Archive for April, 2011

Volunteer Vacation to South Africa, April 2011

Thursday, April 21st, 2011

Amy & Robin in the center of Vredeford Dome

Nine years ago I made a promise to take my Sunshine anywhere in the world she wanted to go.  Paris was her choice, but as fate would have it … an opportunity of a lifetime came up.  Instead, Amy got to spend her 19th birthday in South Africa, with some of the most amazing people on earth.

We had a fantastic time delivering much needed school supplies, clothing, shoes, and requested items to the two orphanages I have been supporting in Johannesburg for years.  Although I don’t think it was my best paint job ever (consider what we were painting with), Amy and I did our best at brightening one of the classrooms at Mpumelelo Day Care.   🙂

Maria, Amy, and Myself ... making a difference at Mpumelelo Day Care

We also spent quality time at Sinethemba, making homeade pizzas and passing out the gifts from “Christmas in April” (usually I do this for them in July, because their seasons are opposite of ours).  Grant and Sharon still are in shock that I could fit so much into so little bags, and manage to bring everything they needed.  That day I felt so much love, it was as though God was smiling at me, Himself.

Christmas in April with my Sinethemba Family (Benoni, South Africa)

 

We also helped Sharon and Grant put together a home they procured for a family in a local Squatters Camp.  If you ever need a story on humility, just ask me about this amazing couple.   They truly have hearts of gold and I am blessed to have been a part of the random act of kindness they gave to Anelda, her sister, and her two children.  Sharing in this experience was all the more special because I got to do it with Amy.  🙂

Every day was a blessing, as our schedule was jam packed from the moment we landed, until we took off a week later.  Again, I just want to take time to thank those individuals who donated items that were so desperately needed.  One child told me “it’s not necessarily what you brought, it is the fact that you came, and you brought us hope through giving from your heart and sharing your love with us.”

May we each be so blessed to know we make a difference in some one elses life … it is the greatest feeling in the world.   Share a smile, it will cost you nothing.  Give a word of encouragement, it could be exactly what the person needs to hear.  Let someone go in front of you in line, maybe they are in a hurry and could use that extra few minutes.  Often times it is the little things that make the biggest difference for someone else. 

And as a final note, never make a promise you cannot keep.  Do what you say you are going to do, when you say you are going to do it.  Live with integrity … in the end, I can guarantee you that even if it takes 9 years or longer … fulfilling those commitments is quite rewarding.  🙂

Be blessed by allowing yourself to be a blessing … make it an awesome day!

Always,

Robin

Mpumelelo Day Care ... where the children were so happy to merely touch our skin & have their photos taken! 🙂

The humanitarian in me …

Wednesday, April 6th, 2011

Do you ever have so many thoughts on your mind, you are unable to sleep?  That is what caused me to put pen to paper (or fingers on a keyboard  hehe) today.  Writing is cathartic for me, cleansing if you will.  Deep within I know there are thoughts and words I need to share  … so grab your favorite beverage and join me for a minute, won’t you? 

You see, I have been heavily burdened the past month with having to remove someone who was once a very good friend from my life.  It was a decision based on what was and is right for me.  Not because I believe they are a bad person, but because their behaviors are toxic to my being.  There is so much to be said, but at the end of the day, I felt as though this individual was ultimately keeping me from being my best.  God’s best.

One of the best days of my life … at an orphanage in Haiti, April 2010

 

One thing I have learned through the lessons in my life, is to be an example I want other people to see.  Recently I was told “although I never comment on your Facebook page, I watch what you are doing very closely there, and through your blog.  I am fascinated by your zeal to help humanity.  But I don’t understand ‘why’ you are the way you are. Why do you feel the need to go to other countries, when there is so much need here in America?”  My response was the same as I gave to those who urged me not to go to Haiti to help after the earthquake, and were upset with me that I got sick and ended up in the hospital upon my return to the states.  Laying in that hospital bed with an IV in my arm because I had a kidney infection & various other issues, I remember saying “you can give me a blood transfusion, but you can not take the humanitarian out of me”.

Baby Palesa … I cannot believe it has been 3 years since I have seen her!!

 

In just a few days I am embarking on an adventure with my “adopted” niece, Amy.  We are going to Johannesburg, South Africa to spend time with the orphans who stole my heart years ago, along with those who look after them.  Sinethemba (http://www.sinethembahomeofhope.co.za/ )  and Mpumelelo (http://www.mpumelelochildren.co.za/) .  With my trips as an individual over the years, I networked through Airline Ambassadors (http://airlineamb.org/) & Destination International (http://www.destinationintl.com/)  and they now include these two orphanages in their mission trips.  It is with honor I have been asked to be one of the board members and a trustee for Raise Your Hand Open Your Heart (http://www.raiseyourhand.org.za/ )~~ because it connects people with giving aid and volunteering wherever your passion may lay.

The reason for this particular writing is to encourage you to find your passion.  To realize wherever those little heart strings are pulling you … to take action.  Take the brokeness you may feel in your life, and put the energy towards helping someone in need.  Doesn’t matter if you have money, you can still donate your time.  You can volunteer at a local soup kitchen, or adopt a service member through their deployment (http://adoptahero.us/ ).  Something amazing happens when you ask others to help with a cause greater than yourself … God works miracles. (thank you to those of you who have donated for this specific trip!)

  

Sinethemba means “Hope House” … and I am thankful to everyone who has donated to help us deliver “hope” with the much needed supplies we are taking on this adventure …

 

Finally, I see from the outside looking in, that if I allow myself to be caught up in other peoples chaos, I am not being the right kind of instrument.  The most difficult thing I have ever learned was to “let go” .. and today I realized (it is about time!) that in the “letting go” .. the greatest transformations happen.  I feel like a catepillar who just busted out of the coccoon … because through the sleepless night, I not only loved the other person enough to let them go completely and fully … I just let God be God.  It is in the silence that I am finding inner peace.  And in that peace, I just want to spread my wings and fly.   

Orphanage in South Africa in 2007

 

So as Amy and I embark on an adventure of a lifetime, I am going to challenge you to remember we are all created equal.  It doesn’t matter if you are from Germany, China, Africa, Asia, America, or any other country in the world.  We all have red blood running through our veins (well, unless of course you are alien like my dad was .. hehehe) … and we all need to raise our hands and open our hearts to saying a kind word, holding open a door, doing things to make someone else feel validated.  It is in the simple things, of this world, in simple gestures and kindness and love and hope and dreams, that we are to remember that we all are human, that we all are the same, that we all only need love. Unconditional love.

Allow yourself to be blessed, by being a blessing to others … and in doing so, remember to thank those who put themselves on the line every single day, in order to protect your freedoms.

  

A family of heroes …

Always,

Robin

http://alwayssupportourheroes.com/

The Sky Angel