mission Monday - HELO, Inc

At our Girl Scouts meeting last night, one of the girls invited Elisabeth Kennedy to speak to our girls about her mission. The girls have been working on their Global Girls interest project and have been learning about many of the issues that affect women and children around the world. After doing several other activities, the girls created a display about women and children's at our local library. This reminded one of the girls about a speaker that she had heard and so she asked if we would be interested in having her speak to us, thus last night Elisabeth spoke to us about her experiences. After 9/11, Elisabeth began her trips to Haiti. She was so touched and tortured by what she found, she has committed herself to making a change. Through a series of unexpected events and a bit of grace, last year she opened an orphanage in les Cayes, Haiti. Her orphanage currently cares for 13 children, who without her intervention would be left to their own devices and possibly not survive. Her orphanage brings hope and opportunity to these children and hopefully many more to come. She named her program HELO, Inc. HELO stands for Home, Education, Love, and Opportunity. Elisabeth says that she has learned to take small steps but in the course of a year, she has already rented a house for the children, hired caretaker, and begun the kid’s education, but her dreams are larger. She would like to care for my children. She would like to own a campus where a church, school, and home can all be developed for the children. It is important to her that the children have a skill that can carry them on after they leave the care of the Centre Fe Formation Juvenil Bethestda.

We can help in this mission by:
-Becoming more educated about the situation in Haiti and educating others.
-Praying for this mission.
-Donating money (If you are interested in this option, HELO is a non-profit agency. The address for donations is HELO, Inc, 43 Lake Shore Dr., Middlefield, CT 06455. If you would like to specify usage for your money, please choose one of the following categories: Shelter, Food, Education, School Supplies, Clothing, Building Fund, or you can sponsor an individual child for $75 per month. Include your name and address so that a receipt can be returned to you).

The entire meeting left me thinking of the amazing power of One. Elisabeth had felt the calling and she acted. It is quite an amazing story.

PS. I know that it is not Monday, but this infomation couldn't wait.

A Culture of Life / A Culture of Death

Why in our country do we have to make every issue a political issue? What exactly is a culture of death. Today, we had to put our dog down. He has been our trusty dog for 12 years. We took him in when he needed a home, but as with other times that you help others, we got back 100 fold what we gave to this adorable dog. Certainly, I don’t believe that I belong to a culture of death for euthanizing a dog whose quality of life had evaporated over the last few days. Why do we have to use such politically charged terms, when what we are talking about choice that pain people on a very deep level. We get so caught up in the black and white, we fail to appreciate the shade of grey that lead to the choice which we so easily condemn. What if instead of standing on either periphery, we leapt into the middle and tried to help the people that have to make these choices? What if we could preempt these choices from ever having to be made? Perhaps if we stopped being so high and mighty, we could leave the judgment to God and instead be his hands on earth to comfort his children in their time of crisis.

I can tell you I personally have struggled with the choice to euthanize James. I could not come to terms with making a choice that I believed was God’s. I prayed for his intercession, but He left the situation in my hands and I could not continue to see him suffer. Fortunately, the Veterinary Hospital staff was wonderfully supportive and helpful. Their compassion was much appreciated at such a difficult time. As the doctor said, it is his job to help animals live a happy and healthy life, but this is also a part of his job, assisting animals out of suffering. It is not a part of his job that he enjoys, but he is glad that he is able to help them in their time of suffering.

I think we could all learn from that philosophy. Instead of being a culture of life or a culture of death, let’s have a culture of compassion.



In loving memory of James
1-5-96 to 9-11-08