Don't we all wish that our lives could have a PURPOSE? A point to it all? Sometimes it feels like we get up and go to work to make money in order to pay the bills so we can have a house to live in where that we sleep so we can rest in order to get up and go to work... It's like that song my sister use to sing when we were kids to annoy my Dad. "There's a hole in my bucket, Dear Liza, Dear Liza..." (Where Liza responds to 'Dear Henry' to fix it... and the last response is that he should carry (in a bucket) the water he needs to wet the rock he needs to sharpen his dull knife that he needs to cut the straw to fix the hole in his bucket... but there's a hole in his bucket, and the song repeats... no end!) It seems that way with life sometimes! That the point of it is in fact pointless! And that it's a vicious cycle of nothingness and meaningless events. I think a lot of it comes from feeling like our life really has no impact on anyone or anything. We WANT to save a starfish. We want our lives to matter to SOMEONE other than ourselves.
My sister once put it like this, "When I was a little girl, I distinctly remember thinking that I was going to change the world when I grew up. I'm talking along the lines of "first female President." Call it innocence of childhood or whatever you wish, but I really believed it. The older I get, however, the more obvious it has become to me that I have neither the desire nor the qualifications to actually pursue that role. I'm not, in other words, going to "change the world." But I'm ok with that too. I have a new mantra for my life, though, which is that although I may not be able to change the world, I can try to change my world. I once heard the quote, "Be the change you wish to see in the world," and it has stuck with me. I have too often crutched on, "Someone else will do it...someone else will donate their time and money..." without even realizing it. With conscious effort, I'm trying to not see it that way anymore. If I want things to be different in the world - or in Rochester - or in my family - I have to be the one to step up."
I have a childhood friend, Sara, who in her selfless act of walking away (along with her husband and two small children) from a life of comfort here in the U.S. to live among abused, abandoned, and orphaned children in Paraguay has truly "stepped up", and in doing so, she has also given me the opportunity to feel like I have a gift to give to life. I, even living in San Antonio, can make a difference within lives of others. I can change the world. Even if it's the world of one child.
Sometimes we are inundated with the sad stories of people. Children all over the world who are abused, hungry, orphaned, neglected, unloved... and we find ourselves wondering how on earth can one act of kindness matter... with all of the NEED that exists? And yet, like the starfish -- it does matter. We can only do so much, but we can do what we can with all of our might... and I wholeheartedly believe that Sara, Shaun, Abi and Sammy are doing just that!
Sara and her husband Shaun are the directors of "Hogar Ganar" in Itagua, Paraguay. Hogar Ganar is a 45 acre community that offers a safe haven and a permanent home for 30 children who have been physically, emotionally, and mentally abused and or abandoned. In attempt to maintain their cultural heritage, the children are placed in a home with a Christian Paraguayan couple, who they refer to as 'Tio' and 'Tia' (Uncle and Aunt). The full-time house parents as well as Shaun and Sara desire for these children to experience the love of a family as well as to obtain the education they otherwise would have to forgo. They attend a public school on the Hogar Ganar property, that was opened under the guidance of Shaun and Sara. They gain skills working in the home's bakery and garden. And they are learning to dream of a hopeful future.
My brother-in-law Christopher went during his last year of medical school to visit Hogar Ganar. He said the one thing that had stood out to him was that some of the children's only dream was to get big enough so that they could help get their siblings out of the same environment they themselves had come out of. Sara has said that in the beginning many of the children seem surprised by questions like, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Such thoughts have never been conceived... and yet she has shared with me how that SHE dreams that someday these children will go to college - perhaps even some in the US... that these children could change the nation of Paraguay. And it seems her dreams are infecting the hearts and minds of the children. They are blossoming in the abundance of unconditional love and guidance, and they are learning to dream for themselves.
My brother-in-law Christopher went during his last year of medical school to visit Hogar Ganar. He said the one thing that had stood out to him was that some of the children's only dream was to get big enough so that they could help get their siblings out of the same environment they themselves had come out of. Sara has said that in the beginning many of the children seem surprised by questions like, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Such thoughts have never been conceived... and yet she has shared with me how that SHE dreams that someday these children will go to college - perhaps even some in the US... that these children could change the nation of Paraguay. And it seems her dreams are infecting the hearts and minds of the children. They are blossoming in the abundance of unconditional love and guidance, and they are learning to dream for themselves.
I could name MANY things that I think are awesome about the work that Sara and Shaun are doing in Paraguay, but probably one of the things I love most about the ministry of Hogar Ganar is how much they strive to give the children a "normal", loving childhood... providing them not only with the basics of shelter, food, and clothing - but going over and beyond... giving the young girl's quinceañera's, taking the young boys camping and fishing, participating in soccer competitions and even 5k races. They are loving these children the way all children deserve to be loved, and they are making a difference.
Sara and Shaun have been blessed with a beautiful and large facility in which to protect and invest in these children. They currently have 3 homes open, but they have 7 more houses that they dream of filling one day. Currently their biggest limitation is finances. They sell the breads and garden harvests to make money for the home, but the majority of their financial provisions come from donations and monthly support. It takes about $1200.00 to clothe, feed, and educate the ten children of each home, as well as pay the house parents. One hundred percent of any donation goes straight to the homes and the children and all donations are tax deductible.
Paraguay does not have government run children's services the way the US does. Children that are abused have no where to go, unless someone like Sara opens up her doors to them. She has shared with my sister that she often cries late into the night over the amount of children that she is requested to take, yet despite having the room for more she has to turn many of them down due to not having the finances to responsibly accept more children.
Some people are willing to walk away from the comfort of a life in America, close to family and friends, and some people get the blessing of staying - but supporting financially. I am honored to have the chance to contribute to this work. And because it has blessed me so, I want to share it with anyone of my friends who might be interested in participating in Sara and Shaun's work in Paraguay.
If you would be interested in learning more about this amazing work please visit Sara and Shaun's blog and or view the video connected to the below link.
http://mortonmissions.blogspot.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qT697cvAo44
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