Why is it that so many people don't (or won't) do something because they are afraid that they might fail? Is it pride? Embarrassment? I don't know... But I do know that failure is human. Everyone fails at something at some point in their life. I know that sounds pessimistic, but it's true! And if you learn from your failures it will only make you stronger. So why not go try something new? Don't let the possibility of failure keep you from doing something you otherwise want to do.
"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt
Friday, June 26, 2009
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Russia Support Letter 08-09
Hello once again! By my best estimate, it’s been a little less than a year since you last received a letter from me, if you got one that is, and this one (I must admit) is somewhat similar to the previous one.
I’m going back to the orphanage in Russia this year. I’m going for a number of reasons, the main one being that the kids asked me to come back, although they were more telling than asking ?. And for that and many other reasons I am (along with 16 others from my church) on my way again to that orphanage in the middle of nowhere in the dead of winter, on a cramped plane and an even more cramped bus for a total of around 25 hours of travel, to play with kids that speak little (if any) English for 8 hours non-stop, and then get too little sleep, in uncomfortable beds only to get up and do it all over again. And I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Just seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces when we get there is enough to keep me going for the whole week.
The kids in the orphanage are aged from 6 to 17, and are there for many different reasons. Some of the kids are victims of abuse, put into the orphanage because their parents (who are usually alcoholics) abused them, and either they ran away or the government stepped in. Some are true orphans, put in the orphanage when their parents died. But some are there simply because their parents can’t afford to take care of them; sometimes just one or two children from a family are put in an orphanage, while the rest continue to live at home. In fact, the majority of kids at the orphanage have family, and many of them go home during holidays to be with their families.
The kids are taken care of by dedicated and loving caretakers, who act as parents to the children and treat them as they would their own. The orphanage also has a teaching staff, which teaches grades 1 through 9. Unfortunately, this education is not enough for the “graduates” to go to college. Speaking of graduates, the kids are more or less kicked out when they turn 17, and called graduates.
It used to be that the vast majority of the graduates ended up on the streets or in jail, with many of the girls becoming prostitutes. But since we (my church) have been going to this orphanage, the number of graduates ending up on the streets or jail has dropped dramatically. Now, with the education & life training programs we (with your help) began, many of the graduates are going on to trade schools, and some are even going to universities! With your support, we are giving these kids hope and joy for a future that they previously didn’t have.
When we go to the orphanage, we are putting on a camp for these kids, and doing our best to show them that they are worth something and cared about. We play with them, talk with them, comfort them, and just spend time loving on them. We give them hope and joy, not just for the week that we are with them but for the rest of their lives. We provide them with a positive outlook on life in a place where it’s hard to see anything but the negative. And none of it would be possible without your help. Seriously, you play as big a part, if not bigger, in making these kids’ lives better than anyone else. And yes, I’m talking about your donations (even if you haven’t made any yet :).
Unfortunately, a trip like this takes a huge amount of time and money. Plane and bus ride, clothing and gifts for the kids and caretakers (who are even less well off than the kids), and games and crafts all cost money. Without the planes and buses it takes to get there, we wouldn’t be able to go to the orphanage. Without games and crafts, it would be nearly impossible to put on a decent camp for the kids. Without the clothing and gifts that we bring, the kids would have nothing and the caretakers have nothing to bring to their children.
But more importantly, without all these things there would be nothing for the kids to look forward to, nothing to bring them hope.
So I ask that you give a donation, something to help bring joy and love into these kids’ lives.
Together we can change the lives of these kids, giving them something that they have never had before; hope.
The experience of bringing hope and joy to kids that don’t really have anything to be hopeful or happy about is something that changes your life. And I’m inviting you to experience it vicariously through me.
I’m going back to the orphanage in Russia this year. I’m going for a number of reasons, the main one being that the kids asked me to come back, although they were more telling than asking ?. And for that and many other reasons I am (along with 16 others from my church) on my way again to that orphanage in the middle of nowhere in the dead of winter, on a cramped plane and an even more cramped bus for a total of around 25 hours of travel, to play with kids that speak little (if any) English for 8 hours non-stop, and then get too little sleep, in uncomfortable beds only to get up and do it all over again. And I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Just seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces when we get there is enough to keep me going for the whole week.
The kids in the orphanage are aged from 6 to 17, and are there for many different reasons. Some of the kids are victims of abuse, put into the orphanage because their parents (who are usually alcoholics) abused them, and either they ran away or the government stepped in. Some are true orphans, put in the orphanage when their parents died. But some are there simply because their parents can’t afford to take care of them; sometimes just one or two children from a family are put in an orphanage, while the rest continue to live at home. In fact, the majority of kids at the orphanage have family, and many of them go home during holidays to be with their families.
The kids are taken care of by dedicated and loving caretakers, who act as parents to the children and treat them as they would their own. The orphanage also has a teaching staff, which teaches grades 1 through 9. Unfortunately, this education is not enough for the “graduates” to go to college. Speaking of graduates, the kids are more or less kicked out when they turn 17, and called graduates.
It used to be that the vast majority of the graduates ended up on the streets or in jail, with many of the girls becoming prostitutes. But since we (my church) have been going to this orphanage, the number of graduates ending up on the streets or jail has dropped dramatically. Now, with the education & life training programs we (with your help) began, many of the graduates are going on to trade schools, and some are even going to universities! With your support, we are giving these kids hope and joy for a future that they previously didn’t have.
When we go to the orphanage, we are putting on a camp for these kids, and doing our best to show them that they are worth something and cared about. We play with them, talk with them, comfort them, and just spend time loving on them. We give them hope and joy, not just for the week that we are with them but for the rest of their lives. We provide them with a positive outlook on life in a place where it’s hard to see anything but the negative. And none of it would be possible without your help. Seriously, you play as big a part, if not bigger, in making these kids’ lives better than anyone else. And yes, I’m talking about your donations (even if you haven’t made any yet :).
