Compassion

Now there's a word I don't meditate much on.  Well, not until recently.

For one week I travelled to El Salvador through an organization called Compassion and met the child that I sponsored.  The experience was simply amazing and one that has helped me better understand that word:  compassion.

Here I list some of the memorable moments and lessons I've learned from this trip.  I've also posted an album of my trip if you'd like to see more:

a)  More compassion for my parents.  Why?  Because Compassion had begun in Korea after their Civil War in 1952.  Even though the organization targeted the needs of orphans, it suddenly clicked that my own parents are also post-war survivors.  They experienced a rough childhood and weren't provided the same healthy environment that I grew up in.  It makes sense why so many people in my parents' generation can be difficult.  Their success had masked the fact that they too were children of poverty.  Praise God for Christ and the miracles of sanctification for those who truly believe.

b)  Raspberry love:  When visiting one of the Compassion projects, our sponsor group played different games with the children in the program.  For one game, we hooked our legs together to create a caterpillar and a group of students, sponsors, and mothers raced against each other.  The children won, the sponsors trailing not too far behind, and the mothers were hopeless.  I looked to one of the mom's and taunted her with a raspberry.  She took that as encouragement to work harder in beating us.  Later when driving away to go home, I turned back to wave goodbye and saw one woman repeatedly giving raspberry's.  I immediately knew that was for me and gave her one right back. 

c)  Meeting Laura.  I sponsored her for her physical, social, economical, and spiritual needs, but after meeting her, it was as if she had begun sponsoring my heart.  I scarfed down my McDonald's meal but Laura only ate half of her french fries so that she could take the rest of her meal back for her siblings.  After finally convincing her to eat her portion of the meal, I was humbled to the core just by her genuine appreciation for the meal she had in front of her.  Now as I thank God for the meals He has been providing me, I can't help but ask God that He would provide a meal for Laura at that same moment.

d)  Visiting the poor:  The home of the Cerritos and Cruz families were hands down the poorest homes I've been to.  Their needs were great and Compassion was their only source of benefits.  I heard this week that there were mud slides in El Salvador and my heart just tightened up wondering if the Cerritos' home had been affected. 

e)  Unusual skills:  When we peel an orange, we either use our fingers or a fruit knife.  We brought the Cerritos family some oranges and the mother took out her handy machete, peeled off the skin, cut the fruit in half and gave those delicious treats to her children.  It was a machete!!!!!  Am I the only one amazed by that?

f)  Hearing success stories:  We met several older children that had graduated from the Compassion program or are still being sponsored and growing in Christ.  When I heard each of their stories, I was deeply moved to tears.  One of my favorites is of Carlos.  He had been heavily involved with a local gang and the project staff used all of their resources, including their own finances, to pull this kid out of that lifestyle.  He is now involved with his project's drama team and he absolutely loves it.  I observed him a lot and watching him smile and laugh filled my heart with much joy. 

g)  Being called "Chino":  The teeange kids kept calling me Chino because I obviously looked different from my teammates.  Brought back fond memories of my high school years when my Hispanic friends would call me the same name.  I actually loved being called that in El Salvador.  It made me stand out.  It gave me a name despite the language barrier and allowed me to turn around when they wanted my attention.  It also allowed me to show my sass by declaring I was a "Koreano."  Praise God for being Asian.  Hahahaha.

There is so much more but those memories and lessons can be saved to be shared in person.

Compassion.  Yeah.