Connecting Communities

The Children at Little Prinz Children's Home, Kenya

     Certainly, I cannot remember the first time I encountered poverty but I can remember its existence always being present. My parent's business was in downtown San Diego growing up and I am sure there were individuals in transition that were houseless. We would visit Mexico and I remember the broken sidewalks and the smell of urine and beer brewing mixing in the air and filling my throat even while I plugged my nose. I remember collecting presents at Christmas time for kids that were in need of some joy. We would pick out a present and put a tag on it that said "girl, 5 years old". But, I think for everyone, there is a moment when we realize that we are only two steps away from being just like the houseless woman on the street. More importantly, I believe there is a time in our lives when we realize that "girl, 5 years old" has a name, and a face, she has hopes for the future, she had a family at one time and for some reason or another, they aren't there anymore. In short, at some point, we grow to understand that people are people, just like us and perhaps, it is intrinsically our duty to make sure they have a little love in their lives too.
     I remember my moment of realization clearly. I was in third grade and a friend of our family was struggling. It was Christmas time and they weren't making ends meet. They had four kids, one being disabled, and there was no way presents would be under the tree that year. For a third grader, it is hard to imagine what Christmas would look like without presents. We had been given an assignment in class to write a Christmas story and I wrote mine about one of the little girls in the family. My story explained her waking up in the morning to tons of presents that were left for her by a community that cared. When I read it to my mom, she helped make my fairytale into reality. We collected over 300 presents that year and their Christmas morning stands out in my mind as a true celebration of small communities connecting to spread a little love.
    My 3rd grade Christmas collection is a pleasant reminder for me that helping out is sometimes only an arms length away and then sometimes, it takes a little leap. Regardless, connection is attainable. When I reflect on my life, the moments that have been most life giving, that have expanded my understanding of the world and the people that live in it, have been moments when I realized that other people are not so different from myself. My Summer in Costa Rica, is an easy example. Here are these kids with a childhood that in a lot of ways is broken, that live far away from my home, that care about day to day survival instead of Christmas presents, and that hardly ever make it to the 5th grade. And yet, there was something so deeply similar between the children and myself. I know it is true, as humans we all look for love and seek ways to give love to other people; perhaps this is what connects humanity so deeply.
   This Summer, I will be heading to Kenya to help at a Children's Home for orphans called Little Prinz, in Kakamega. Presently, there are 13 children that are supported with a home, healthy meals, nurturing caregivers, an education, and health care. Little Prinz offers a home that children can be proud of and I can say without having been there yet, that there is a deep connection between myself and the children there. In fact, I would assume that if you are reading this, there is already a deep connection between yourself and a child that is waking up right now in a comfortable bed at Little Prinz. We are connected by a need for love and a need to give love. I urge you to continue to follow along my journey and be a part of the relationship that is built purely out  of a love for other human beings.

BASEBALL HATS

 A Letter to Whomever Has Once Loved a Baseball Hat:

            I never was the baseball wearing hat kind of girl; when I go on runs, I will sometimes throw on a college cap or represent my local Padres. However, the excitement over a new hat with fresh stickers and a stiff brim was always obvious during December when friends would start sporting the bright new colors of their lightly worn baseball hats or during the beginning of a baseball season when my cousins would get all their new gear.

            This summer, I had the chance to volunteer in Costa Rica for a month. I taught children basic English, we drew pictures, made play dough, and read Bible stories. Mostly, I showed the children, sometimes for the first time, that someone loved them; they needed to know they were valued.

            In the community in Costa Rica where I taught, there were about thirty boys, and there were two hats that were more coveted than any hats I have seen in the States. There was a schedule that rotated through the boys for the most special hat of all: a Green Bay Packers hat with a hole about the size of a golf ball on the top of their head. The boys would pull all their hair through the hole and said that it made the breeze come in easier. They were so proud of their hat and they were proud on the day that they got to wear it.

            I am planning my trip to revisit the extended family I have created in Costa Rica for next year, and in the mean time sending packages to share my love from a plane ride away. This letter is an invitation for you to share in the gift of compassion with me for children that need the love of strangers. After talking to two of my younger cousins, I learned that there are a lot of kids here in the States that have baseball hats that they will never wear again either because they outgrew them or they have a new favorite. We have therefore started a collection of baseball hats in honor of a shared love for the excitement they bring globally and the curious power of a baseball hat to make a child smile no matter where they live.

            Please clear out your closets and open your hearts with the generous gift of your extra baseball hats. For San Dieagans that need more information on where to drop off baseball hats feel free to contact me at 619/857/9910 or give your donations to the Meyer family. The baseball hat package will be sent on August 1—please gather all donations prior to then. For anyone that lives in Portland and goes to UP, I will be doing a second hat drive that will ship out from school at the end of September. SO, pack your school bags with a few hats and let them make their way to Fields!



