CFCA: Little Fernando

I had the opportunity to work a few tables at a Christian Foundation for Children & Aging sponsorship event. And guess what? By the end, I was sponsoring a little boy from México. I knew I wouldn't be able to bear working the table and seeing all the many folders of unsponsored children. So, we are now the new Godparents of this little 2 year old boy: Fernando Daniel CobarruviasEstrada from the village of Nezahualcoyotl. There is no doubt in my mind that we will be meeting this little guy soon.

The event ended up a great success. We were able to get 116 children sponsored all in one morning with the help of Fr. Jerry Beat (the priest who introduced me to missions/travel). I was kinda surprised by the number, it was a good 3 digit number! CFCA has also made it even more personable to sponsor a child. On their WALK2GETHER site you can now see photos of the kids needing sponsored and can specify locations and birth dates, if you so wish. Even if you don't think you have the funds to sponsor a kid for $30 a month, I dare you to just try it and you will naturally get something in return. I have been doing it for almost 10 years now and even when my income was low, I have never regretted it.

Visit their main page here: www.cfcausa.org

Or visit the sub site here: www.walk2gether.org

See other related posts here.

Walk2Gether

Four days ago a 73 year old named Bob Hentzen (founder of CFCA) started a walk for the poor that will cover 12 countries. It started in Guatemala and will end in Chile. Each day he will walk approx. 20-25 miles covering about 8,000 miles. In 1996 he walked from Kansas City all they way down to San Lucas Toliman Guatemala and this time it is about four times that. I spread the word only because I know this is being done for the poor and and this is big for them. I know the intentions are true and I know love will be brought to these people through this event.

"By walking with them, we are saying, 'You are not alone,'" Hentzen said. "We are listening to you and learning from you."

See day one of the walk - video here.

Browse the website here.

Follow his trip here.

My Favorite Village

Scenes from my favorite village near San Lucas Toliman. And to get there you had to travel on a narrow dirt road through fields of coffee beans. It was a hidden little paradise.

This village had also been cleared out by a mudslide off a volcano. But these people were lucky enough to receive their very own well built home - as you can see in the 2nd photo. And the kids there were so happy!

Santiago Atitlan

Boat ride on Lake Atitlan to the town of Santiago Atitlan. I always nab the front seat for the awesome views. Here we visited projects, walked around town, spent time in the crazy market with the locals, did some shopping and visited a town that is still in horrible condition after an attempt to recover from a deadly mudslide. The government decided to build temporary homes right back under the deadly volcano and 3 years later - no change. Way to put forth some effort.

We Are In It Together

Melvin & Edwin

CFCA

As a Personal Outreach Advocate for Christian Foundation For Children & Aging (CFCA) I encourage you to sponsor a child. If you have been reading my blog, I write about how I have seen the results of sponsorship first hand. I have seen with my own eyes where the money goes. Not only does sponsoring help the child, but also the family and the community they live in. For only $30 a month you can make a child look forward to his/her future and make their quality of life that much better. I truly trust this organization and can say I personally know the President/Founder and have stood beside him amongst the many beautiful children being sponsored. So what is it....use the money for a couple beers on a Friday night and deal with the hangover the next day or truly change someones life? Some think that money follows the heart. But sometimes the heart follows the money.

Since I have been back I have already had a few friends sign up. Please, I challenge you. Start here or read their blog here.

Sponsorship - Part 2

The hours were passing, the afternoon was soon arriving and the air was becoming more warm. Fellow sponsors were becoming comfortable with this new friends and relationships were noticeably becoming stronger by the minute. Yet, I sat there with Reina and her family and really started to wonder if Edwin was even going to come. I was starting to get a little bummed. I wanted so bad to meet Edwin. I had been sponsoring him for 7-8 years now, I have always prayed for him and even had tried to meet him once before but the circumstances didn't allow it. I really thought this time I would see him.

