Generations to come

I was listening to the radio in my car the other day, and the newscaster began talking about a 99 year old woman who had recently passed away in Jerusalem. She had 11 children, and each of those children had large families, and it multiplied out to great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren. I was amazed when the newscaster said this one woman had over 1000 known descendants.

Wow.

I got home that same day and found photos in my inbox of a very sick baby girl who has a heart condition. She is almost one, and my first thought when I opened up the photos was of a “smiling blueberry”. What a sweet spirit this little girl obviously has, but my own heart felt heavy as I looked at her blue tinged skin and lips. The orphanage reported that she has become short of breath more and more frequently, and she will need surgery soon to survive.

Having just heard about the woman in Israel, I looked at the photo of baby Natalia and thought again that one single life can have a profound effect on the world. Without surgery, little Natalia will soon pass away as an orphan. With surgery she will get a second chance at life. She will have her paperwork submitted for adoption, and I have no doubt she would be quickly chosen by parents and grow up knowing the blessings of family. I looked at Natalia’s face and imagined her healthy and strong, growing up to someday have children of her own. Can’t you just imagine her grandchildren someday telling their own kids, “Nana’s life began in China.” A piece of the world changes forever if Natalia lives, and I believe it changes in a beautiful way.

I just want to thank everyone again who supports our work with orphaned children. Probably when you donate, you are only thinking of the one single child who needs help right that moment, but it truly goes even further than that. When you bring hope to a child in need and help change their future, it can impact generations to come. Isn’t it a wonderful thought that a single act of kindness can keep moving through the world indefinitely? How many life stories of children can we help write that will begin with the words, “because someone believed in me”?

Living a Life of Kindness

Today I was driving in my car listening to the radio, and the host was asking people for little ways to bring sunshine into another person’s life. The people who phoned in had such great ideas that I decided to look for a list as a reminder of how easy it is to add kindness to your daily life.

Here’s a list I found of 100 ways to spread cheer. Let us know your favorites or what special little things you do personally to be a love letter to the world.


• Call an old friend, just to say you are thinking of them.
• Hold the door open for people at a store.
• Invite someone to have lunch.
• Compliment someone on his or her appearance.
• Ask a coworker for their opinion on a project.
• Bring cookies to share at work.
• Let someone cut in during rush hour traffic.
• Leave a waitress or waiter an extra few dollars with your tip.
• Tell a cashier to have a nice day.
• Call your parents.
• Let someone know you miss them.
• Treat someone to a movie.
• Let a person know you really appreciate them.
• Visit a retirement center.
• Take a child to the zoo.
• Fill up your spouse's car with gas.
• Surprise someone with a small gift.
• Leave a thank-you note for the cleaning staff at work.
• Write a letter to a distant relative.
• Tell someone you thought about them the other day.
• Put a quarter in a stranger's parking meter before the time expires.
• Bake a cake or cookies for a neighbor.
• Send someone flowers to where they work.
• Invite a friend to have coffee.
• Recommend a good book to someone.
• Donate clothing to a charity.
• Offer an elderly person a ride to where they need to go.
• Bag your own groceries at the checkout counter.
• Give blood.
• Offer free baby-sitting to a friend who's really busy or just needs a break.
• Help your neighbor rake leaves or shovel snow.
• Offer your seat to someone when there aren't any left.
• Help someone with a heavy load.
• Ask to see a store's manager and comment on the great service.
• Give your place in line at the grocery store to someone who has only a few items.
• Hug someone in your family for no reason.
• Wave to a child in the car next to you.
• Send a thank-you note to your doctor.
• Repeat something nice you heard about someone else.
• Leave a joke on someone's answering machine.
• Be a mentor or coach to someone.
• Forgive a loan.
• Fill up the copier machine with paper after you're done using it.
• Tell someone you believe in them.
• Share your umbrella on a rainy day.
• Welcome new neighbors with flowers or a plant.
• Offer to watch a friend's home while they're away.
• Ask someone if they need you to pick up anything while you're out shopping.
• Ask a child to play a board game, and let them win.
• Ask an elderly person to tell you about the good old days.
• During bad weather, plan an indoor picnic with the family.
• Buy someone a goldfish and bowl.
• Compliment someone on their cooking and politely ask for a second helping.
• Dance with someone who hasn't been asked.
• Tell someone you mentioned them in your prayers.
• Give children's clothes to another family when your kids outgrow them.
• Deliver extra vegetables from your garden to the whole neighborhood.
• Call someone just to say, I love you.
• Call someone's attention to a rainbow or beautiful sunset.
• Invite someone to go bowling.
• Figure out someone's half-birthday by adding 182 days, and give them a cake.
• Ask someone about their children.
• Tell someone which quality you like most about them.
• Brush the snow off of the car next to yours.
• Return your shopping cart to the front of the store.
• Encourage someone's dream, no matter how big or small it is.
• Pay for a stranger's cup of coffee without them knowing it.
• Leave a love letter where your partner will find it.
• Ask an older person for their advice.
• Offer to take care of someone's pet while they're away.
• Tell a child you're proud of them.
• Visit a sick person, or send them a care package.
• Join a Big Brother or Sister program.
• Leave a piece of candy on a coworker's desk.
• Bring your child to work with you for the afternoon.
• Give someone a recording of their favorite music.
• Email a friend some information about a topic they are especially interested in.
• Give someone a homemade gift.
• Write a poem for someone.
• Bake some cookies for your local fire or police department.
• Organize a neighborhood cleanup and have a barbecue afterwards.
• Help a child build a birdhouse or similar project.
• Check in on an old person, just to see if they're okay.
• Ask for the recipe after you eat over at someone's house.
• Personally welcome a new employee at work and offer to take them out for lunch.
• While in a car, ask everyone to buckle up because they are important to you.
• Let someone else eat the last slice of cake or pizza.
• Stop and buy a drink from a kid's lemonade stand.
• Forgive someone when they apologize.
• Wave to someone looking for a parking space when you're about to leave a shopping center.
• Send a copy of an old photograph to a childhood friend.
• Leave a pint of your spouse's favorite flavor of ice cream in the freezer with a bow on it.
• Do a household chore that is usually done by someone else in the family.
• Be especially happy for someone when they tell you their good news.
• Compliment a coworker on their role in a successful project.
• Give your spouse a spontaneous back rub at the end of the day.
• Serve someone in your family breakfast in bed.
• Ask someone if they've lost weight.
• Make a donation to a charity in someone's honor.
• Take a child to a ballgame.

The Compassion Gene?

I teach a high school Sunday School class at my church, and recently we have been discussing topics raised in the book "Speaking of Faith" by Krista Tippett. In one of her chapters that discusses science and religion, she recounts several conversations she had with Lyndon Eaves, a professor of human genetics at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine who also happens to be an Episcopal priest. I found this section of the book very interesting, as it raised a question I have asked myself over and over during the last six years of helping in China. Why do some people want to get involved to make a difference while others aren't bothered at all by those in need?

Mr. