The return from Africa

This month's Sole Hope's journey is complete. Although leaving their hearts in Africa, the team arrived back to the States last Thursday.. It has been an inspiring journey to read, please take time to do so here, and to see first hand through video some of the amazing developments they encountered along their way.

From a broken sewing machine victory repair, to laughter among new friends, the team accomplished great works for the citizens for Ndola, Zambia, and Bugabo Village, Uganda. There are now Sole Hope shoes on children that had none prior. The chance of illness and death, from the result of going barefoot, has finally been eliminated. 

I am grateful for being touched deeply by Sole Hope through my involvement with this amazing organization of people. Here are some videos and photos to enjoy from the Sole Hope Team while in Africa: 

Asher fitting Sole Hope Shoes in Africa

Christie of Bugabo Village, Uganda,
reading a letter from Music For Compassion

George of Bugabo Village, Uganda, reading a small portion of the same letter to the video camera.

The village receives their first sewing machine on video. What excitement!

George sporting a Music For Compassion
t-shirt with Christie
and the Sole Hope Team

Some may ask who George and Christie are - and all I can say is that they are Amazing and you need to jump over to their blog here. From their blog, you can find and request to follow Christie on Facebook (which she updates very regularly on a daily basis). You will not be sorry that you opened the door to get to know her and George.

In short, George was born and raised in Uganda, while Christie was born and raised in the States. While I do not know their entire life history and story, I know enough to know that Christie traded in the "normal" American life when she went on a short term mission trip last July. She found herself in Bugabo Village, literally found herself.

She returned to Bugabo early this past Winter, and has not only built a school from the ground up, but she is filling that school with hundreds of sponsored children, employing teachers, and a school nurse. She has added a Borehole to the village for clean water, limiting malaria and other life threatening diseases spread through poor water quality. She has seen Witchcraft replaced by Christianity. She has found laughter, comedy, and her voice to spread the beauty of Bugabo to those that have never been. She has accomplished all of this through her faith in God.

The Sole Hope Team landed first in Bugabo to claim new shoes for the children, employment for the women and the men. The village continues to change in healthy ways because of all those involved in Sole Hope, and those supporting Christie and George too.

It is breathtaking. The journey to Africa for Sole Hope was life changing for the African and the American people. I am grateful.

Arrival in Africa

I just received notice that my Sole Hope buddy and her Sole Hope traveling team have safely landed in the village of Bugabo, Uganda, to begin their ministry in Africa!! I am so grateful to be able to grasp the magnitude of this adventure - that the fabric we cut (along with many other's across the country who were involved in cutting fabric) has arrived to begin healing the feet and bodies of children living among two Ugandan and Zambian villages.

The trip will consist of opening up two shoe business' with the widows in the villages between the two countries, supplying newly made shoes to the orphans, and educating the villages on the effectiveness of shoes to strengthen their health and protect them from continued illness of this kind.

Part of the education process will be held in this book - written specifically for Sole Hope, and illustrated by Michael Hayes - to be given to the children and their guardians to educate them on the WHY shoes are important.

What an exciting journey for Sole Hope, for the African children and women that they will join and care for, for my friend Christie who chose to leave America to live in Bugabo Village (her amazing life is documented here), and for all those that are walking step by step with Sole Hope. 

As the Sole Hope team reports from Africa, I too will make updates on this blog. This is the moment I have been waiting for - big things are going to happen via Sole Hope this week! 

Coats and Blankets Delivered!

This morning I delivered the generous donations of Coats and Blankets from my piano students and their families to the Children's Hospital Thrift Store. What a joy it was to walk in their store to hand over warm coats and beautiful blankets. Your gift will be passed on to help those who need warmth, with a monetary donation going straight to the hospital to provide hope for the uncompensated children they serve.

Thank YOU! to all those who donated to help Children's Hospital.

All About Shoes

I have always had a love for shoes. When I was young I have memories of my mom and I shopping on weekends at the mall. We would gravitate towards shoes and clothes.

One pair of shoes in particular stands out in my memory. I was of Junior High age, so that would put the time frame in the '80s. The shoes had red laces, the shoes themselves were a brown suede high top boot. Now, I would not necessarily say that they were the 'in' fashion look but the capture was that they were unique and others wanted them. Every time I wore the shoe - I would receive a compliment. People (and I) thought those pair of boots were it. 