Luis, a friend of mine that works for CFCA in Guatemala, soon came around the corner with a smile on his face and told me "Edwin is here." He informed me that they had driven for 10 hours and had gotten lost at the Mexico border. Such a long drive! It was then that Edwin walked through the door followed by his dad. I was so happy I didn't know how to act or what to say. I pretty much jumped up and hugged him. He was so much bigger than I had imagined! He was a 14 year old handsome young man! And when he spoke an unexpected low voice hit me. Wow, I have been part of his life for a long time now and it was so crazy to finally see him in person...it's hard to explain.

I showed him all the gifts I had brought for him and he then went to the car to get my gift. He came back with this large wooden carving. It was a twisted dark wood post with about 9 little prongs coming out the sides. I had no idea what it was but it was beautiful. Now I know how parents feel when they are given finger paintings that look like nothing familiar but they become the most cherished thing you own. And I must say, I was the proud owner of the most unique gift there. We then talked for a few minutes and it was difficult because him and his father were so incredibly shy. Sometimes Edwin wouldn't know how to answer a question and he would just hang his head down. I wanted so bad to show him how much I loved him, to know him more and become friends. But he was so shy.

Later Edwin and I played a game of soccer verse my sister and Melvin. After a couple minutes, 2 boy (couldn't have been older than 6-7 years old) joined in. Not five mints later I was wheezing and coughing like an asthmatic smoker. These 6 year olds were kicking my butt! Every once in a while I'd do some fancy foot work that would baffle them and I'd feel like David Beckham for a split second but in the end we lost. And when people asked how we lost so bad I'd just replied with "well I didn't want to trample any little kids so I took it easy on them." No one bought it.

Afterwards it was time for food. All three families surrounded around Andrea and I at the table. It felt like we were all one family and it was a time of celebration. At lunch I was able to talk with Edwin's dad and the words that came out of his mouth bout made tears come out of my eyes. I clinched my jaw so my chin wouldn't quiver and give me away. He told me that seeing me was so unreal because he didn't think I actually existed. And for me to come all the way down from the states just for his son - he couldn't believe and it filled his heart with so much joy. He thanked me for being part of Edwin's life and it had to have been the most real thank you I had ever seen.

My time with Edwin and his father was short, very short. A little over an hour after lunch I had to say goodbye. Goodbyes are not an easy thing for me. We hugged, took photos, hugged again and walked to the front entrance to see them off. Watching Edwin walk away made me so emotional I finally broke down and cried and hid my face with my jacket. If only I had more time with him. If only....

Sponsorship - Part 1

Traveling to me is all about meeting the people. If I don’t have that one on one time with a local or two, I feel I didn’t fully experience the trip or the culture. I feel as though I may have jipped myself from really learning something. Otherwise what is the point of travel if you don’t learn anything? You end up becoming a wondering tourist looking at things that may never develop into any great lasting memory.To me, the people are what make a trip and make it memorable.

This time around in Guatemala my sister Andrea and I came to visit three beautiful kids that we sponsor through CFCA (a great organization that sponsors kids all around the world). We had my parent’s girl Reina, my sister’s boy Melvin, and my boy Edwin. We had three kids and their families to meet and juggle for almost a full day and we were nervous as heck about the whole situation. The morning of, the butterfly's were a fluttering. To us it was like meeting someone famous that you only know through photos you see in magazines. Or in our case letters. We had each of the kids gifts sorted and ready to go. There was a knock on the door and a message for my sister, “Your kid is here!” We both ran down......ready, set, go.

The greetings were filled with hugs and kisses. Soon after Andrea left me to fend for myself with Reina. I was hoping I’d have her for a buffer in a time of any awkward silences. Nope. She had gone to play soccer with Melvin and had the game, crowd, and adrenaline to fill in any weird moments. So for most of the day I learned all I could about Reina. She was a happy, giggly, 16 year old girl that enjoyed being a home body and had an excellent family for support. Like me, she would much rather spend any free time at home with her sister. We eventually got to the subject of boys and I was asked if I had a boyfriend and that my brother was cute. I topped that conversation off by saying “yeah well, my brother drives a doughnut truck for a job.” Ha! Why is that so fun for me to say?

