Time....

It takes me a lot of time to digest the emotional toll of different situations.  I'm trained as a scientist and I can detail facts and rattle off data easily.  I can draw conclusions from data.  Summarizing facts is an easy feat for me.  I'm methodical.  Making sense of emotional situations takes me time.  Sometimes it takes me a lot of time.  It always has.  For the past several months I've been digesting the very different situations I saw in orphanages in Haiti and Honduras.  In both countries, there is a huge disparity between orphanages supported by Rice Bowls and those that are not; however, there was a very different feeling between the Rice Bowls supported homes in Haiti and Honduras.  Children in both homes were loved, fed, educated and now benefited from having a future colored with hope.  In Haiti there was peril.  In Haiti you could hear screaming through the night from the nearby voodoo temples; you could smell the burning garbage....it permeated you skin, clothing and hair.  In Haiti, the house mother and father received death threats.  In Haiti, you felt called to stand up and help.  In Honduras, the home is located outside the city.  In Honduras, the home is situated on a large plat of land near an agricultural college.  In Honduras, you see the tropical mountains, the lush fields and hear the children giggling and playing; you smell tropical flowers.  In Honduras, it was almost easy to forget the peril that exists.  However, a lush landscape and a large safety margin do not negate the need for support.  I am proud to be a continued supporter of RiceBowls and to continue matching the donation provided to them by Bridgewater candles.  Its an amazing thing--to feed a child, change a life.  I continue to be utterly grateful for Green Springs' customers who see the need and want to be a small part of something big.  Let's go feed some kids!