Days 15-18: Commitment + Time = Progress

It usually comes around this time of the challenge: the doldrums. I'm past the halfway point but still quite a ways to go, and no movement on my charitable goal in four days. I need some wind in my sails, but I'm willing to wait patiently while focusing on what I can control: my own attitude and just staying faithful to the work before me.

I'm chalking it up to Spring Break weekend and everyone catching up after travels, leaving little time for anyone to join in. I am hopeful that the $530/mo we have gained this month through day 14 will be a wave that continues its momentum as people get back into a normal routine after Spring Break.

It's a valuable lesson, but a hard one: that progress takes commitment and time, that "slow and steady wins the race."

It has rung true for two girls at the Peace Gospel Nepal orphan home, Asmita and Sujita. I have seen them grow up at the home. When our Nepal director found them 10 years ago in tiny mountain villages, they were severely malnourished. Asmita's father died shortly after she was born and her mother struggled to find food for her and her six siblings. Sujita's mother died when she was four years old. Her father married another woman, and as is too common in South Asian culture, he abandoned his children to start a new family, leaving her with her mother's parents who were very poor themselves and could not properly care for her.

But after 10 years of care at our home, they have so much to be thankful for. They receive daily nutritious meals and have often placed near the top of their class at their school, receiving good grades consistently thanks to their eagerness to learn and the health and nutrition we've been able to provide them, allowing them to stay focused on their studies.

I can't help but wonder if they would have been trafficked if we had not intervened-- it is estimated that over 12,000 Nepali girls go missing every year due to human trafficking. The easiest "prey" for the traffickers are these kinds of orphan girls stuck in extreme poverty with overburdened relatives struggling to care for them.

The top photo is one I shot of them at the home in January 2013 when they were 8 years old, the photo below is of them last week sitting in the same spot. Their progress is all made possible because of the regular, recurring, consistent support of monthly donors ensuring us a way to budget for their continued care over the years. They are grateful.

Ready to join in on being a part of these miracles? Here's how:

Just tap on this chart and then on the next page choose the amount of the heart you want to sponsor, choose the day of the month you want your donation to be charged each month, enter your details, and you're done!

Then on my next blog post I will fill in your heart to represent the progress we're making!

I have quite a few meals to catch you up on. Making it work, one meal at a time. I remain determined to finish the challenge as a way of standing in solidarity with those who struggle to find their next meal and never see a "day 31" like I will. 

Take Action!

1) Please consider helping me reach my goal to find 50 new "Sustainers"— donors willing to give a small amount each month toward our work helping vulnerable children and trafficking survivors. Go here and enter the amount you would like to give monthly!

2) Please visit my unofficial sponsor, Amazon.com through this link. 7% of your purchases made through the link are given to the work of Peace Gospel's programs helping orphans, at-risk children of the slums, and human trafficking survivors.

3) If you're compelled by my effort here, please share it with friends. One of the main goals is awareness. So if you can help with that, huge.

4) Leave me feedback. Please comment on this post, especially if you have any ideas about what I should try to cook with these ingredients I have available. I love hearing from you! It really helps!