My sisters boy Melvin was an interesting character. He was always hiding some kind of food in his pocket and checking if we noticed. His dad was a teacher and came up with a whole performance for Andrea. It included props, dancing, and some good old lip syncing. Lucky her. She was also showered with many many gifts. The family was so very thankful for her sponsorship.

Andrea and Melvin were also mentioned in the CFCA blog here!

Sponsorship - Part 2: I meet Edwin.

They Cry For Peace

Guatemala is a land of great wonder and mystery. Beauty and joy are found around every corner. But if you listen and look closely it is also a land of acute distress, suffering, and pain. Guatemala is a country coming down from a 36 year long civil war and the wounds have left their scars. This was my third visit to the country. I had heard the stories before and this trip wasn’t any different.

While in the capital we visited a small project and a young girl told us a story that was soon broken up by tears. The tears were painful and pierced your heart. A few years before, she had been kidnapped while taking a shower right outside her house. The police didn’t bother to do their job and left the father and uncle in search for her. Kidnappings happen for two reasons - for ransom or for abuse, and the family wasn’t one to bug for a ransom. Shortly after, I stood aside and spoke with our leader (that lives there in Guatemala) and he told me how drug trafficking and gang violence is on the rise in the city (because of Mexico and Columbia). He believes that in just a short couple of years the violence will rise sky high once again. It was a comment you didn’t want to hear, but it also didn’t come as a surprise.


With our two police officers in tow for security (for the entire trip), we headed off to the area of Solola. Later I found myself no longer among palm trees, tropical flowers and sugar cane fields. Instead we were up in the clouds surrounded by the dense forest area of Corazon del Bosque. I jumped off the bus and viewed the crowd of a couple hundred that I was about to dive into head first. I took a deep breath, went in and was mobbed by 20 plus kisses of innocent children and nothing is better than that.

While there the massive crowd gathered in a circle around us, knelt, raised their hands to the sky then cupped them around their faces. Then in their Mayan language they fervently prayed for us. It was a prayer so devout it made us sponsors from CFCA feel uneasy. We felt as if we weren’t worthy and didn’t deserve such gratitude. We had come with CFCA to see our sponsored children and yet they still thanked us because we had come in place of all the sponsors that couldn’t be there. They are a grateful people by nature and I felt blessed to have such a prayer bestowed on me.


The celebration continued. Children danced, sang, and handed out mounds of fruit. And again the painful sound of children's tears rang in your ears. They sang of pain and blood shed. They cry for peace. The Mayan people are constantly persecuted in their own country. A friend of mine even told me he can’t even wear his Mayan bag to school in the city because of the persecution. I didn’t understand and probably never will. Unfortunately, the answers to solve the worlds hatred will most likely never be there. But the best thing I can do is to just walk along side the people and listen. Not in front or in back.....but beside. And that is my plan.

Seven Months To Go

So the tickets for the December 26 Guatemala trip are bought! But of course my procrastination has cost me. Because it is a holiday trip I did expect it to be pricey but $2,456.60 for two people to fly to a country maybe 4 hours from Dallas? Honestly. It crossed my mind to start buying the tickets a few weeks back but what I didn't expect was the rise of gas prices.

At least Andrea is covered with travel insurance and me covered twice over and the planning is done. Not that I think this trip will be risky, I'm actually not worried about it at all. It will be one of the least risky ones I have taken lately.

Anyways, I'm pumped and can't wait to go back for the 3rd time and see the kids. On top of that, I will get to see what New Years is like in Guatemala and show Andrea what the country is like! It's great to have something to look forward to and get me through the rough times of work.