SO EXCITED! Becky and Renee and Sixteen Small Stones

SO EXCITED!!!!!! First of all, Becky (the sweet woman who is going to help William) has left for Ghana! The BEST news is that she left with SIX MONTHS worth of supplies to help William heal! WOOO HOOOO! I was SO THANKFUL for that! Her goal had been to have 3 months worth of supplies. To double that was a miracle. Really. In these very difficult ecinomic times...I really didn't know who, if anyone, would help! However, SO MANY people stepped forward! Some people donated as little as $5.00, handing the money to Becky with tears in their eyes. She knew it was all they had. EVERYONE who donated, gave all they could, and I am so, so thankful to everyone who sacrificed on behalf of William and Patience. Thank you all! The other exciting news is that I heard back from Renee! In case you don't know, she is the WONDERFUL young woman whose blog I follow. You can link to her blog from my blog list. Hers is titled, "Be Hands And Feet". She is serving much the same way Katie is...in fact, I found out those two are dear friends, and Renee is going to run Katie's home while Katie is in America this summer! Anyway, Renee was able to offer me a lot of advice on how to begin getting Sixteen Small Stones NGO status. The first thing Renee said I must do is establish a board of people for SS. She recomended 5-10 people who have a passion for the work I want to do. Already the task of making Small Stones an NGO looks daunting, if not impossible. I hardly KNOW 5 people, let alone 5 who don't think I am crazy for wanting to serve His children this way, and further more, 5 who would want to join and support me as Small Stones serves. Everyone in my family thinks I am crazy, not to mention they don't have the time to do something like Small Stones. And to be very, unabashedly honest here...I don't have many friends. No, really...I don't. I mean, people I care about and stay in touch with, yes, I have a few. But people I actually SEE and "hang out" with...just one or two. Anyway, the point is, I have no one to ask to be on my board! Well, I have complete FAITH...REALLY...that God will provide me with people to have on my board. God has lead my footsteps ENTIRELY on this journy to Small Stones, and I know He will find people to serve with me. SO....if anyone reading this (you know where this is going!) wants to sit on the board for Sixteen Small Stones...comment here, and I can contact you...and YOU could be the first board member for Sixteen Small Stones! Exciting, right?? HA HA!

Buying things for William and a BIG THANK YOU!!!!

So we are down to the last few days before Becky leaves. Two weeks sounded like SO MUCH TIME...two weeks ago! The time FLEW by, and I am glad I started right away getting things ready to send for her to take! Earlier this week, Taiger was going around Target picking up EVERYTHING saying, "Can I get this for the boy with the burns? I think that little boy would like this!", etc. So, today, we took my three nephews, two nieces, and Taiger to the dollar store and let them all pick something out for William. Boy, was that ever fun! Crazy, yes, but very fun! It was so neat to see all of these little kids running around the dollar store, excited to buy things for someone else, someone who they had never seen or met, but who they were truly concerned for and who they really each loved. I took some pictures I will post here of our wonderful "outting". The kids were SO excited that it was difficult to tell them that something they picked out just wasn't that good of an idea...they are kids, after all! I said things like, "Wow! That is a good idea, I just don't really think William would like an inflatable monkey". But it was SO CUTE and endearing the things they thought he would like! Some of the "best" were: inflatable monkey, foam glasses, a cup that looked like a coconut, whoopee cushion, feather duster, dog chew toy ("Does William have a dog? He might like this!" SO CUTE!), Speed Racer car (Taiger, of course), squeezable frog whose guts squirt out when squeezed. The list goes on. I must say, my favorite was the feather duster! Some of the "cute" things they wanted to get him I just had to let go. I hope he does not take the gifts at face value, but can see the love that went into them. For instance, my little nephew was dead-set on getting him one of those disguises with the big nose, glasses and fake mustache. I have no idea why, but he thought William would just love it, so I relented (this is the same kid who wanted to get him a dog toy and a feather duster, so the disguise was an improvement and looking pretty good against the options!). We also picked out a few things for William's sister, Patience. We also included a little craft project for them to do together. I just hope he actually enjoys some of the things we send!! Thank you to EVERYONE who has donated to help William! Thank you, too, to EVERYONE who is praying on behalf of this little boy. It is easy to get caught up in the bandages, the toys, the medicine...but the fact remains that with God NOTHING is impossible! He could heal William NOW without all of those things, if it were in His plan to do so. God is bigger and stronger than this situation and than any of us. Praying for His healing mercy is a wonderful gift for William. Praying that a family is found for William and his sister is also a much needed plea at this time. Thank you ALL!!!!!!

