' person?  You wake up tomorrow morning living in a grass hut. Sand is your floor, ground corn is your meal choice quite likely once a day, your beverage is dirty water if it has not been used up from the day before.  Your clothing choice is what you are wearing, it is dirty, tattered and ill fitting but it is yours until you can scrounge and get it replaced.

Christmas? A bath? A meal? A change of clothing?  A toy?  An education?   You are trapped by the cycle of poverty, you did not choose to be born into this life but you were.  Is there hope?  Does anyone care?

A village board game made of bottle caps and wood.

Look closely to see a wire push toy.

I say, yes!  Yes!  Yes!  If I can help just one person break the cycle of poverty then the blessings I have had bestowed on me have meaning!

Why were born into the culture we are experiencing?  Why? I do not know but I know I am to help others. The movie/play/story Christmas Story is a moral that is spot on!  We may not be quite as bad as Mr. Scrooge but how we allocate our funds could probably do some reevaluating.  How much is too much?  When do we ever 'feel' we have enough?

While you are rearranging your large closets to fit in the 'new' duds, shuffling toys to make room for the new, cleaning out your refrigerator of left over food that now must be tossed,  pause and think about another person thousands of miles away.  That person would be happy with one gently used piece of clothing.  That person could not fathom food being tossed.  A toy, just one new ball or small doll would be an extravagant treasure.  Begin to think of spending less on things that do not truly satisfy your soul and share the savings on blessing someone whose life would be changed forever.

Why are you blessed?  To bless others!  If giving is not part of your life choices you are losing out on so many levels.  Give it a try, and your joy will abound.

Blogs of the past have focused on water and I won't let that go but there are so many other places you can help.  Check out HANDS OF HOPE. www.handsofhope.org   All money donated goes to help those I have described above.  We are making changes!  Profound changes!

I leave you with this thought.

All you have shall someday be given; therefore give now that the season of giving be yours and not your inheritors. Kahill Gibran

Think about....

Think about your worst bathroom day.  What would you have done with out water?  Think about your worst stomach flu day.  What would you have done without water?  Think about the hottest day you can remember.  What would you have done with out water?  (Soft drinks, lemon aid, iced tea all need water.)  Think about the dirtiest day of your life, perspiration, mud, dust, just lots of dirt on your body.  What would do at the end of that day without water. 

Today, tomorrow and many more days with out water in Zambia and the scenarios listed above are a common fact of life.

My quote for today (that is posted in a couple of places because I think it speaks to the heart of giving) is, "Gratitude turns what we have into enough."

 Christmas buying is in full bloom here in the US.  I ask this simple question, to you my reader.  "When do we have enough?"  The next simple question is, "When am I willing to give a gift that cannot be reciprocated?"  The last question, "Will you help to make a well happen in the Western Provence of Zambia this year?" 

Your gift on behalf of a family member, a friend, a co-worker or someone you wish to remember through Hands of Hope's www.handsofhopeonline.org/ will enable those who live each day, with  your worst waterless day to have water.  This gift of water changes their lives forever.

The  giving process is simple, you give up one or two gifts that you don't even need, buy a well card for someone you love, like or need to purchase a gift for and a life is changed forever.  A well gives a village fresh, clean water to clean up the messes of life. 

Now that is a gift! 

Yesterday was Thanksgiving here in the US.  I awoke to prepare a feast.  Two Turkey's, one ham and all of the side dishes that go with our families traditional meal.  I put in a load of laundry, a dial to set the temperature and push of a button and water filled my washing machine.  Next I showered for the day, a simple dial and fresh warm water came forth.  I entered my kitchen to began my food preparation.  I turned a faucet handle and warm water at the pressure I desired, came into my sink.  I then filled my glass and drank deeply of the fresh, cold water I desired to quench my thirst. As I moved about my kitchen it hit me that I had just used more water in less than an hour, than a Zambian family would use all day.

I did not walk 4-5 miles to get my water. I did not have wonder if it was clean and with out germs. I did not have to ration the water, it flowed in abundance. 

I had all of the clean, pure water at my finger tips and it comes with the expectation that it would be there for me, any time I needed it.

Today, 9000 miles away from where I live, villages of about 1000 people, 800+ are children have no easy access to water. Once a day a woman will walk 5 miles to the nearest well to gather 5 gallons of water for her daily needs.  She will carry that 5 gallon container home on her head, one gallon of water weighs 8.33 lbs. 40 lbs, with a baby on her back is carried to her hut.  The water she carries is contaminated but it is her water source, her only water.

 Christmas is upon us.  In 3 weeks my kitchen will repeat a feast preparation.  I will add to that preparation gifts for those I love.  But what will be different is that we will include a Zambian village 9000 miles away with water!  I write this in hopes that those who read this blog might join me in this effort to make a difference in just one village.  Just one.  I cannot take on the world, but I can work toward helping those who live in such a remote area that the government does not want to bother with them.