I wore those boots to nothing. Year after year, I wore those boots. They held up through the rain and muck of winter. They worked with every bit of jeans that I owned. The red laces, I am sure, were the ticket to awesome. 

While I still love a good pair of shoes - whether they are for fashion or comfort or just because - there are people who have none. I know we all know this, but when it reached my level of conscious that I could no longer turn away from reality, I knew I needed to act. 

I was honored to have my friends join me this week in cutting fabric for the future shoes of Sole Hope. Supplied with a huge box of fabrics, scissors, pins, and patterns by Sole Hope, we made it into a party and spent a morning tracing and cutting. 

The cut fabrics will be sent back to Sole Hope, where they will be matched up with rubber soles cut from used bicycle tires, before traveling in March to the other side of the world to land in Ndola, Zambia, and Bugabo Village in Uganda. There, the Sole Hope team will educate and train women how to assemble and sew the shoes. The proud owners will first be the Orphan children who are shoe-less of those two villages. Orphan children whose parents may have left forever either by death or for reasons unexplained, or whose parent's leave for days at a time on a very regular basis in search of food and water for their children. Orphaned because they are alone, taking in survival by themselves until their parent returns, or until someone else finds the Orphan.

A shoe. 

A shoe can save the life of these precious people, who have not the resources or the know how, about how a shoe can stop the germs from literally eating them alive starting with their feet all the way up. 

So to give of our time this week was a gift to ourselves knowing that we can make a difference - but more importantly, a gift to them with one shoe to save one sole one step at a time.  

Update: January Coats and Blankets

Thank you students and families for donating in a huge way during Piano Monday yesterday! Here is the first wave of a pile started in my foyer for Music For Compassion's January Coats and Blankets Drive.

I appreciate every stitch of donation. It would be fantastic if we could keep items rolling in all month - Children's Hospital Thrift Store will be in for a huge blessing!

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!

January Coats and Blankets

Happy New Year 2011!! Many of us plan for new resolutions, whether it is turning in a bad habit, or creating a new positive in one's life, I felt it would be fitting to do the same with Music For Compassion.  While I will continue my monetary commitment, my daily prayers, and my personal involvement with Sole Hope and Wiphan, I am including Music For Compassion's New Year's resolution to include opening up compassion to areas around me with the hopes of encouraging others to join me.

I am pleased to announce that Music For Compassion will be holding a Coats and Blankets drive during the month of January. For my piano students and their families, I will have a box in my foyer where you can toss in your out grown clean coats, and your gently used clean blankets that you are personally tired of but others may enjoy.

For local friends who are followers, you are included too. Just send me a note and we can arrange for me to pick up your goods to include in my donation box.

The first week of February I will drive the big pile to donate to our Children's Hospital Thrift Store (send me a private message if you want specifics of this location).  One Hundred Percent of the net profits benefit Children's.

There are many organizations that are worthy of our donations, but Music For Compassion has chosen Children's because it serves so many youngsters and their families in our community. Not to mention that my immediate family, my brother's extended family, and my church family have all been personally and positively impacted by this great hospital. To give back, to provide help, to make a difference - no matter how big or small - is the right thing to do.

Join Music For Compassion - come throughout the month of January with Coats and Blankets in hand to donate to Children's Hospital.

Thank you and Welcome 2011!

Doing Good

I have been under the direction of a handful of piano teachers during my lifetime. Each of the women had their own niche too; one was strict on theory, another was strict on counting the beat precisely every. single. time. regardless how many notes were missed, and another had the perfect balance and did a little of everything just right. She was my favorite. Soft spoken, sweet natured, calm, accomplished pianist.

When my student's grow in their piano maturity, whether that is in completion of or advancement in, I would long for them to look back on their piano memories with Miss Linda as one as being enjoyable, solid teachable moments. Set aside all the piano theory, the note precision, the musicianship, and I hope they come away with the long lasting inspiration to care for others, and for themselves.

Music For Compassion is young, but my heart for compassion is not. Ideas are spinning as I hope to spread more thought and understanding to my students and their families about the needs in our community, in our country, in our world. Not everyone may have the same goal for the same organization, but I hope to inspire action. And while my focus is on Sole Hope and Wiphan, that does not mean I am blocked with compassion for much more, and spreading the news for involvement across all sectors - students, parents, neighbors, friends, family, community.

I will be kicking off a January Campaign shortly ... stay tuned.

Doing Good.