Getting Organized!!

I have been really thrilled at the number of people who have come forward to help little William. It warms my heart. We live in a world full of hate and war and despair, but we also live in a world of love and peace and hope...a world created by a magnificent God, and a loving Jesus Christ. I am humbled by the good works in action on William's behalf. It is amazing the love that is present, if we just take time to look for it and feel it. There IS something that has really frustrated me about this situation with William. I have realized how MUCH Small Stones could be doing NOW...HERE! If I had had my NGO status, been organized, etc., Small Stones, as a group, could have really stepped up and helped get the supplies William needs. Still now, with all the donation, etc., SO MUCH is needed that has not yet been supplied. It aggravates me to know that if I had had Small Stones better organized more could be being done for William, and to help Becky as she is preparing to leave. We went to Idaho to visit my family there this weekend, and while I was there my wonderful, amazing cousin stopped by to say HI. We got to talking, and she has served in the Philippines doing volunteer work, helping build houses, distributing medication, etc. for the less-fortunate there. AMAZING! Anyway, she really expressed an interest in helping Small Stones, and just talking to her re-motivated me. Between talking with Katie and seeing this desperate situation with William, my eyes were opened this week as to what I should be doing with Small Stones. I was so devastated when I couldn't go to the orphanage in Africa to serve there. I was completely floored when China fell through for this year. I thought I would be "waiting out" my time, spending this year getting paperwork done and, well, not DOING much with Small Stones. Well, that has ALL changed! I spent my three hour drive home today from Idaho thinking about this, and I have decided to kick Small Stones into ACTION, NOW!! We are going to do "projects" to help others. For instance, helping William would have been a project. I think what I will do is select a "short term" project and a "long term" project. For my LONG TERM PROJECT, I feel Small Stones should sponsor a child from the Amazima programme (if you are unfamiliar with Amazima...picture me YELLING at you for not checking out Katie's blog!...and then go read kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com. Click on her badge to learn about her programme, read her blog to learn more about the day-to-day things she is doing). I will have to think about a SHORT TERM PROJECT...William would be a good "project", but I will have to ask Becky what she thinks. Okay, so I need to set some goals here (don't you LOVE how I have not thought ahead AT ALL here and am just blogging as thoughts come to mind...HA!!!! Sorry!) 1.) Set up a Small Stones "team". There is NO WAY I should be doing this alone! Not because I can't, but because I SHOULDN'T! Great ideas come from GROUPS! NOT just ONE person! So, if anyone out there wants to be on the Small Stones team, SPEAK UP! 2.) Get the word out! Small Stones is NOT KNOWN...at all. I need to go public! I will need YOUR help with this! TELL EVERYONE you know about Small Stones! Give them this blog to read. Hm...a website would be good about now. Anyone out there know anything about making a website?! 3.) Create an online newsletter. That is the best way to let people know about the projects we are doing (don't you love how I say "we" like there are already more people than just ME doing this?! In my mind, HUNDREDS of people read this blog and are just WAITING for the right time to comment! HA HA!) 4.) Start the process NOW of becoming an NGO/Non Profit organization. (But I think I should NOT wait for that to start with the other things...do you agree??) I think those are four good starting points, don't you?! Okay, people, I need some feedback! Please...post comments, let me know what you think! Thanks!

BEGGING for your help on behalf of a suffering little boy.

A little boy at Luckyhill orhanage was badly burned and needs YOUR help...yes, YOURS! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE go to my other blog (manygrandadventures.blogspot.com) and read the post titled, "PLEASE READ..." from April 14. Let's all do whatever we can to help this suffering little boy and get him feeling better. Please join me in prayer, too, on his behalf. This little boy NEEDS YOU. Thank you all so much! Breclyn and Taiger

THANK YOU!

