A Christmas Thank You

It is thanks to the support from extremely generous donations, that, since 2006 Be the Change Foundation has sent 31 boxes of Christmas gifts to the Maetang Tribal Children's Home in Thailand. And, these were not small boxes. I personally fit inside of them.

Believe me.

I tried.

I am not even going to guess at how much weight was in those 31 boxes. In 2006, Be the Change shipped the boxes and it cost us $500 to do so. It was a lot of money, but necessary to get the gifts to Chiang Mai.

In 2007 we learned that the United States Postal Service no longer offered the "by boat" method of shipping. This meant that shipping 11 boxes would cost us at least twice as much as it did in 2006.

Enter Plan B.

After some phone calls and telling the story about the children in Maetang, Federal Express told us they would take the gifts to Thailand. For free. And they did this again in 2008. However, in 2008 the boxes were hit with taxes from the Thai government. In 2006 and 2007 the boxes got into the country un-noticed and were not taxed. The cost of those taxes in 2008 was $500. Be the Change paid this, but we really started to think about a better way that money could have been spent. How many children could that money send to school? We know that $500 can help two women who have been rescued from trafficking start a business in Ghana . So, while we understand that it is WAY more fun to shop for these children (believe me, we know, Diane and I have pushed MANY full carts through Target over the past few years) it is a much better use of your donations to send the money to Thailand , rather than the gifts.

Last week a check for $500 (the amount given for the gifts this year in donations) was sent to Thailand , and the shopping will be done in Thailand . We wish the best of luck to those given the task of shopping for over 100 children :)

Whether we send 2 boxes or 22, $25 or $500, the true meaning and spirit of the holiday season is shared with these children.

And that is why we do this.

Untold Stories. And, Jewelry, of Course!

There is an amazing facility in Nepal. It is nestled in the mountains of this beautiful country. It is called Maiti Nepal.

Maiti Nepal has many programs that work towards the prevention of girl trafficking, rescue, rehabilitation, and integration back into society. These programs include advocacy, anti-trafficking safety networks, creating awareness, community programs, gainful employment, hospice, prevention homes, the promotion of safe migration, rehabilitation homes, rescue and transit homes. In a country where human trafficking thrives, this organization is doing it’s part to work against this evil practice.

Over a year ago we received a video called “The Day My God Died” from Maiti Nepal.

We watched it.

We were changed.

It details the situation of human trafficking in countries like Nepal and India. It tells horrific stories of abuse and inspiring stories of hope. There are stories of girls who have been rescued, and who continue to survive each day. Many of these girls go on to actually do the work of rescuing girls who are actively being trafficked.

But Maiti Nepal also does something else that we have never heard of another organization doing. We didn’t realize this service existed until we watched this video. They do something that we never thought of doing ourselves. They have opened two hospice centers. Because the harsh reality is girls die because they are trafficked. Some die while enslaved, some die after their rescue. Either way, lives are lost because of this horrific practice. There are 27 million people currently enslaved. That number does not include the number of former slaves who are no longer living because they were enslaved.

Maiti Nepal has established two hospice centers, one in Kathmandu and one in Jhapa. These centers work to provide holistic care for the children and women who are terminally ill, or suffering from various diseases. Hospice emphasizes palliative care rather than curative treatment.

Sonja Kill Memorial Hospice located at Gokarna of Kathmandu District provides necessary care and support for survivors whose families and society have stigmatized and outcasted. The Hospice centers have the capacity to care for 43 individuals and to and provide medical treatment to survivors who are infected with HIV/AIDS, Multi Drug Resistance Tuberculosis, Hepatitis and other chronic diseases. An isolation unit with capacity of 3 beds also has been operating since January 2006.

We have heard, and we have told many, many stories. We have told stories of heroines who are working all over the world to prevent human trafficking, and we have seen the sweet faces of the children who could potentially be lost if they were not part of a prevention program. We have heard and told stories of the courageous individuals who have been trafficked, who lived enslaved, and have gone on to not only survive, but thrive. But it seems as if the stories of those who have left this earth are not told.

We refuse to let them go forgotten.

We wanted to do something special for them. Since I personally watched the video “The Day My God Died” I was touched and moved in a different way by these women. To be abused and exploited in the way these women and children are is so horrific. But, then for them to have to live in the knowledge that they will now die because of what others have done to their bodies is something I don’t think I will ever be able wrap by brain around. When we watched that video, we really, really wanted those women who are now dying to know that their lives matter.
Beyond sending funds to Maiti Nepal for the hospice center, we wanted to do something special for each individual woman. Again, jewelry came to mind.

