Repost of a comment.

I do not always respond to the comments, although I do read them all and so appreciate the encouragement that they are while we are here... I can not imagine people doing this with out the encouragement of friends like I have... actually, I can imagine, I have visited with them, and many times find myself as a sounding board for them...they are doing simply amazing things here, If only I could make half the lasting impact that they are, yet they have no avenue to share their pains and trials, and no network to encourage them daily.... It is easy to grow weary in well doing, and they need to have people like I do that remind me that their strength does not come from a pot of Timmy's coffee... Maybe you missed it, but one of m cementers left me some quotes from Mother Theresa, and she said that they made her think about Central Asia....

Now I am so far from the class of a mother Theresa, however, I have been here long enough to completely understand her heart when she made these statements.

1."The most terrible poverty is loneliness and the feeling of being unloved."

All around I see young and old , people of all ages that are totally alone in life, and are craving for any type of attention.... I think of our beautiful young girl that said to us " I don't really love him, but he really loves me and I just like being loved". I believe that by showing people love, we can bring the hope and the desire needed to not only change their lives, but to encourage those around them.

2."The miracle is not that we do this work but that we are happy to do it."

A dear friend of mine, a man who's encouragement and support I cherish, spoke one time about a song he had listened to.. It was from U2 and it was something about " I still haven't found what I'm looking for."h e then challenged us about that, and I told him that I had found what I was looking for and just did not know how to attain it...I had been to Central Asia, and I knew that this was my life's call.... so many of you have been such a big part of making that dream into a reality for me..you have been a part of my miracle ..... I can envision now a day when my family will be able to join me full time....

3."I am a little pencil in the hand of God, who is writing a love letter to the world."

I try to update regularly on the blog... I try to show the world the power of "HOPE" As I see love written in the hearts of hose around me, I try to share it with all of you.... One day you all wrote back... it truly was a love letter FROM the world... between emails and blog comments, My Girl received birthday greetings from almost 100 blog readers from all over the world.... what more do I need to say!

4."I know God will not give me anything I can't handle, I just wish He didn't trust me so much."

One of my greatest challenges here has been the Invalid home for men... It is the hardest place to visit, and yet brings me the most personal satisfaction as I see the differences in the men's faces, yet so much more needs to be done... Some times I think to my self "How dare you" when I walk away from a situation like this boy here... we gave them a nice room, heat and food.... what more could they need.... allot ... that's what... How can I be content with this.....this is the place that Children are sent when they turn 16... these are the ones that we did not help in time.... then today I was asked.... where do the girls go.... I answered " God has not given me the strength for that yet."... Is that excuse good enough ... as soon as I said it, I felt my insides turn.... there is so much more that needs to be done, I am afraid we have only touched the surface.....

5."Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing"

A smile really is a beautiful thing, and I have come to realize the Power that it carries... When we have teams here, I try to share with them just how powerful a smile can be... as a presentation or some other thing that we all have to stand around and behave is going on.... I like to keep myself occupied ( It is usually in Russian or another local language and I have no clue what is going on ) "I play the smile game".. I don't just look , but make full eye contact with some one, usually an orphan or a senior.. then when I am sure that they know I am fixed on them, I give them a little smile.... Most times, the kids will actually buckle at the knees.... Probably the most powerful and profound gift I could give them... to know that to me, they are a beautiful thing!