With a heart filled with gratefulness for your loving support,



            Brett Ashley Boeh

PERSPECTIVE SHIFT

            Yesterday, I sat in the bleachers of my cousin’s baseball game next to my Leanie, Aunt Kim, and Uncle Chris. After the game, we headed to church, dinner, and up Cowls Mountain for a night hike with flashlights. Despite the fear of nighttime creepy crawlies we were excited to make it to the top and see the 360° view of the city.

            It isn’t often that anything can be seen with such perspective. It reminded me of flying away from the ground on a plane and watching the people get smaller, and the world shrink. With the change in perspective, you remember that the world isn’t as big as it seems when you are wrapped up in it. Lately, I’ve been wrapped up in myself. It has been hard coming home after seeing something so new—eye opening. I miss the kids and I think of coloring or sitting on the beach with them all with an envy that takes over the fun I could have with my family and friends here at home.

            There was a Greenbay Packers hat that the boys would share down on the river. It had a big hole in one side of it and their hair would stick out. But, they were proud of their hat and on the day that it was their turn, they coveted it.  When I think of the things that I have, I would like to say that I covet the things that are important and refuse the materialism of the society in the moments that it counts. The truth of the matter is, I find myself with more want than I ought to, and less gratefulness as well.

            I am working with my cousins to organize a baseball hat drive with their baseball teams so that we can send baseball hats down to the River and maybe they can be proud of more than one hat that they all share.  I get to skype the boys weekly and it is refreshing to see that our enthusiasm for each others company hasn’t faded.

            After being gone for a year at school, and coming home it is shocking to see what an effect time and distance paired together have on relationships. In some areas of my life it has been a beautiful thing. In others, there is a void where there never was and loneliness is accompaniment. Like the peak of the mountain and seeing the whole city decorated with lights, so is the perspective change from Jaco to San Diego. I would like to make it easy, to say that everything is the same, to go back to the way things were, and rest happily in the comforts of the usual, the mundane. I would like to say the world has changed and my uncomfortable feeling is just a result of the change. However, I know the truth of the matter is that I am the one that is different. The difference I have found in myself is solely a measure of growth and the 360° perspective being a change that will luckily be difficult to escape.

FATHER'S DAY

My little sister, Kate, graduating 8th grade. I was really proud of her for getting through her grade school with such a positive light.  I think it is easy to undermind the power of even the sucess in graduating from middle school, but a lot of the kids in Costa Rica may never have that opportunity.

Rolando and me on the last day in Costa Rica. I get to facebook with him almost daily and often we skype. I miss him the most and think about his dreams becomming a reality someday.

                After being home for a little over a week, the culture shock is still a constant. After getting off the plane from Costa Rica, I was closter phobic in my urban town. When I was picked up from the airport, my friend and I went to the mall and I felt like the exceptionally fair skinned people were running marathons around me while I was just trying to float through the day. No doubt, it was a great feeling to see my smiling roommate behind a neon green sin welcoming me home, but the piece of my heart that had been left in Costa Rica had begun calling my name from the moment I stepped off of my plane.

 It has been a blessing and a curse sharing my experiences with the people back home. While I am excited to tell everyone about everything and feel  fortunate that I had the opportunity to be able to really get to know people that are as far away as Costa Rica, it is hard not to become disheartened when I don’t feel  like I am truly able to make my point or be understood. If you have been able to follow along with my blog, I think I was able to share a few of the experiences with my family and friends but there are so many life changes that I hope that I can be held accountable to and I have decided that the blog that I started as an update while I was in Costa Rica could be used as a tool for this accountability, and a measure of growth. I invite you to follow me and grow with me as I update each Sunday. If not a tool for my own accountability, let it be a resource for motivation, or simply a family read that motivates change before your work/school week begins.

                Throughout the last week, I have been a little overwhelmed by the material culture that I was raised in and my ability to previously be more or less oblivious to it. When I got home, I saw my beautiful car sitting in the driveway and the guilt clenched at my stomach. I thought of how I had used the car for good since I had it. Granted, It was a lot of fun to bring siblings and cousins to their kindergarten graduations in the 1963 Falcon convertible but after all was said and done, the good from my car was really just pride and bragging rights. To be honest, I miss riding my bike down the one main street in Jaco and saying hi to each person that rode by. There is a friendliness native to Jaco, that I haven’t found yet in the States. So, Article 1 on my list of new and improved for life in the States is limiting the material needs in my life, the car being the first to go. I am bringing it into the shop soon to get it all tuned up and on the market. I am trying to learn to live life with an open hand rather than closed fists. Closed fists can only be used for trouble and holding on to things that most often, you don’t really need. While an open hand lets a whole lot of good in your life.