On May 30, 2009, we will hold another special event. We will gather at the Lutheran Church of the Resurrection in Yardley, PA (1700 Makefield Road) from 10am until 2pm to make jewelry for women who are residing in the hospice centers in Nepal. There will be a very simple pattern to follow, and all the supplies will be purchased ahead of time and available for you. All you have to do is come and put beads on wire. Literally. Beads. Wire. 4 hours. So much dignity.

We wanted to do something special and above all we wanted to tell these women that they matter. Regardless of what was done to their bodies, and regardless of the fact that they will leave this earth because of this, they matter. We can’t be there with them to tell them this. We can’t cure the horrible diseases that they have. We can’t change their past. But even in all of this tragedy there is room for hope, there is room to make a difference. Our hope is that through this jewelry, that will be specially and lovingly made just for them, that they can leave this earth with a little more dignity, grace, and hope. We hope they can leave knowing that others across the world were touched simply by the fact that they existed. We hope they leave knowing that they matter.

There is a moment in the video when the woman who directs and founded Maiti Nepal says “Please tell the world about my girls.”

And so, we’re just doing our part in her request.

Please join us on the 30th of May. If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail us at info@bethechangefoundation.org.

You Can Never Have Too Much Jewelry (Especially When It's For a Good Cause!)

We do a lot with regards to jewelry at Be the Change. We have someone who makes it for us , we send it to other countries, we sell it, we wear it. We do a lot with jewelry. It is a universal thing that women love jewelry.

You may be familiar with Silpada Jewelry. They make beautiful sterling silver jewelry. A year ago we were given the opportunity to work with a Silpada representative to have a jewelry show that would benefit Be the Change Foundation. We’ve kindly been given that opportunity again.
On April 23, 2009 from 7-9m at the home of Cheryl Varga (1703 Makefield Road, Yardley, PA 19067) we will be hosting a Silpada jewelry party. If you are not familiar with Silpada jewelry, they make beautiful sterling silver jewelry. All proceeds from the sale of the jewelry will be donated to the Be the Change Foundation. We can all use a little more jewrlry :)

We hope you can join us this evening, even if you do not wish to shop for jewelry, we welcome you just to join us for light snacks, coffee, tea, wine and conversation. If will be an nice evening to come together for those who are enslaved, and perhaps go home with some jewelry. For more information, please feel free to e-mail us.

In addition, please watch for another special jewelry opportunity coming in May. Mark your calendars for May 30th. More details will follow.

*Please note the correct address is 1703 Makefield Road. The address that was sent via e-mail is incorrect and a follow up e-mail to correct that mistake will be sent* Thank you!

Patience and Mercy

Many times we have been asked why we do this. There have been some occasions where we have been asked (in not so many words) if we have lost our minds. As far as we know, we have not :) People want to know why we're doing this.

Last night we met with one of those reasons.

Mercy is a woman from Ghana. When Diane, Cheryl, Kim and myself (Kara) left the restaurant we met her at last night; to say we were inspired is a huge understatement. And, let's not forget the woman accompanying her, Patience. This woman has devoted her life for more than 20 years working to emancipate enslaved women and children caught in a horrible cultural and tribal practice in Ghana.

There are many different tribes within this country in western Africa. Almost all are in rural areas, submerged in poverty. They have their own practices, rituals and beliefs. In many of these tribes when a crime is committed, whether it be the theft of a small object, to a rape or murder, there must be atonement for that crime. In order to stop the village priest from putting a curse on the accused family, a virgin must be taken to the shrine of the village to be the slave to the priest for the rest of her life. Should she die in captivity another virgin must replace her. She is a domestic slave and a sex slave. Should she bear children while enslaved those children remain enslaved and uneducated and likely end up in child labor.

At the age of 9 Mercy was chosen to replace her 14 year old sister who had died in the shrine as a result of harsh treatment metered out by her captors. When her sister died, a virgin replacement was needed to continue to appease the anger of the gods. Mercy was left to atone for the sins of her grandmother who had shoplifted a pair of earrings. Mercy recounts how terrified she was to be taken to the shrine, she was beaten into submission after trying to resist. She became a slave to this priest and eventually his personal sex slave.


