One morning during Christmas break, my 10-year-old Maraya went with me on a sea glass experience. We have two experiences on AirBnB and a sea glass hunt and jewelry making is one of them. I meet guests at the giant Puerto Plata sign on the Malecon (boardwalk) and we go to a secluded spot that has lots of sea glass. After they have found what they want, we go to the art shop and make jewelry. We stop on the way for some juice. When the art shop is fully set up, we’ll serve the juice there and have other treats for sale, but that’s still in the works.
It was a special occasion that Maraya and I went together.
Normally going on outings with me includes watching her brother Gabriel, who is
4 years old, and she prefers to stay home if she has the option. But today, it
was just Maraya and I.
She knew that she had $50 of Christmas money from her
grandmother, (Gabby), and as we drove to the shop to get the baskets and clean
up a bit before meeting the guests, she pondered how she would spend it. She
had previously talked about buying clothes, but the first thing she said on the
topic that morning was, “How much does it cost to do one of those things for
your students?”
“Sponsor a student?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she replied.
I told her it cost $150. Did she want to sponsor a student?
“Yeah, but I don’t have enough money.”
My heart melted. I exclaimed, letting her know how nice that
was of her and how proud I was of her. We then continued chatting as I drove.
I couldn’t contain the tears.
“Are you crying?” she asked.
“No!” I replied as if I didn’t know what she was talking about
and turned my head toward the window a bit. But I just couldn’t get it together
and hide the tears by the time we got to the shop. She caught me in my
blubbering. I’m a bit of a sap! I couldn’t get over the fact that this was the largest
amount of money she has ever had control over, and that was what she thought to
do with it.
I spent years of frustration, not understanding why people
make the decisions they do, regarding how they manage their finances. I don’t
wish to toot my own horn, but I am highly convicted to live without much of
what others live with and invest my time and resources in service, benefitting
those less fortunate than myself. It’s not something that I do once a month, on
Sundays, or what have you, but it’s my life and I wouldn’t have it any other
way.
I see that this confuses and perhaps frightens some people.
At the least, it seems to make many uncomfortable. When I say people, I am
mostly referring to folks from the U.S. and the developed world. Many
appreciate the work of Project Esperanza and my dedication to it, but when they
see how deeply it is ingrained into my life and how I live in what they would
consider poverty, they often draw back.
It took me years to let go of that frustration and perhaps
judgment and just accept that everyone has their own choice. My frustration
will not necessarily affect the choices of others. While there is extreme value
in sharing resources and I wish everyone had a generous attitude and could know
the joy of investing in the inherent untapped potential that is human beings that
are withheld opportunity, there is also value in building an organization from
the ground up with limited resources, and God’s hand has been over Project Esperanza
in that way since its beginning.
In conclusion, I’ll quote myself from February 2011 when
Maraya was in my tummy. I wrote a blog post called Consumerism vs.Practicality and ended by saying,
“While our future plans are not set in stone, I conclude
that I can bring better formal education to my kids here in the Dominican
Republic, but the consumerism… in the U.S. seems to pose a serious threat to
practical education, which, I think, holds just as much value as formal
education. So, while I am ever so grateful for the opportunities I have
received and continue to receive as a U.S. citizen and I tear up at the pledge
of allegiance and the singing of the national anthem, at this point, I have
little desire to go back to live full time in the U.S. I would rather use my
blessed life to bless others where blessings are much scarcer.”
I was using blessings and wealth interchangeably there, but those
are very dangerous waters, as wealth can bring about distractions that keep us
from enjoying the sweetest of blessings in life. However, I do think that the
power that comes from wealth is a huge blessing, and one that should be managed
with much consideration. As someone from Arizona who recently came on an
experience here with us said, “We [Americans] were all born on second base. We
need to give back.”
“I assure you,” he said, unless you become like children,
you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
-
Matthew 18:3
To learn more about sponsoring a student, read here.
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| Maraya's sea glass earrings she made that day. |