We will forgo a scarf, an ugly tie, a box of chocolates, a game or some 'what can I get' gift, for the person who needs nothing' and put our money to change lives.  I want little girls like this to have clean fresh water, to not have to walk miles with her mother to get dirty water, that will keep her sick.  I want her to be healthy because her garden will grow vegetables.  I want her to not be part of the poverty cycle that will eventually take her life. We can make a difference!!


One well, start to finish in the Western Provence of Zambia costs $5000.  That breaks down to $5.00 a person!  This $5.00 is not just an open the package gift, it is a gift of life, of transforming life.  Water changes everything for these people.  Diseases are avoided, hygiene can take place, gardens can be watered,  meaning there are vegetables to eat!  A better life for those who will delight in the gift of water.  Apart from air, water is the essence of life!  What would do if you had no water?

http://www.handsofhopeonline.org/   will give you the opportunity to help.  As you buy for those who have so much, think about gifting them by giving to another.  Make a little girl's life better by helping to get her water.  The children in your life will love that you care about another who has nothing.  Share the story and allow them to help too.   When you give this way you are forever changed as you change the life of another.  http://www.handsofhopeonline.org/

"What we do for ourselves dies within us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal.  Albert Pine

Just Add Water

 

Today's blog is going to be a bit more graphic in detail than some I have posted in the past.  My passion for getting wells placed in the Western Province of Zambia is high.  I have been vocal about the critical need for clean water, drinking water and water to just take a bath.

I was taken back this week when someone read an earlier blog and dismissed the need for water.  However in fairness to this person they have never been without anything.  They did read the blog.  :)

As I have shared in past posts, water is a critical need in most of the world, clean water, pure water, healthy water. I cannot change the world but I can keep the focus on this remote corner of the world.  With out water, education is always derailed.  With out education the cycle of desperation and poverty continue.  This particularly affect the girls.

A subject that is never talked about but plays a major role in the girls becoming educated is when puberty hits.  Girls drop out of school between the ages of 11-13 due to lack sanitary menstrual products, and separate bathroom facilities in their schools.  In the bush outside of Mongu no wells, no water close by, bathrooms at all make it even worse.

She lives in a hut and she has no way to clean herself if water is not available.  If her period arrives on a test day and she cannot keep herself clean she will skip school.  If she is made fun of by the boys in her class for blood on her skirt, the cultural shame is so great, she will not want to return to school.  Without education she remains trapped in poverty.  She is a 'sub-human' and the cycle continues.

She drops out school and is married off for the price of a cow(s).

This is a bathroom for a village hut. 

What do they use?  Rags, grass or anything absorbent is used.  Most of the women in the villages we visit have only the clothes on their backs.  They wear rags as clothing, so material is precious, nothing is tossed away.  But water, water, water is needed to clean up their monthly menstrual flow.  Dirty water, dirty everything!

If you are a woman think about your personal hygiene needs.  Do you have a daughter in puberty or one that will be there one day?  Can you imagine not being able to clean your self or her?    Please focus with me on no water.   Water changes everything, health, sanitation, education and a better life.  Try desperately to put yourself in a desert, as a woman with no clean water.
What would you give to get water? 


Hands of Hope ( www.handsofhope.org ) wants to get wells placed in 10 villages. A village has between 800-1000 people.   Just 10 wells  and 10,000 lives will be changed forever!  10,000 people, just imagine! One well costs $5000.  It is built to last and changes lives with just a pump. 

A well does not have to come from just one person, a well can be born if people  are willing to give say $25 for each of their children, or grand children.  These $25 gifts (or more :) :) ) add up quickly and you will have given life, hope and opportunity to a girl who has none.  

What would you give UP to give water for a daughter, grand daughter, wife, sister just like yours?

Below is a 'good toilet'.  The hole in the ground is cement vs dirt.  This was a 'pay' facility.

The best and only spot in town.

This is a cement hole in the ground.

The American adaptation to keeping clean.

“To do good is noble. To tell others to do good is even nobler and much less trouble.”
― Mark Twain  

Let us (me) do both. :) 

http://handsofhopeonline.org/   go on line and give to well.

Give a Well Card in the name of your wife, daughter, sister, grand daughter.

In Water There is Bacteria - Benjaman Franklin

Since I am pretty certain that Benjamin Franklin never visited the Western Provence of Zambia, this quote must have been generated from his understanding of the great need of good, clean water.

Today is Kara's birth date, October 17.  A bitter sweet date.  She came and she is gone.  No one could have ever told me that on this date in 2013, I would be pleading for water, clean water in a most remote part of the world because of her coming into this world.  This date from my perspective should be celebrating her favorite day of the year along side of her.

Kara, a severe diabetic for 15 years taught me the critical need for water, if life is to continue.  A simple swallow of lake water while swimming,  a 'clean lake', put her suppressed immune system into crisis, on the brink of death and in ICU for several days.    She was most blessed to be taken to an incredible hospital (very far from our home), she had team of doctors who fought to keep her alive and medicine to help fight the germs that ravaged her fragile body.