Obtaining freedom is no easy task. Patience works with the I.N Network to speak with village priests about the fact that there is a better way to atone for sin and crime. Obviously the priests resist and Patience worked for 20 years before ever seeing anyone freed. There has not been a release of girls in 5 years. But today, while in the US, Patience received a call that another release may soon be coming. It is important to understand that a release in one of these villages can consist of hundreds of girls. The priest receives a slave for every single person who has committed a crime. As these women have children the number of individuals the priest holds in captivity multiplies quickly.

When a liberation is to take place, the village participates in a liberation ceremony, conducted by the priest and this includes “reversing” the “curse” on the family. The notion that if an enslaved girl returns to their family, then something horrible will fall upon the family needs to be erased. It is essential that the priest make it clear and known that nothing will curse this family. It is still so ingrained in this culture and this has been going on for centuries. Even Mercy’s mother is fearful to have her in her home, even though she has been liberated.

Because a liberation consists of so many people, when a liberation is going to occur there will be a flood of single women and their children released into the community. They most often cannot stay in their own community because there is still much shame, they are shunned and very stigmatized.

The children of these women must be educated upon release. If not there is a huge risk that they will end up in the trafficking industry in the form of child labor. As in so many countries, in Ghana, if you do not have a uniform, you do not go to school.

Patience does not stop at negotiating the release of slaves. She has built 3 schools for these children and 3,000 children have received an education in those schools. That is 3,000 children that did not end up in the human trafficking industry. Patience helps these newly freed women to begin to rebuild their lives. This includes helping them to learn a trade. When they are ready to graduate, Patience gets them set up with a small business, providing them with all the necessary equipment to begin. The cost of this post graduation process is $325.00. Yes, it only cost $325.00 to give someone the ability to begin to rebuild their lives and regain their livelihood. As soon as I heard that figure I immediately began to think of where I have spent $325.00 in the last month.

There are so many components to this situation in Ghana. It is complicated and overwhelming and it was a lot of information to get in an hour and a half. It is so much more than liberating women. It is about getting others to understand human rights, justice issues, and to see that holding a human in captivity is a blatant disregard to their dignity and rights as a human. In these cases it means changing a practice that goes back generations. It means changing a part of a culture. It means convincing a village that these enslaved, destitute are people. It means putting programs and schools in place, and seeing the success of that. It can very slowly spread from village to village. People start to see that maybe, just maybe, there is a better way. But, slow is the key word. Remember, Patience worked for 20 years before ever seeing a single woman freed. But, when that first liberation took place it was certainly a day to celebrate. That day, sixty women were given their freedom. They ranged in ages from 4 through 80. That 80 year old woman had been enslaved since she was 5 years old. Yes, 75 years in slavery. But, Patience does it, and she is changing lives. Thousands of lives.

It was such an honor to sit with these two truly extraordinary women. We were afforded the opportunity to listen to their stories and ask questions.

Question 1: How much is a plane ticket to Ghana?

Question 2: When can I go?

Patience was so kind as to tell me I could stay with her :)

At the end of the conversation we sat for a minute digesting all the information. We looked at each other and asked what do we do from here? We are not sure yet what that means. We will be meeting soon to discuss how Be the Change can fit into all of this information. We’re not sure how yet, but somehow, we will.

As for Mercy...12 years ago, after having three children and being pregnant with her fourth baby, she was freed. Her last child is the only one who was not born into slavery. She now lives in her own home, works and is raising her four children. She is currently traveling in the United States, telling her story to raise funds and awareness on the issue of slavery in her own country…using her story to bring freedom to others.

Beyond Our Expectations

On January 31, 2009 about 20 people gathered at the Lutheran Church of the Resurrection in Yardley, PA. By the time the event was over, and all the blankets from just that day were counted we had nearly 45 hand-made blankets. That is 45 children in Haiti who will no longer have to sleep on the concrete or dirt.








But that's not all.

We don't yet know how many blankets will be made at a church in Virginia holding the same event.

We don't yet know how many blankets will be made at a church in New York holding the same event.

We're not sure how many blankets the daycare in Pennsylvania will collect.

That number doesn't count the blankets that were collected at an office in New Jersey.

It also doesn't count the one that was randomly dropped off at my house yesterday by one of my friends from highschool.

It also doesn't count the one I walked into at my office this morning.

