A few final thoughts on this whole deal

First of all, let me just say that I believe true service is done quietly.  I never intended for this project to gain as much attention as it did.  It has been incredibly humbling to instigate a service idea that snowballed and included so many others.  My husband and I have been inspired by all the families, individuals, and children who took hold of this simple, but meaningful, opportunity to serve.  It’s definitely made us want to be more vigilant in seeking and acting on service opportunities that others initiate.  Like all acts of service, I really believe that the givers in this project were just as equally touched if not more so than the recipients.

I was so inspired to see the excitement and dedication my girls exhibited throughout this project.  A lot of times, we tend to think that young children need to be older before they’ll really grasp the whole idea of giving, but truly, it’s never too early to teach children the importance of simple Christ-like service.  Service does not have to be grand; it really can be as simple as giving someone some left-over stickers with love.

My two rag muffins with their never-to-be-forgotten beanie babies.

In reality, it’s tough stuff going from a first world country to not a first world country.  I don’t like to share the major challenges that accompany the opportunity it is to live in a foreign country on top of the fact that I don’t consider myself a complainer although my husband might beg to differ, but let me just say that The Sticker Project was a huge blessing for our family amidst some difficult trials we faced in December.  With the bad comes the good, and frankly, it’s up to us to seek it out. 

So…cheers to 2012 and the mountains we’re climbing.  We loved celebrating New Year’s,

and we look forward to sharing the upcoming year with you.

Still Going Strong

You might remember these two from HERE and HERE. 

Ayana was so happy that she was literally crying.  We delivered a sticker bag to her & her younger siblings several days before Christmas.  I gave extra stickers to Ayana because I knew how special stickers were to her.  The next day, she gave me the sweetest note that I know I’ll save forever.  She told me that she had been worried about waking up on Christmas morning and not receiving anything, but she wasn’t worried anymore because ‘her Christmas was full.’

Their little sister, Gabana:

True love:

When we returned from our adventures up north, we only had one day to prepare 100 sticker bags for MANA.  Jared stayed up with me until a late hour in the night (I will not disclose)…trying to get these bags ready. :)  I am so thankful for him.

Every Christmas, MANA delivers a box of food and eating utensils to 50 different families in Venado Tuerto.  They have never been able to include something for the children of these families.  The sticker bags were “heaven sent” and the perfect contribution to their cause.  Ziplock bags are non-existent here, but luckily, we had a Costco stash on hand that we decided to use; they fit into the boxes like a glove.

To finish off each box, Rut (the lady with the papers) would call out something like, “3 girls, 1 boy!” or “5 boys!”  AnnMarie was in charge of taking her the correct number of bags (with corresponding gender) for each family’s box.  It was incredible to watch her take this job so seriously.  She was really getting what was going on, and I was touched knowing that she had helped create something so big.

We had a little label prepared for each bag that said, “Jesus loves you.”  I put Carlie & this cute little Argentine girl in charge of putting the label on each bag.  It was a great system. 

Here’s one more sweet face you might recognize before I must dash:

A touching turn of events, Part II

Although we found some of the students, it was impossible to find them all.  There were a few roads that we knew were out of the question.  Once we made it off the muddy roads, we had a handful of sticker bags left, so once again, we prayed that we could somehow find the children who would benefit the most from our little offering.

We headed to the closest town, Federal, which was about 30 minutes away.  While passing through, I noticed a small neighborhood from a distance.  It was rough.  I saw barefoot children playing in the dirt.  We took the closest exit and started looking for recipients. 

In Argentina, especially in the more poor areas, the only way to essentially ‘knock’ or ‘ring the bell’ is to stand from a distance and clap as loud as you can.  I remember hearing stories about my older brother doing this as a missionary in northern Argentina 10 years ago.  It was surreal for me to be standing in front of these homes doing that very thing. 

We found this little house and started clapping.   

An emotional father approached us as my girls and I shouted “Santa’s elves!”  AnnMarie was still clapping, but faster now while she laughed with a sticker bag in her hands.  I couldn’t hold back the tears.  He hugged me and simply said, “Gracias.” 

Sweet little Julieta, 3 years old

Their next door neighbors were a little hesitant to greet us, but once they found out what we were doing, they were appreciative and receptive. 

Roman, age 3

This little boy was absolutely overjoyed with the stickers.  He made my heart swell a hundred times; he was so stinkin’ cute!!  Look at him in this next picture with his two older sisters, Tiara (age 5) and Joanna (age 9).  He’s like, ‘best gift ever!’ He kissed my girls which caught them off guard, but he was pretty pumped up about this whole thing.

We saw these next two little girls watching us from a distance.  They were so humble.  I partly expected girls that young to run towards us for a gift bag, but they just watched and waited to see if they might get one, too.  I could hardly get them to look me in the eye.  Simply precious.

Mili and Acelina (ages 2 & 4)

More children we found:

Great power comes when offering gifts with love.  At times it has been so difficult to be away from the loved ones we cherish and the scenes we well know, but we are grateful for this opportunity to give. 

We’re looking forward to the next few days as we continue to work with the LDS missionaries.  We met with MANA earlier this week and distributed almost 100 ziplock bags chuck full of sticker goodness.  It was awesome.  I’ll share soon. 

Have a wonderful, tradition-filled, Merry Christmas Eve full of love, good food, and hopefully, service.