Ours was deliciously relaxed, unplanned and full of perfect summer moments!

Weather permitting, I am Oklahoma bound today to help with tornado clean up!

For Ten Dollar Tuesday, might I suggest a donation to one of the many projects already on the ground helping with tornado relief in Oklahoma.

World Vision is a charity I love to support.  You can watch a video about their response or donate here.

My donation this week will be going towards diapers that we are buying and collecting to take with us for shelters in the area.  (If you’re in the area, you can still bring me those until 2pm today!)

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Mother’s Day always sneaks up on me, but it slapped me hard across the face this week when my mom said something about how my Grandmother always would take us all out for pizza on Mother’s Day.

While she was talking, I realized that this will be the first Mother’s Day of my mom’s life without her mother.  I watched my mama’s hands setting napkins out on the table and was careful not to make eye contact.

Then I started thinking about how many people will be missing and remembering their mothers this Sunday.

How many more will hurt for the mother they wish they had?  Or the mother they wish they could be?

How is it that a day to celebrate our mothers can churn up so much sadness?

How about one more?

What about mothers who don’t even know it is Mother’s Day because they are preoccupied with keeping a hungry or a sick child alive?

I don’t for a minute think that I can really relate to mothers in this circumstance, but once upon a time, when I found myself woefully unprepared for a trip I took, I learned to empathize just the tiniest bit with these mothers.

In the summer of 2000, my husband, Taido, and I led a trip to China of people from our church in Seattle, to teach English in a summer camp on a university campus in a more remote part of the country.

We were so excited about this adventure for which we planned and prepared for a long time, but our two children turned three and one while we were there.  That’s right.  They were both in diapers. Though I planned like crazy, there was just no way I could have anticipated all the different situations in which we would find ourselves.

One of the hardest parts was that Cole was sick with digestive issues for almost the entire six weeks we were there.  As a toddler, it was impossible to keep him off the ground and out of the dirt, which would then result in his ingesting some kind of bacteria that would make him sick.  Taido and I both had similar bouts with being sick, but not as extreme as Cole’s.

Additionally, all our meals were prepared for us by the school staff, so we had no way of knowing which dishes were making us sick, except to sort of guess.  We also had no control over what was served.  I lost 17 pounds in 6 weeks.  In crippling heat, I tried to find things that Cole could eat that would not make him sick.  We found a man across the street that baked Naan (flatbread) in a brick oven every morning and we would buy a stack of it and feed it to Cole all day.  When rice was served (not always), I would hoard it for him.

I worked hard to keep him hydrated and fed, but mostly I felt helpless in my attempts to make the situation better.

You know how when your baby is sick and you search high and low for that one thing that tastes good to them, so you, the Mama, Nurturer, Mother Hen, can feed your child?  We buy popsicles and 7Up and whatever we can think of so our little ones will feel better.

I cried out to God for help for my little guy and I wept tears of gratitude when I found food that didn’t seem to make him sick.  I remember giving thanks to God for teaching me lessons of total dependance on Him, but wishing the lessons could be over.

In the middle of my time there, I decided to get on a plane and fly two hours with my babies to another city where I had a friend who had experience in feeding and caring for children in this environment. Even as I write that, it sounds really drastic, but I was desperate.

In just a few days, my friend was able to get Cole (and me) well, so we headed back to finish up our summer term.  When we flew back to Seattle (where we lived at the time), I walked in the door of our town home and turned on the clean water that runs RIGHT OUT OF THE KITCHEN SINK. Then I sat down on the floor and cried.

Thirteen years later, I still don’t know what to do with a world where I get to scoop my babies up and fly away when things get too hard while so many mothers have to watch their little ones suffer.

16,000 children will die today from hunger-related causes while I get to feed mine whatever they like.

I often feel as helpless to face that statistic as I did all those years ago in Western China to help Cole feel better.  That’s part of why I started Ten Dollar Tuesdays for myself in this space.  Even if I can’t do a lot, I can make small commitments that count in God’s economy.

This year, for Mother’s Day, for the mama who is here with me and for the grandmother who is not, I am giving gifts to Compassion International’s Child Survival Program.

I wish you a Happy Mother’s Day filled with LOVE and Compassion.

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Ben and Simon got involved to help me create a Diary Of A Mosquito.

Some of my kids favorite picture books are the Diary Of A Worm, Diary Of A Fly and Diary Of A Spider.

These books are hysterical takes on what life is like from the perspective of these small creatures. Fly tries to teach Worm to fly and Worm tries to teach Fly to dig in the ground. Fly’s father isn’t sure Fly should play at Spider’s house, because of the webs. Funny stuff.

So, in honor of World Malaria Day, here is our silly spin off on the Diary Of books:

Fish eat mosquitoes.  Apparently, really small fish.

Mosquitoes are actually considered to be the most dangerous animals in the world, because more deaths are associated with mosquitoes than any other living thing. Crazytown.

A group of mosquitoes got attacked by a frog at the pond.

Ben decided that mosquitoes, bees and wasps are all bullies in the bug world.  Fights initiated by bullies are apparently as common in the bug world as they are in the human world.

The End.

Simon says this is the back cover of the book. I think it is Mosquito’s house.

According to the Gates Foundation, eradicating Malaria is totally withing the realm of possibility.  That’s kind of amazing.

Be a hero today and find out more about what you can do to help prevent and treat malaria at Compassion’s Malaria Intervention Page.

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For Ten Dollar Tuesday this week, it seems like a good idea to support your favorite runner.