It amazed all of us at Be the Change how the plight of these children seems to be contagious. Anyone who has heard about the child slaves in Haiti who are sleeping on the dirt and concrete has wanted to do something to help their situation. As I mentioned before, Haiti has been on my heart so much in the past few months. As I also said, if you've been within earshot of me over the past few months, I am SURE you have heard reference to the children in Haiti who are starving. In fact, on Friday evening, while babysitting I realized I may say this too often. As I went to thow away pizza crust one of the kids said to me "I can't believe you are throwing that away, there are starving children in Haiti." Thanks for the reminder, Madison.

It has brought tears to my eyes so many times looking at all the blankets sitting at my house waiting to be shipped. I keep thinking about the children who will be receiving them, and I keep thinking of the words that came from our contact at the Restavec Freedom Foundation...I have never seen a child in Haiti with a blanket.

Following our event, I e-mailed our contact to let her know how many blankets we had so far. Her response:

Oh my goodness!!! This is amazing how you were able to network. I feel so blessed and I know these children will begin to understand what love means and know a little about how it feels. We will take pictures of them being distributed. Please tell your group how much we appreciate them and their support and encouragement of our work.

With love and hearts full of thanks, Joan

Thank you to all who have helped to give a voice to these children in Haiti. If you still have a blanket, or you are still organizing a blanket event or collection, please contact us at info@bethechangefoundation if you need information on where to send your completed/collected blankets. Your kindness, compassion and generosity for the cause is inspiring. Thank you. Of course, once we have pictures we will share those.

Thank you.

Blankets

A few months ago we came into contact with the Restavec Freedom Foundation in Haiti. John Robert Cadet is a former child slave from Haiti. I first saw him on Oprah. This was after we had started Be the Change Foundation. I was so moved by his story. A former child slave, he received an education in the United States and went on to form an organization to help the children still enslaved in Haiti. He is one of the most inspiring people I have ever been in contact with (AND he met Oprah!). Once I saw him on Oprah, I tracked down his foundation on-line and e-mailed him (and did I mention he met Oprah?!). I heard back and he told me of many ways that Be the Change could partner with Restavec Freedom to help the children of Haiti.

Haiti it located 600 miles off the coast of Florida. It is just a 2 hour plane ride from Miami. Haiti holds the title of the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Of the 8.4 million people who live in Haiti, 1/2 of those individuals are under the age of 20. Of the 8.4 million citizens of Haiti it is estimated that 300,000 of those people are child slaves. Haiti's problems only begin here. One half of the population is unemployed, only 1/2 of the children in the country attend school and less than 2% of children finish secondary school. For every 100,000 live births in Haiti, 523 of those mothers will not survive the birth. Haiti is also home to the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence in the Western Hemisphere. For every 8 children, one will die before the age of 5. For every 14 children, one will die before the age of 1. 80% of the people living in Haiti, live below the national poverty line. In addition to the 300,000 children living in slavery in Haiti, another 2,000 are trafficked into the Dominican Republic each year.

If you live in Haiti and you are a Restavec (or child slave):

You are one of an estimated 300,000 Haitian children enslaved in child labor.

You probably come from an isolated, rural area of Haiti where there are no schools, no electricity, no running water and few possibilities for the future.

You probably now live in the city with a family who is not your own - not as a foster child, but as the servant.

You probably are between the ages of 4 and 15, and your childhood with each passing day.

You are three times more likely to be a girl than a boy.

You probably get up before dawn, before the family members, to begin preparing for their day and go to bed well after most children are asleep.

You are probably responsible for preparing the household meals, fetching water from the local well, cleaning inside and outside the house, doing laundry and emptying bedpans.

You probably don't get paid for any of these activities. You rarely get to see your family. You might not even remember where they live.

You rarely, if ever, go to school, depending on your owner's financial situation and schedule.

You may not get enough to eat or food with enough nutritional value for someone who works hard all day.

You may be subjected to physical, emotional or sexual abuse in addition to the various forms of neglect mentioned above.

You never have all of your rights as a child respected.

The facts about Haiti are daunting, overwhelming and discouraging. As with so many other countries around the world afflicted with human trafficking, where do you even begin? Restavec Freedom currently has over 300 children that they support. The foundation encourages the owners of child slaves to allow them to attend school. Restavec Freedom then pays their tuition, supplies them with a uniform made especially for them, and purchases their books. For many of these children, they have never been to school. They have never even tried on a uniform before. They do not know their age or when they were born. They are basically undocumented, unprotected and unloved--until Restavec Freedom finds them. The primary focus is on the victim, children that are currently in domestic slavery. The primary goal of Restavec Freedom Foundation is to end this system but until they can accomplish this goal they try to get these children in school.