                I have been able to spend a lot of time with my siblings over the last week and am more thankful than ever for their presence in my life. We have been on adventures to the zoo, dog beach, the park, and the trampoline. After spending a month with children who were learning what it was to be loved, it isn’t hard to be moved knowing the simple fact that my siblings are fully aware of the deep and unconditional love that their sister has for them. My sister can be the biggest pest, she can try to push my buttons, and say mean things but last night when we sat side by side reciting the Lion King and giggling the whole time, there was no doubt in my mind, she knew she was loved and I knew she loved me too. My brothers have constant energy; they just don’t stop. The exhaustion as I hit the pillow is a small price to pay for quality time with kids that I know can grow up to change the world. So Goal Number 2 is to be the most patient person I can be. I try not to whine and whimper over things I have no control over, and I know it is best when I am pushed beyond my limits. So, I am working on it. With patience, I hope to be more assertive, to learn to say sorry, to make the kids in Costa Rica proud. When I go back to visit Jaco, I want to be the best example I can be, I want to be a powerful example of justice and love.

                Today is Father’s Day, and I am celebrating with my family in the San Diego sun. How blessed am I and how thankful. Thankful for the support I had throughout preparing for my trip. I am thankful for the people that wrote me letters, and kept track of what I was up to with honest encouragement. I am thankful for my family that despite the fear of leaving me alone in a foreign country was eager to hear about my adventures. Mostly, I am thankful for the children that I will forever be attached to with a love unique to them and to the awesome power of a God that allowed me the opportunity.

POWER

One of the hikes led us to a private beach.

I was trying to get the monkeys to come down to the beach.

A visit to Micoal and Berta was very eager to have a picture with everyone.

Berta and me!

Aimee and I got a free horse ride when the man that sells them almost crushed our heads with his horses!

Caught it with his bare hands ;)

         A friend sent me a letter a few days ago and one line in the letter has been on repeat like a mantra in my brain since opening it.

No matter how horrific or disturbing of a situation you face in poverty no one can ever take away your ability to look at such a dire situation and envision something better.

         A few days ago, Aimee and I were relaxing on the beach and a 23-year-old from New York who was working in a fancy law firm in the middle of Time Square started telling us all about his job. He explained that one of the coolest things about being in the middle of Times Square was that he could work all day, go get an espresso and then go back to work without sleeping; I can’t say that I was envious. I wanted to ask the guy where he found fulfillment in life but I knew the answer. He, like culture has tamed us to believe thinks that if you can rack up money and power then you will feel satisfied. When I looked at this guy, I felt just as much compassion for him as those that live in el Rio.

         It was a reminder that while I am in an area where poverty is the problem, at home it may just be the opposite. After talking to the New Yorker, Taylor’s letter was a reminder again with a new perspective. To me, he says that looking at a dire situation and being able to envision something better is the most power a person could ever have. Like, he said, it is something that no one can ever take away. If it is power that the Western world tells us we need; this is the kind of power we should be looking for. It is the power to see what needs to be changed with compassionate eyes rather than greedy. It is the power to help someone without the idea of making a profit. The day I forget the power of my ability to see the better, to find light in a dark situation is when I have become just as caught up in the world as the man from New York who drinks coffee in the mornings as his only sustenance.

          Below is a poem that I remember having read in high school. I read it again today and I was shocked. Nearly all of the claims that Dr. Moorehead makes about what the negatives in our world are Western ideas. When I read The Paradox of Our Age, I felt guilty because they were things that I had thought of, times that I fall short of finding true enjoyment in life. The people here in Jaco, don’t worry about taller buildings, having too much, or eating fast food because they don’t have the means to do so. They laugh all the time, they don’t have very much, they pray a lot, and they enjoy one another. Lesson learned: there is a fine line between the wonders of the Western world and the wonders of the developing. The trick is to find the middle ground and use power to right the wrong, and keep love and compassion at the root of all power.

         It is Sunday and in Jaco, everyone will spend the day with their family and friends. They wake up and eat breakfast together, they sit around and talk, they go to church, and they head to the beach together to play soccer. Point being, they give their time to one another. I hope my friends and family members back home have time to do the same.

THE PARADOX OF OUR AGE

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints; we spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time; we have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get angry too quickly, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too seldom, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; we've added years to life, not life to years.

We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor. We've conquered outer space, but not inner space; we've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul; we've split the atom, but not our prejudice.

