No words...

My last few posts were a little heavy compared to my usual lighthearted blog...and this one is heavy too...

We finally heard from our kid we sponsor through Compassion. His house was destroyed by the earthquake (he lives in Haiti, about 30 miles from the capital) and he lost several family members. But throughout the letter he asked about me and my family and "our activities" and told me he loves me and prays for my family.
I sat reading his letter in my big, disgusting American house, filled with stuff we don't need. Our closets overflow with clothes we don't wear, or things we save for "special occaisions" and my Compassion kid's father bought him a new wardrobe with the measely $25 we sent him for Christmas.

My kids play with toys which overflow our toy boxes (which I just cleaned out) and have a room just for their toys and games. They each have more than 5 blankets they sleep with and numerous stuffed animals. Our pantry is also overflowing, as most of yours probably are too. In fact, last week I cleaned and reorganized it and threw away two entire boxes of old food. Disgusting. When talking about expanding our family our only obstacle is purchasing a bigger car, not whether or not we can put food in another child's mouth. Speaking of cars, we have two (as I'm sure you do as well). I doubt his family has ever had one.

We're getting ready to homeschool in the next few months and I'm pouring over curriculum for Chloe and trying to decide whether to enroll the girls in dance or sports this fall. His family is able to send him to school because of my sponsorship of him through Compassion, otherwise he would not receive an education. We have the luxury of choosing between several schooling options. His favorite activities are jumping rope and playing ball, no organized sports in the poorest parts of Haiti.

Yet he prays for us. He loves us and wants to hear everything about our lives. He has "nothing" by American standards. It makes me just feel gross. And greedy. And spoiled rotten. Yet he feels blessed. Blessed to be able to attend school (most kids in America take that for granted!), blessed by new clothes that will probably be worn by him for years to come. Blessed and thankful that he still has living family after that earthquake and a shelter to stay in.

I wish my life were simpler. I wish I could sell everything and move to another country, where people face real problems, and be of some help to them. I told my girls about our sweet Compassion kid and they colored him pictures and covered them in stickers. We took pictures of ourselves to mail with our letter. And I know, because he's told me, that these will be his greatest treasures.