I think it takes a lot of courage to run a race. For most of my life, I have admired from a distance those who lace up tennis shoes day after day to hit the pavement. When I go for walks, there are runners all around me, passing me and waving.

Now it seems like runners will require an extra measure of bravery to sign up for race day.

If you’re like me, you probably have an email or a Facebook notification from someone who is combining their passion for running (or walking) with a cause they hope to raise money for.

Today, I am following those links through and giving to them. I should have already, but today I just want to say,

Hey, I think you’re brave for being willing to run. You go!

Somewhat ironically, I also registered today for the Color Me Rad Run in Little Rock this June. It will be the first 5K of my entire life, and I will walk most of it I am sure.

But again, today just seems like a good day to run.

I actually wrote this post last Tuesday, the day after the events at the Boston Marathon, but I was in route to Chicago and couldn’t figure out how to get it to post from my iPhone.  I’m pretty smart like that. 

Still, it seems applicable one week later, so I am sharing it today for Ten Dollar Tuesday. 

And just to make things really confusing, this week’s Ten Dollar Tuesday is actually going to be on Thursday, where I am linking up with Compassion International for World Malaria Day.  So watch for that.

If you want to join me in giving away $10 every week to some worthy cause of your choosing, that would be so encouraging!  Leave me a comment or drop me a line at alisonchino AT gmail dot com, and tell me where you are sending your $10 this week!

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LiNK (Liberty in North Korea) is an organization based in California that is working

To redefine North Korea by focusing on the the people while rescuing and providing resettlement support to North Korean refugees and pursing an end to the North Korea Crisis.

So much of the media about North Korea is hopeless and discouraging.  The current campaign at LiNK is called Shift, and it’s all about changing the focus of the public rhetoric about North Korea to the actual people instead of nuclear weapons.

Here’s a video about this campaign. (Every view brings in 25 cents from an anonymous donor, so watch it and then share it!)

This hopeful, people-centered approach to freedom in North Korea is bringing light to my world.  If, like me, you feel completely oppressed after reading almost anything about North Korea, you should definitely subscribe to get your news about the country from LiNK, and consider adding your voice to Shift.

I have also set up a fundraising page, where you can join me in donating to LiNK.  I set a goal of $2500 because that is how much it costs to bring freedom to one North Korean person.  That’s amazing to think about to me.  One person’s freedom for $2500.  Honestly, that seems kind of cheap.

Also, recently adding her voice to the conversation about her native country is North Korean Hyeonseo Lee in her eloquent debut on the TED stage.

My kids have gotten to hear me talk and read about North Korea A LOT in the last month or so, so we watched this beautiful talk together.

I hope you watch or read something new about North Korea today that gives you hope!

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Welcome to Ten Dollar Tuesday, where I give away a small amount of money ($10) to a worthy cause and invite you to join me!

My small group is participating in the Walk for the Waiting in May, which is a walk benefiting children in Arkansas who need homes.  Here is a little bit from the website:

Our orphans are in distress. 

An average of 12 children enter Arkansas’ foster care system every day, joining the other 4,000 children already waiting in the system.

Today, nearly 500 children in Arkansas are waiting for a family to adopt them.

On May 18, 2013, three leading orphan care ministries, The CALL, Project Zero, and Immerse Arkansas are uniting forces to invite nearly 70+ area churches to Walk for the Waiting. Will you consider walking with us?

My team is Fellowship North but I also have a personal page if you want to throw in this week at Walk for the Waiting.  I am excited about the many great things these orphan care ministries are doing in Arkansas, so it is a privilege to get to participate in some small way.

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Heifer Village is next to the main building for Heifer Project, an Arkansas based nonprofit working to end hunger.

Here is a description from their website:

Heifer Village is designed as a sustainable and environmentally sensitive building. Adjacent wetlands, which support native species, complement Heifer Village’s design.

A place for learning about solutions to global hunger and poverty, Heifer Village will spark commitment in all who experience it, furthering Heifer International’s mission to end hunger and poverty while caring for the Earth.

Almost like a museum about world hunger and poverty, the Heifer Village is super interactive for kids.  Simon and I spent some time with a farm exhibit and he got to experience what it would be like to sleep under a mosquito net.  While we were playing in the exhibits, Ben explored options of what kids his age can do to help alleviate world hunger.

I always find the village to be so bright and inviting.  There is also a cafe (yummy homemade potato chips!) and a shop where you can buy fairly traded books and gifts from around the world.  We bought several birthday presents for this month, plus some chutneys from Swaziland. Yum.

Tours are offered daily of the Heifer’s main office buildings as well.  Ben has been on one as part of a school field trip, so he was pointing out some of the ecologically sound features from the outside.

Heifer Village is located just behind the Clinton Presidential Library.  From the grounds outside, there are great views of the library and bridge.  Fields planted with bamboo and multicolored brick walkways make this whole area such a lovely part of downtown Little Rock.

Any day is great for a visit to the Heifer Village, cafe and shop. Admission is free.  From 10am-3pm, visitors can come and celebrate the beginning of spring.

Ten Dollar Tuesdays: This post is part of a new series I am starting this week where our family gives away $10 every Tuesday to a new charity.  There are so many wonderful places to give in the world, but most of our monthly giving is tied up in regular commitments.  However, while I have been doing the Seven Project, I have wanted to figure out a way to turn parts of the project more outward.  We saved a lot of money on groceries in Month 1 of eating only 7 foods, so we gave just a little bit of that money this week to Heifer to help end world hunger.

This idea is definitely still in process, but I am excited about featuring some of the long loved charities and projects we follow at our house, as well as new ones.  Want to join us?  Jump in and give $10 to Heifer today!

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