Another Great Quote

On occasion I get really great quotes sent to me. Tonight I got another one. Janae sent it to me. It came in a card. The front of the card posed the question, “Is the glass half-empty…or half-full?” It showed a fish bowl with a cat sitting in it. Inside the card said, “Try to look on the bright side, and things will look up soon.” I thanked her for the card and said that the bright side would be having a full glass!! I’m sure I’ll hear it from all the cat lovers out there now but I chuckled at my own cleverness.

What was great about the card was the quote that she included. Janae had been reading a book about Africa by Alexander McCall Smith. She said that while the quote applied to Africa she thought it could equally apply to us here in Afghanistan. It does.

“There was so much suffering in Africa [Afghanistan] that it was tempting just to shrug your shoulders and walk away. But you can’t do that, she thought. You just can’t.”

We are faced with the same situation. Even though we are somewhat insulated when we remain here on base, once we leave the safety and comfort of Blackhorse, the suffering and poverty become so evident. I guess that’s why I’m so thankful for all of you who have been so generous with your donations either to Luke’s Eagle Scout project or who have simply sent items here.

As I said, Thursday is the day when I’ll be able to give away all the donations, other than the school supplies, that I have received thus far. I’m going on a medical mission and it’s estimated that we’ll see 600 patients, many of whom will be children. My camera arrived tonight – hooray!! So I’ll be sure to take a lot of pictures. Check back towards the end of the week and I’ll get them posted to my blog page. I’ll try to identify who sent what items in the pictures, but no promises.

My sister Tiffany is catching the spirit as well. She wants her kids to experience getting to know the Afghan children. She’s working on getting her son’s class, and hopefully school involved and doing a project to benefit the kids here. Hopefully she can inspire others to get involved as well.

Like the quote says, sometimes the temptation is to just shrug your shoulders and walk away. But, like the story of the starfish (remember that one, the little boy walking on the shore throwing in star fish and when asked why he was doing that when there were so many on the shore, said that he was making a difference in that starfish’s life, then threw it in – it’s one of BG Wilson’s favorite stories – maybe I’ll post it) when we help just one child, one family, we’re making a difference. Only here it’s so much more than just giving them a coat or a piece of candy or school supplies. I truly believe that we are influencing these children and their families, showing them that we, as Americans, are not the bad, evil people some would have us believe. If we can win the hearts of the children now, just think where this country will be in 15-20 years.

So once again, thank you to all who have helped. I don’t think you’ll ever really now just how much this will mean to these kids, these families and this country.