In the Western Provence of Zambia, water is a luxury, clean, fresh water a rare option even during the rainy season.  People bathe, drink, cook and wash in the same stream or bucket.  Germs that cause dysentery, typhoid fever, cholera are in every cup of water that is not taken from a clean well source.  They become too sick to work!  The mom's can't care for their families!  The kids cannot go to school!  The mom's are sick too. They do not have medication to cure the illnesses!  The truly sad reality is that they do not have to drink bad water, we can help.  You can help!


Today's blog is in memory of my daughter Kara Dawn Erickson.  Her life was short but profound.  She taught me many things about life, living and death.  Traveling to Zambia and seeing how hard it is to get water, then harder to get clean water, and realizing that we can do something to help those who cannot help themselves, I snapped.

They must have clean water! 

Kara's legacy for us as a family, will be to get clean water to as many people as we can.  Many parts of the world need water.  However, I am focusing on one tiny, remote corner of the world that most people choose to ignore.  I can monitor where the water goes.  I can see and have seen the health and benefits it brings. I know that every penny raised for a well, will go to a well.  I know a young girl like the one above, does not have to die because of bad water! I have seen first hand, in two short years what clean water will do for a village (800-1000 people) and how it changed their lives!

Hands of Hope (www.handsofhope.org)  wants to place 10 wells by years end.  The people in 10 villages will have a chance to live and thrive.  One simple well costs $5000.  $5.00 per person is all that it costs to keep them with fresh, clean water.  $5.00.  That is one Starbucks drink forgone for another to live.  Giving is that simple.  Would you like to remember a loved one with a well?  Each time one from a village goes to get water they are reminded that someone cared about them.

   I must make this message heard.  These people must be given a chance in life and clean healthy water is where it begins.  To ignore a need, going about the business of life pretending that what

I do does not make a difference, is to live a lie. 

This is water from a new well, 2013!

 Happy Birthday dear, sweet Kara! 
 

Gift someone you love by giving life to another!  http://www.handsofhopeonline.org/giftcards.asp#well

When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure.

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When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure. ~Author Unknown
 
September 13 the anniversary of my Kara leaving this earth for eternity.  That day I was forever changed.   I am not the only mother who has lost a child.  Many of us are in that ‘club’.  No one wants to become a member but even as I type this blog, another member is initiated.   I do not know that new member but I know her pain.

Today, a dear  and special man, Ron Jones is being remembered and then laid to rest.   He was not my child but he was a grandfather, father, husband and a friend to many who knew him.  God created him, his life was valuable and he cared for others less fortunate.  He is now gone from this earth, and those who knew him and loved him do not want him forgotten.  Why, because life is important, valuable and a gift.  All life should be given value and hope not just here in the United States.   Life something  for us to treasure.

When you lose someone you love you desire that they are not forgotten.  Tombstones serve that purpose and they have for time memorial.  Family names thread one generation to another.  Family trees and genealogies are treasured as we try to figure out if we are related to someone important or very bad.  

But I imagine each of us want something more than a tombstone as a remembrance. I imagine most of us want more than a bouquet of flowers that wither and die as our remembrance in flowers is left at our grave. Deep down we want some legacy, some story, and some ‘thing’ that we can to pass on to our children or grand children. Our brief time on earth (and it is brief) should be remembered at least a generation or two.  Unmarked graves are sad statements of a life lived.  No one cared. All of us want someone to care.

As I ‘blog’ my journeys in the Western Provence of Zambia, I keep a resounding message and perhaps even today a resounding plea to help give life to those children who do not have to die early or to live poorly, because they have bad water or very little water.  We cannot control the number of our days but we can bless others who cannot help themselves by providing clean and accessible water.   Just simple, plain, clean water. 

As you drink your clean, sweet, fresh water today, will you think about helping one or perhaps a village who have never tasted it.  http://www.handsofhopeonline.org/giftcards.asp#well As you think about how to honor some one you love that you want to be remembered for a long time, give a gift of water in their name.  As you turn on your faucet to brush your teeth, wash your hands, fill your very large bath tub consider blessing someone who would be thrilled to just fill their bucket with clean fresh water.    The giving on our end is quite simple the gift of fresh clean water in the Western Provence of Zambia is life changing and giving.

As we continue to miss Kara and to keep her memory alive, we will work to place wells.  The well in her honor is blessing a village and giving kids health, something she longed for.   Each well placed whether it has Kara's name on it or it is a collective effort of many,  the well is a gift of life that gives and gives and keeps people alive with hope.  

This little girl has a chance to live because she now has clean water! Thank you! Hands of Hope!  Thank you!

This little girl, her family, her village were gifted with a well! 

This awesome lady is blessing a village with fresh water!