I just read about a family who is adopting an older child from China...WOO HOO! LOVE these stories! I love hearing about ANY adoption, really! However, "older child" adoptions hold a special place in my heart. Not only because we adopted BeQin when she was 13, but also because I KNOW what happens to the ones who don't get adopted, and what a difficult life they face. Maybe someday I will do a post about that...breaks my heart... Anyway, I feel TOTALLY ungrateful right now. Do you ever suddenly realize AGAIN how BLESSED you are? Or do you ever complain about something and, like, 10 seconds later you think, "Are you kidding me? You were upset over THAT?!" Or maybe you think life is tossing you lemon after lemon, and then you hear someone else's trials and feel like a JERK for thinking you had it hard? Yeah, something like that happened to me. Now I am sitting here feeling like a JERK, and feeling like a pampered snob who is not grateful for what she has. So...I was going to list on here EVERYTHING for which I am grateful...and then realized it would be such a long post I may run out of memory (yes...on the internet...THAT is how much I have to be grateful for...MORE than the infinite memory of the INTERNET can hold!). Instead, I wanted to just post a picture of one thing that sums up the beauty and wonder of my blessed, fortunate, amazing life. However, EVERY picture of Taiger shows that...so I couldn't decide which one!! I have so much...everything I could ever want, really. Not only in material things, but in the things that really matter...a loving family, a stable life, religion and GOD, the knowledge of The Atonement of Jesus Christ, the constant companionship of The Holy Ghost. I know of the Plan of Salvation! I know my life has PURPOSE and MEANING! I know that my family will be together FOREVER...yes, for ETERNITY. So many people out there don't know of these things (IF YOU DON'T, TALK TO ME! I will do WHATEVER I have to do to show you these things I know that bring me so much JOY and PEACE! PLEASE don't live without these things in your life! PLEASE!!!!!!) You know, I don't have to worry about land mines, bombs, war, famine, pestilence...I don't have to worry if I will have fresh water. I don't have to worry about how I will care for my child. There is so much to be grateful for. I can't even STAND it, so grateful am I. I NEVER want to be ungrateful. Okay, it is frustrating me SO MUCH that I cannot express my gratitude. So, I am ending this discombobulated post. I don't have the words to adequately express myself, nor the grace to eloquently express myself. So I will say nothing more...except THANK YOU.

Explanation and a BIG THANK YOU to EVERYONE!

Some people following this blog have asked for more to be posted about my family. I actually only use this blog to write about Small Stones and Taiger's and my work in "saving the world" (as some people have described what I want to do! HA!), and also to blog about my deepest feelings about Jesus and God, who are the real directors of my life and of Small Stones. If anyone is interested in my family and our daily lives, check out my other blog: manygrandadventures.blogspot.com. I update it regularly and plaster it with pictures of Taiger (I am a WAY proud mama! LOL!). Thank you to everyone who has supported me in my decissions to leave this life of greed and "self-centeredness" and live for Taiger and The Godhead, to serve everyone I can, anywhere I can (Africa, China...who knows anymore where I may end up! LOL! All I know is GOD knows! :D!) Thanks for reading this blog and loving Taiger and me! Breclyn

My Life As A Puzzle

Sometimes, my life is like a jig saw puzzle with a million pieces. I sit completely confused and distraught trying to visualize how the pieces will fit together. I get all in a frenzy and start trying to cram pieces together that I think SHOULD go together. The corners get bent and the picture peels up on the side. I shuffle the shapes around and turn a piece over and over. I wonder how on earth it is going to fit ("All of these pieces are blue...except this one white one!") I try and look at all the pieces and guess the picture, then try and force the pieces to make the picture("All the pieces are kind of blue, so this must be a puzzle of the ocean!" I start cramming together the pieces that look like, if placed together, they may make a wave.) Finally, in my greatest frustration, I toss the pieces and bury my head in my arms. I may even cry because I am so confused and can't make the ocean picture. That is when God comes to my side, takes apart all of the pieces I have put together wrongly. Jesus smooths the broken edges. The Holy Ghost reassures me. Together, Jesus and Heavenly Father put the pieces all together. They make it work. They see how the pieces fit. They make the picture of the sky.