I contacted the Restavec Freedom Foundation a few weeks ago to ask them if there were any hands on projects that Be the Change could help with. I received an e-mail from my contact at Restavec with some suggestions of things we could do through Be the Change. At a recent Be the Change board meeting I sat and read through the suggestions to Diane, Kim and Cheryl. I got to the part of the e-mail where my contact with Restavec was describing to me how many of the child slaves in Haiti sleep on dirt or concrete floors. "Blankets!" Diane interjected. "What if we made them blankets?" I wanted to make them beds and ship them to Haiti. But, until we become best friends with an airline or the captain of a cargo ship, blankets will have to do. We all loved the idea of blankets, and I sat right there and e-mailed Restavec to ask if blankets would be a need and something the children could use. The response I got from them left me in tears and were some of the most humbling words I have ever read....

This is a beautiful idea. I am sure the children would not know what to think about having their very own blanket. I donʼt think I have ever seen a child with a blanket in Haiti. We could definitely carry these blankets in our extra baggage as we return to Haiti each month.

She is sure the children would not know what to think of a blanket of their very own.

She has never seen a child in Haiti with a blanket.

She will soon.

On January 31, 2009 we are going to hold a very special event. A blanket making...event? Party? Whatever you would like to call it!It will be held at the Lutheran Church of the Resurrection:1700 Makefield RoadYardley, PA 19067It will be from 10am-2pm. We will serve snacks, and spend the afternoon making blankets for the child slaves of Haiti who sleep on dirt or concrete. If you can't sew, that is perfectly OK. I cannot sew on a button to save my life, but I have made several of these blankets. If you can draw a straight line with a ruler, cut in a straight line and tie your shoes, you can make one. You may have seen this type of blanket before, it is two pieces of fleece fringed and knotted together. We're asking each person to bring with them 4 yards of fleece material. You are welcome to just bring 4 yards of one type of fleece, or 2 yards of one color/pattern and 2 yards of another color/pattern. You need 4 yards total, but it either needs to be 4 whole yards, or split 2 of one fleece and 2 of another. OK, I will stop explaining now because I think I am just making it more confusing. E-mail us if you have questions and I promise to try and explain it better! In addition if you have pins, or a pair of scissors it would be helpful if you can bring those as well.

Please click on this link http://degraziermedia.com/BSPG/Restavec.html. Or cut and paste it into your browser. Right click and then click on "open." It will take a few minutes to download, but I promise it is worth it. These are just a few of the restavec children living in Haiti that Restavec Freedom is working with.

For whatever reason, in the past few months, Haiti has been on my heart. If you've been around me, I am sure you have heard me say "There are starving children in Haiti..." I am especially sure you have heard me say this if you have been within earshot when ridiculous items come on television that people can buy. Like a few months ago when I saw something on television about a "Spa Capsule" you can purchase for your home. Seriously?! A spa capsule? Do you have any idea how many children in Haiti you could feed or educate for the cost of a Spa Capsule?! At the zoo this summer when we were in the wild cat exhibit I noticed that people had donated tens of thousands of dollars to help cover the cost of the exhibit. Tens of thousands of dollars were given to keep animals in captivity. Surely these donors had not heard of the starving children in Haiti. I pointed this out to Denise, she agreed, and Morgyn told us (sarcasticly) that we were so much fun to go to the zoo with. "Sorry! It's your mother's fault," I told her.

So why the children in Haiti? I have no idea. Maybe because their suffering seems so deep. Maybe because I have been so close to the country I could almost touch the border. Maybe because I have heard personal, first hand accounts of the poverty and suffering from Denise. Maybe it is because the faces I have seen, and the words I read when I received the above e-mail have made a lasting imprint on my heart. A few weeks ago I was visiting with the Anderson family (who are now in South Africa). I was looking at pictures on the computer of the recent havoc that all over from the latest tropical storm. I saw pictures of destruction, devastation and death. I've never been so disturbed by photos, or so driven to want to do something to help these people.

I know there is suffering all over the world. I know that Be the Change cannot single handily save every child, or free all 27 million who are enslaved. We can't even free the 300,000 in Haiti. Giving a blanket to even 300 of those children merely seems like a drop in a very large bucket. But that is where the starfish comes in.

Do you really think that what you are doing is going to make a difference?