Unfortunately, a trip like this takes a huge amount of time and money. Plane and bus ride, clothing and gifts for the kids and caretakers (who are even less well off than the kids), and games and crafts all cost money. Without the planes and buses it takes to get there, we wouldn’t be able to go to the orphanage. Without games and crafts, it would be nearly impossible to put on a decent camp for the kids. Without the clothing and gifts that we bring, the kids would have nothing and the caretakers have nothing to bring to their children.
But more importantly, without all these things there would be nothing for the kids to look forward to, nothing to bring them hope.
So I ask that you give a donation, something to help bring joy and love into these kids’ lives.
Together we can change the lives of these kids, giving them something that they have never had before; hope.
The experience of bringing hope and joy to kids that don’t really have anything to be hopeful or happy about is something that changes your life. And I’m inviting you to experience it vicariously through me.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Russia Letter Support Letter 07-08
Hello my fellow human (I would personalize this letter if I didn't need to send so many of them, so please imagine that it says your name at the top, and know that I was thinking of you personally as I wrote this).
Thank you,
I want to let you know I’m going back to Russia with my church this winter (yes, I said winter, in Russia). It is a mission trip to an orphanage in Zarechni, Russia (about 6 hours south of Moscow).
The kids there are between 6 and 17 years old, and have next to nothing. More than half of the kids at this orphanage still have living parents, but are put into the orphanage because of abuse from their alcoholic parents, or their parents have more children than they can support, so they put some of their kids into orphanages so that they can support themselves. It is truly heart wrenching to hear some of these kids’ reasons for being in the orphanage. One little girl, Eulia (you-lee-ah), who was practically glued to me on my previous trips, is in the orphanage because her mother poured a pot of boiling water on her, scalding most of her body. That being said, it is amazing how joyful these children are. They are always smiling, and grateful for everything they have.
The kids attend school at the orphanage, but it only goes to 9th grade, so the kids literally have no chance of getting into college. When the kids turn 17, they "graduate" (get kicked out), and are sent either to a trade school or are just put on the street making money by dealing drugs or prostitution. Over the years that my church has gone to this orphanage we've made improvements to the education that these kids get and also to their living environment. The building was built in communist Russia, and it hasn't really been kept in good repair. The plumbing is horrible; the pipes are all rusted so the water comes out of the faucet orange (actually quite close to the color of iced tea). It is not something that you want to drink. My church is continuing to try to solve this problem.
The reason we go in right after Christmas is that the kids are on winter break, and if they don’t go home to visit their family they have practically nothing to keep them occupied. We put on a camp for the kids, playing with them, doing crafts, sports and puppet shows and sometimes even karaoke contests. It is a truly amazing experience, it is impossible to go home without a renewed sense of gratefulness towards all that we have. Nor can you leave without knowing that you made a positive impact on someone’s life.
Unfortunately, this trip is not free. It takes a huge investment of time, effort and (here it comes) money to go to this orphanage to bring love and joy to these children. So, (you knew it was going to happen eventually) I ask you for your assistance in sending me on this trip, be it in prayer or a donation of funds (or both if you feel so inclined), for without either this trip would not be possible.
By supporting me in this endeavor, you provide a joyous experience for these kids, help improve their education and living environment and provide hope for a better future.
Thank you,
Zac
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Thinking for Yourself
I wish that the world ran on a more relaxed schedule, where everything was done in an efficient orderly manner, but done leisurely and without the worry of not getting it done fast enough. I wonder what it would be like if people thought things through before doing them. Like actually thought about the consequences and whether it was worth it. I know that if I did that I would get myself into a lot less trouble. I very rarely think things through, no, that's not true. I very rarely think before I speak. I think that very few people actually do. There would be a lot less grief in the world if people actually thought before they spoke. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like most negative arguments begin because someone said something without thinking. And while that may be the way you feel, you probably didn't want to get into a fight over it.
It's a real shame how very few people think for themselves these days. They are always following someone else, thinking that they are thinking for themselves, but really they're not.
I like to think of myself as non-conformist, I like to think for myself and do my own thing. That doesn't mean defying authority or anything like that, it means making up my own mind and having my own opinions, not those of some one else. It means believing what I believe and standing by it, not changing my mind because someone else said to. It means listening to music that I like, even if no one else does. I hate it when people say that the music that someone else likes to is bad, it's not, it's just what they like and you might not, get over it. It's a matter of opinion. Not having your own personal opinions about something, anything, then you are not thinking for yourself, not utilizing the gift of thought that you were given. Use your brains people! They are there for a reason, and not just to keep you alive. Your mind is yours to use, don't waste it.
Some quotes:
"Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to be always part of unanimity."
-Christopher Morley
"I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear." - Joan Didion
"If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you." -Don Marquis
It's a real shame how very few people think for themselves these days. They are always following someone else, thinking that they are thinking for themselves, but really they're not.
I like to think of myself as non-conformist, I like to think for myself and do my own thing. That doesn't mean defying authority or anything like that, it means making up my own mind and having my own opinions, not those of some one else. It means believing what I believe and standing by it, not changing my mind because someone else said to. It means listening to music that I like, even if no one else does. I hate it when people say that the music that someone else likes to is bad, it's not, it's just what they like and you might not, get over it. It's a matter of opinion. Not having your own personal opinions about something, anything, then you are not thinking for yourself, not utilizing the gift of thought that you were given. Use your brains people! They are there for a reason, and not just to keep you alive. Your mind is yours to use, don't waste it.
Some quotes:
"Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to be always part of unanimity."
-Christopher Morley
"I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear." - Joan Didion
"If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you." -Don Marquis
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