Taking Sadness And Giving Someone Else Joy

My morning started off with some terrible news from my mom. My dad had been taken by ambulance to the hospital, and many things began unfolding with his condition. (for more details you can check his blog- randysfightagainstcancer@blogspot.com )

I had such a hard morning, just feeling so helpless not being there and knowing my parents were going through all of this without me. A lot was still unknown, as he was later being transported from St. Mary's hospital to City of Hope. I shed a lot of tears that morning. But I knew it was Tuesday, and with that being something special I had planned with my Ladies Tea Girls. Read below to see how God turned my sorrow to joy. 

This is Nondanee and her four children. This is the family that I told you about; while we were in California visiting my dad, Nondanee's husband committed suicide. Ajai, the oldest looking boy, walked into to his house one July afternoon to find his dad had hung himself. This has been traumatic for this family, and they are now learning how to live without their provider and protecter. Whenever we have fish, we always give them some, since they no longer have a fish provider. And now as Christmas time rolls around, it is tradition that most families (only Christians celebrate Christmas here) have new outfits to wear on Christmas. 

After Ladies Tea this week, I asked the girls if they would like to be involved in doing something hands on. After all the studying this year at Ladies Tea, I thought it was definitely time to let them experience what it felt like to give back and bless a family. We all immediately agreed on this family, as many of the girls have watched Nondanee cry with helplessness of not being able to provide for her family. I took a couple of girls shopping and they picked out all of the clothes (I just handed them the money to pay for it; because, if the shop workers see me, then the prices can shoot up). The rest of the other girls wrapped all the clothes, and on family night we brought Nondanee's family into the house while everyone else was outside playing games. The girls got to present them with the gifts. It was so exciting to not only see smiles on their faces, but also on my Ladies Tea girls. It made my day to just see how joyous they could feel when they knew they did something to make a difference. I was also joyful inside to see a family with smiles and excited to have new clothes for Christmas. So "thank you" to our Sri Lanka team for making this possible.