We write more, but learn less; we plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait; we have higher incomes, but lower morals; we have more food, but less appeasement; we build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever, but have less communication; we've become long on quantity, but short on quality.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; tall men, and short character; steep profits, and shallow relationships. These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare; more leisure, but less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition.

These are days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throw away morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer to quiet to kill.

It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom; a time when technology has brought this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to make a difference, or to just hit delete...

By Dr. Bob Moorehead

WILD MONKEYS

            The last few days have been touristy and not much time has been spent at el Rio. It is 7 AM here in Costa and I am trying to fit a blog in before I head down to el Rio today. After not having been there yesterday, I am really excited to see the kids. Aimee, Rob, and I were talking yesterday about how easy it is to grow fond of someone who doesn’t even speak your language.

            Yesterday, we headed to the National Park here called Manuel Antonio. While we were in the middle of hiking a trail in the middle of the rain forest, I took a banana out and waved it to the monkeys. Instantaneously, they came running down the branches and surrounded us; it was one of the coolest experiences. For the next twenty minutes, we spent our time handing banana straight to them as they reached for the treat out of our hands. It was amazing to me that a monkey could be perfectly fine interacting so closely with humans; I guess it is a matter of adjusting to what will provide for you. The monkeys needed food and we had lots of it.

            One of the most shocking things I have seen here in Costa Rica is how easily people become accustom to new environments. When Westerners come to Jaco, their sense of time seems to slip away within days and they learn to accept the loose life style. People like me, who schedule their days up to the hour in a planner, don’t know what time it is most often. I just learned yesterday that Tito arrived in Costa Rica from Nicaragua (where most of the poorer people in Jaco are from) a few days before I got here. It made me think of how amazing it was again that people are so flexible and can grow accustom to living in a new environment so quickly.

            When I remember the first times I spent with Tito, I think about how overwhelming it was that all he did was hit and fight. Now, knowing what I do, it seems more reasonable. What I am saying is perhaps we are more like wild monkeys that we would like to admit. Tito had two goals: to stay safe and fed, and to establish a sense of security with the other kids. He knew that he wanted food and he wanted a home. He also knew that he wanted to be accepted by his peers so to do that, he hit kids and threw rocks. Similarly, the monkeys are wild animals; typically they wouldn’t interact with people but they had to eat and so they did.

            I am going to spend my last few days in Costa Rica (I leave on Wednesday) examining myself. I want to know where in my life I have grown accustom and if it is for the right reasons. Sometimes flexibility in life is a good thing but sometimes we are just settling for comfort.

SUSPENDED ON A WIRE

Me, Rob, and Aimee from the first lookout.

On top of the world!

Straight through the canyon!

         Today we went zip lining across the canopy of the Costa Rican rainforest. Before beginning, there was one thing running through my mind, the failed attempt at the ropes course my Senior year of high school. PC sisters I am proud to say that I was 780 feet above the ground today hanging by a wire and I didn’t cry, or scream! As we climbed up the mountain in order to get to the first platform, I could feel the butterflies in my stomach; I didn’t know if it was because of the heights or just the excitement of my first touristy adventure of my stay here in Costa Rica.

            Even though you go in a group, the zip lining really is a reflective time for the individual. You are alone for most all of it as you weave through the trees. There was a time when I was sitting on the wire today that methodically thought about what was going on. Here I was, in a tropical rain forest, in a country far from home, and a wire no thicker than my finger was holding me above gum trees, monkey homes, and an ocean.

            The idea of being suspended on a wire made me think of all the things that have to go right in order for things to just be. There are so many variables with swinging across the branches: the ropes, harnesses, platforms all have to be set in place in order for the process to work. Here in Jaco, there is no doubt that often there is a sense of hopelessness. While sometimes you feel like what you are doing each day gives you great purpose and adds to the community’s strength. Other days, you wonder if what you are doing is strong enough to last the first rainstorm that blows through once you leave.

            Sitting on the wire today I felt like I could see the whole world. The ocean went on for miles and the tree-tops were endless. Perhaps, playing the tourist role gives you a different perspective that is just as important as missionary. Seeing the beauty of Jaco gave me the chance to see the opportunity that was waiting here for the kids. Hooked on to wires is a new leap of faith; it isn’t exactly your body’s usual mode of transportation. Once you get to the first platform though, there is no way to turn back except to go forward. Despite the fear, the shaky platform, or the persistent bugs, there was no other choice but to continue. I think the same goes with my adventure here in Costa Rica. When I get on a plane in 7 days, the adventure is not over: the kids will be in my heart, and my mission to help them see the better life that they can have is only a matter of shifting their perspective.

            With the days I have left, I need to build a harness with love and a long wire from their hearts to mine. Then the trick is to just stay suspended with a little hope that the future will be better.