The Compassion Experience was amazing! I got to do all of the things and trips. That's what my weekend was full of along with the Bentonville Christmas Parade with my mom and nephews. I went Saturday and went through two of the countries. The countries were Philippines and the Republic. I have a room that hit me the most and that I will remember forever in each one.
The room that got me in the Philippines was the house that was leaking because of the floods that happen there. I can't imagine the leaking in the houses every time it rains or floods and the families living in it. The girl's name was Kiwi and she grew up to be a nurse and in the medical field. That is where my first little girl is from so that is the real reason I went this time around.
The room that got me in the Dominican Republic was the house that the boy was living with his Grandpa and his Grandpa was drunk and mean to them so they had to move again.
The boy's name was Johnathan and he grew up to help other children on drugs and bad things. That is why he wanted to help teenagers like that because he went through the same thing growing up. He started a "home" for those type of children and most of them were teenagers. I didn't have time to do the third one on Saturday because I had to leave for church.
I went back on Sunday to volunteer with them and that was an experience in itself. I volunteered during the morning and part of the afternoon. They let me see the one that I didn't see on Saturday, which was Olivia from Africa. The room that got me there was the room where it showed her living in the jungle during the nights. She had soldiers looking after her and her family and friends. She also got aids when she was older because she went to live with her mom to be safe.
After I went through there, I was talked to about how things were ran and got to get into a place. The place that they put me was at the end where the children got sponsored so that was really neat. I got to help people pick children out, tell them my stories, and see how they taught their children Compassion through sponsoring a child. When we were getting ready to leave, the people in charge told us they really appreciated us because Sunday was going to be a busy day, especially in the morning and there was usually just the two of them working the sponsorship spot. I have the stories that I will never forget and some stories that I don't agree fully with.
I did see a lot of people coming out of the stories crying because they were really touched by them. I will start with a positive story and then end with another positive story. One of the girls were kind of like me when I first started to support my 17 year old. This girl wanted to give all of her savings that she has saved for 5 years to support the child that she picked out. That is what started me out with and I did pass it on until my mom until I was making more money in college. Then I took up the job of paying the amount and always have since then. It was amazing to hear that story about her giving it up at the young age. She was a teenager too. Crazy, that someone would do that same thing.
The room that got me in the Philippines was the house that was leaking because of the floods that happen there. I can't imagine the leaking in the houses every time it rains or floods and the families living in it. The girl's name was Kiwi and she grew up to be a nurse and in the medical field. That is where my first little girl is from so that is the real reason I went this time around.
The room that got me in the Dominican Republic was the house that the boy was living with his Grandpa and his Grandpa was drunk and mean to them so they had to move again.
The boy's name was Johnathan and he grew up to help other children on drugs and bad things. That is why he wanted to help teenagers like that because he went through the same thing growing up. He started a "home" for those type of children and most of them were teenagers. I didn't have time to do the third one on Saturday because I had to leave for church.
I went back on Sunday to volunteer with them and that was an experience in itself. I volunteered during the morning and part of the afternoon. They let me see the one that I didn't see on Saturday, which was Olivia from Africa. The room that got me there was the room where it showed her living in the jungle during the nights. She had soldiers looking after her and her family and friends. She also got aids when she was older because she went to live with her mom to be safe.
After I went through there, I was talked to about how things were ran and got to get into a place. The place that they put me was at the end where the children got sponsored so that was really neat. I got to help people pick children out, tell them my stories, and see how they taught their children Compassion through sponsoring a child. When we were getting ready to leave, the people in charge told us they really appreciated us because Sunday was going to be a busy day, especially in the morning and there was usually just the two of them working the sponsorship spot. I have the stories that I will never forget and some stories that I don't agree fully with.
I did see a lot of people coming out of the stories crying because they were really touched by them. I will start with a positive story and then end with another positive story. One of the girls were kind of like me when I first started to support my 17 year old. This girl wanted to give all of her savings that she has saved for 5 years to support the child that she picked out. That is what started me out with and I did pass it on until my mom until I was making more money in college. Then I took up the job of paying the amount and always have since then. It was amazing to hear that story about her giving it up at the young age. She was a teenager too. Crazy, that someone would do that same thing.
Then there was something I didn't really agree with and yes, there are different parenting styles and I understand that but still my heart feels sorry for those sheltered children. The were a couple of parents asking how kid friendly the stories and rooms can get. One of the staff was wondering what they meant by that and they didn't want their 7 year old listening to the video, which I can understand but they were even wondering about the rooms. One of the women even commented on how in one of the stories the mom died and she didn't want her 7 year old to hear that. I'm sorry but that is what is wrong with our country today. Our children are too sheltered. More then we think. If they want to show a child what really life is like then show him the poverty country, not the USA. We are better then the other countries. We are the only country like this.
How can you keep a child from things like those and then make sure they have compassion in their hearts as they grow? I also saw babies, few weeks and months old, going through the rooms. I also saw 3 year olds and 4 years olds go through those rooms so why not a 7 year old? Maybe it is just my heart and how I grew up but seeing people live poor then me really makes an impact on me. It is just really sad when you think about. How else will this 7 year old boy learn about true Compassion? I learned about another way that I need to think about raising my own children if the Lord is willing. Then I saw the total opposite and that is my other positive story.
There was a family of 3 kids and their mother was talking to them while picking out a child. Their mother made sure that they understood the cost they would have to pay to support the child. They each had to give up something like some of their allowance or something they liked. Each of the children said they would so they went ahead and sponsored one child. It was just so neat to see little and big children (aka teenagers) giving up something in today's world for a child far away. It was also interesting to see how interested they were in where the child lived and I heard a lot of them say that they wanted to go on a trip to see them or they picked one because they wanted to go to that country. It was just fun to see all the different styles used from parents to reach their children to help other children get out of poverty.
Of course, from me, who isn't surprised that I said that and this is what I got out of this weekend. I love seeing children's reactions to anything and everything. It was mainly the children to that wanted to do either 2 or all 3 of the stories. They were not happy with just one of them and the parents would usually take them through how ever many they wanted to go through. The different expressions were interested, happy, excited, and there were a lot of kids that were shocked by one of the children's shoes. Some of the children were also shocked by the jungle themed room and both of the drs. rooms. None of the children said anything about the home before they got sponsored or after they got sponsored, which I thought was pretty neat too.
All this to say that I want to sponsor my next child (3rd) from a Compassion Experience trailer when it comes around again next time. Hopefully, the mall will do it again soon. Yes, did you know that the Pinnacle Hills Mall in Rogers, AR actually called Compassion to come to the Mall. It was a church or anything. It was really the mall itself. I just thought that was totally awesome too!
Of course, from me, who isn't surprised that I said that and this is what I got out of this weekend. I love seeing children's reactions to anything and everything. It was mainly the children to that wanted to do either 2 or all 3 of the stories. They were not happy with just one of them and the parents would usually take them through how ever many they wanted to go through. The different expressions were interested, happy, excited, and there were a lot of kids that were shocked by one of the children's shoes. Some of the children were also shocked by the jungle themed room and both of the drs. rooms. None of the children said anything about the home before they got sponsored or after they got sponsored, which I thought was pretty neat too.
All this to say that I want to sponsor my next child (3rd) from a Compassion Experience trailer when it comes around again next time. Hopefully, the mall will do it again soon. Yes, did you know that the Pinnacle Hills Mall in Rogers, AR actually called Compassion to come to the Mall. It was a church or anything. It was really the mall itself. I just thought that was totally awesome too!
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