Monday, November 17, 2008

blessing bags

today has thankfully not felt like a monday, and for that, i'm very glad. this weekend seemed to go way too fast and usually that means that the slowdown on monday is brutal, but fortunately, that's not the case today. i got to work this morning and was reminded that we would be helping hopeful hearts (http://www.hopefulheartsfoundation.org/) pack the remaining blessing bags to be sent to kids in afghanistan, so i was pretty pumped. HH is a great organization and is really to credit for my love of ukraine and it's children, and even my involvement with my job and work in afghanistan.


june of 2005, i went with HH to ukraine for the first time to work in the orphanages and my view of the world was totally rocked. to quote my eloquent husband, the trip "rocked my face off". i had traveled internationally before, but never for anything more than a vacation or an educational trip. for the first time in ukraine, i saw what true need and hunger looked like. not so much in the orphanages, although the need there is undeniable, but mostly in the street children. a boy, about 8 or 9, who smelled strongly of glue, begged our team for food while we stood in line at a cafe - that is a memory that i cannot get out of my head to this day... i came home a transformed person, and hope that i never forget what i saw.
anyways, after traveling twice with HH and seeing the impact they have in ukraine and elsewhere, HH is, needless to say, an amazing organization. they are now also involved with sending supplies for children at B.A. - the resettlement village for around 3000 returning refugees in northern kabul, afghanistan. they collected about 300 blessing bags, stuffed with school supplies, stuffed animals, candy, combs, winter hats and gloves, socks, etc. and filled about 450 others, just for the kids in afghanistan. (not to mention the 1000 other bags that were collected, stuffed, and shipped to orphanages in ukraine!!!) we went to help pack the additional bags and ship them off. although the items in the blessing bags are something that most american kids would turn their noses up to on Christmas morning, the bags will be more than well received by the B.A. kids, and were worth all the time, money and effort.
so, while i had a pretty busy day for a monday, it was all worth it! i am sooooo incredibly blessed to be doing things that i love so much as a part of my regular job. it really makes rolling out of bed at 6:45 every morning TOTALLY worth it!

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