Yes, as a matter of fact, we do. We can't save all 27 million, we can't even rescue the 300,000 living in Haiti. And, I am not so naive as to think that a blanket is going to change the course of these children's lives'. But, it will make a difference. We can make sure that 300 of those children spread out a warm, soft fleece blanket over the cold concrete or dirt before they lay their heads down. We can give them a blanket, an object that is just for them. We can give them something clean and new. Something that we put our love and time into making just for them. We can give them the dignity of a more comfortable place to sleep. We can send them the message that they matter, that they have value and that they have worth. We can tell them they deserve so much more than the dirt and concrete. We can tell them that while their "owners" might hold them captive, their captivity is not what defines them. And that will make a difference.

And the old man paused thoughtfully as he picked up another starfish and tossed it into the sea and replied "It made a difference to that one."

Please join us on the 31st of January making blankets, sharing love, with the children held captive in Haiti. Please join us in dreaming of the day when not another blanket is needed.

Christmas Kindness

Each year we are all completely humbled by the response to the Christmas collection for the children at the Maetang Tribal Children's Home in Thailand. This is the third year we have done this collection. Two years ago Diane approached me and asked what I thought of sending Christmas presents to the children at Maetang (the same children who received the new bathrooms). I of course said I loved the idea (did you seriously think I'd turn down sending presents to children?!). We shopped and shopped and shopped at Target and had our carts more than overflowing. As we were shopping we talked about the fact that if we were going to start this the first year, we had to do it every year. We knew couldn't tell them one year that they mattered enough to receive presents and then not send them the next year. So, we decided two years ago that as long as there is a Be the Change Foundation, the children in Thailand will have to get presents. Shopping was so much fun, and we were so excited picking out little items that we knew would mean so much to them. There is something very humbling about shopping for children who you know will be thrilled with socks and toothbrushes. While shopping and packing all of these items was so much fun, we still had one more hurdle. Shipping. The first year it cost of $500 to ship everything to Thailand. When I approached the postal service last year about shipping, they informed me that the less expensive boat option we used the year before was no longer an option. Which meant the price would at least double. We began to explore some other shipping options. It was a huge benefit to us that I happen to babysit for two little girls who are the daughters of a Federal Express pilot. He travels to Asia and said he'd take the gifts himself (hey, thanks, can I go with you!). I made many phone calls and sent many e-mails to FedEx, and got a return call the week before the gifts needed to be sent in order to make in to Thailand in time for Christmas. I spoke with the woman who is in charge of their community relations. I told her about the children in Thailand, a little bit about Be the Change, and explained what human trafficking meant when she asked what that was. She told me she would call me back a few days later. She did, and told me that FedEx would be shipping to Thailand for us for free. All 11 boxes. They made the same generous donation this year to us, shipping over 200 pounds of gifts to Thailand for free.

Packing all the gifts to go to Thailand (Baby not included, she stays with me :) )

Compassion is most certainly poured on these children. There are complete strangers who contact us or send checks to help with this project. Many churches get involved by asking their members to contribute. There are students at universities who set up tables and collect gifts and money to send Christmas gifts to children who live on the other side of the world. It is so moving to watch so many come together and share the true meaning of Christmas with children on the other side of the world whom they have never met.

The experience of seeing the look on the face of the FedEx guy who processes the order is priceless.
"All of these?"

Yes, all of them

"They are all going to Thailand?"

Yes, they are all going to Thailand.

"Really?"

Am I not saying it right?

It gets better when he tells me I need to fill out a customs form and airway bill. "Oh, it's OK,” I said, “I have those completed already, we have the customs forms at my house."

Now he thinks I am crazy. Definitely. I wonder if the fact that we do actually have a stash of customs forms at our house, and the fact that I know what an airway bill is and how to fill it out correctly means I have done this way too many times?! I also wonder if it is a problem that I have the address of the FedEx location in Chiang Mai memorized :)

The children will be thrilled this Christmas. There were so many wonderful gifts included for the children: pens, pencils, beanie babies, pencil sharpeners, coloring books, Matchbox cars, hair clips and headbands, jewelry, soap and body wash, shoes, shampoo and conditioner, deodrant, tooth brushes, toothpaste, notebooks, clothing, and so much more. There were many, many bath towels and I had tears packing some of those into the boxes, thinking of the little girls and boys who finally have clean showers to use, and now have fresh clean towels to go along with their new bathrooms. And, of course, there were many boxes of crayons. Incase you're wondering, yes, Madison and I went through every box. Because, you know, you can't give broken crayons to kids.

May your holidays be filled with as much joy as you have given these children.