Crocodile Shoes

Ok… my post title is called Crocodile Shoes only because I have been blogging about shoes this week, and today I went to a crocodile farm, so I put it all together and called it “Crocodile Shoes.”  Clever huh? By the way, my camera was this close to the mouth of a crocodile.  Only a chain link fence separated us.

It was only a year ago when I had my family with me in Kenya and we met Hannah, our sponsored child with Compassion.  What an amazing experience for my girls to meet this beautiful child. We all fell in love with her.  Today, I drove into the parking lot of the Crocodile farm where we last said good bye to Hannah, and realized she was waiting inside the park to see me again. I just started to cry and told Keely I was barely holding it together.  Moments like these are overwhelming for me.

When I saw Hannah, I ran to her like a crazy lady, but I was just so excited! Hannah is shy, so I think my wide eyed, bubbling over, crazy lady greeting might have freaked her out. She was good though….she tolerated my emotional outburst and gave me a sweet, shy smile.

She looked very pretty. I complimented her on her dress and she told me I bought it for her for Christmas, and her shoes too.  Flood gates open, here comes the tears. My other sponsored child, Remya, who I met last year on a blogging trip, had a new dress when I met her and told me the exact same thing. How sweet is that?

We had this amazing day together. Crocodiles, this giraffe (he licked me and my camera), a camel,……. and third world rides.  Please notice how this is powered.

I love this kid.  She is shy, sweet and beautiful.  What a gift she is to my family.  What a blessing she has been to my children.

After our fun, we sat down, I gave her presents and then we talked.

Hannah told me her family lost animals due to a drought this year. I knew that they had lost animals because she had shared this in a letter. I did not know what a big deal this was until today. For this Masai girl and her family, animals are their source of food and income. Hannah’s family lost all their cows and most goats and now they only have three goats left. Sounds weird doesn’t it? I admit this is so far out of my context. I could tell that this was a big deal. I learned her family would have starved if Compassion had not provided food for them.  Actually, because of Compassion’s Global Food Program, the whole community, even the families without children in Compassion, received food supplies.

When I got back on the bus after saying good-bye to Hannah, I thought of my daughter Julia, and her red puffy eyes as she blubbered saying good-bye last year.  I knew in a moment I could be blubbering so I concentrated really hard to keep myself together so that I could avoid the “ugly cry face”. I knew if I started to talk I would loose it because frankly, I am a blubberer!

Hearing about Hannah’s year and what her family has been through broke my heart today.  Wow, I feel like God needed me to hear this story. I realized today that my husband and I need to step up and help this family out. I guess I am warning him because I know he will read my blog. Compassion will allow us to send money for a family gift up to $1,000 a year, and the staff will help the family figure out the best way to use it to generate income for the family.  Right now we have been trying to save money, but I believe we can’t just sit back.  This family needs some help to get back on their feet.  I am so thankful that God has given my husband and me the resources to help….right honey?

Being a sponsor has been life changing.  It has changed me, my husband, my girls, the way I think, what we do, how we live and how we pray. I think it has changed the bloggers on our trip too. Not everyone gets to meet their child.  I think its only 1% of all sponsors, but I can testify that if you want to do something significant, or be significant to someone, then sponsor a child.

Photos by Keely the Great, and Ryan the almost Masai man