Mood:  happy

The past couple of days I've been talking about the horrible conditions that some of our Compassion International sponsored children live in. Tonight, I'm going to focus on the positive side of Compassion. What really happens to your money after you send it in every month. Does it really go to the child? Yes it does! There are really many things on which your money is spent. The following video is just one of the fantastic benefits that your sponsored child receives.

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Mood:  happy

Yesterday I posted my first installment of this three part series focusing on the Compassion International blogging trip to Guatemala. It was titled "The Hood" and showed a dreadful neighborhood right beside a dump where 1000's of children and adults live. But, we only saw the outside. Tonight we're going to look at the inside. We're going to go into one of the homes that these children live in. Get ready to be saddened by what you see, but, remember, tomorrow there is "The Hope".

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Mood:  caffeinated

Six months ago I spent a week captivated as I followed the trip of a group of bloggers who went to Kenya with Compassion International.

I was joyful with them as they got to meet their sponsored children face to face.

I cried with them as they wept over the living conditions of some of these children.

I was horrified with them as they traveled through one of the world's worst and most dangerous slums to a magnificent Compassion center who served the children that lived in that slum.

I prayed for them as they went home and tried to understand what they had just experienced and what God wanted them to do now.

You can read these stories and more by clicking here. 

Compassion takes two blogger trips a year to countries that they work in around the world. Three weeks ago they took a group to Guatemala. I was attending the fantastic Walk to Emmaus and missed reading their posts. Today, I was going back and trying to catch up. As I was watching some of the videos taken, God gave me the idea for a three part series about one area that these bloggers visited. It's title is "The Hood, the Home and the Hope". All right! I know the hood is kind of pushing it, but it does talk about one neighborHood and I needed an "H" word for continuity.

Anyway, although you may find the alliteration funny, the actual video of the neighborhood is anything but funny. Watch and see what kind of a neighborhood that some children in Guatemala have to live in. This video has no narration ~ only sounds ~ but I don't think words are needed.

Tomorrow we'll look into one of these homes to see the conditions that these children live in.

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Mood:  not sure

I got a call from my sister this evening. Mom isn't doing well. She's been in the hospital for a really bad infection since last Friday. Her vital signs are good, and she's on antibiotics, but all she does is sleep, and she isn't eating. All she had today was a cup of yogurt and half of some type of a protein shake that they had fixed for her. My sister is worried because Mom is on medicaid and and if she is out of the nursing home for ten days they may not save her room. She's going to talk to the doctor in the morning to see what he says. Mom may go back to the nursing home and be put on hospice.

I've never been the type of person where I have to say my "goodbyes" to someone. Mom probably wouldn't know me anyway. I would rather remember someone the way that they were. But, at the same time, I don't want my sister to have to make all of the decisions herself. I'm torn. Should I go up now or wait. I guess I'll wait to find out what the doctor says in the morning.

I hate these type things. I was never really good at handling them. I want to be strong on the outside and the inside, but it is hard for me. So, my question this week is:

How do you fellow men deal with things like this? What are your secrets? Is it okay to be weak sometimes?

Okay, now that I've let all that out, here are the rules:

This is a man's meme, so the answers must be the answers from a man. Either the man can answer on his blog, or a wife can interview her husband for her blog. However, if the wife puts it on her blog, she must stay true to what her husband said.
1. You are encouraged to put a Men's Monday Meme button on your blog. Just copy and paste the button at the top of this post. The more folks who link, the more readers you may have to visit your blog.
2. You may answer the question any time during the week up through next Monday. After you answer the question, add the address to your post to the Mr. Linky below. If you could, please only add the direct link to the post to make it easier for readers to find the entry.
3. My answer (if I remember to post it ) along with a new question will be posted next Monday. The new Mr. Linky will be added at midnight Monday night or sometime within the next couple of days after that .

And here is the new Mr. Linky:

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Mood:  happy

Sorry folks. In all of the excitement of the week, and all of the excitement of the day - good excitement for once  - I forgot to post my new Men's Monday Meme question. So, I'm going to post it tomorrow. And, yes, I'm going to use this lame announcement as my post for the day . Today has just been too busy so I'll try to make tomorrow extra special.

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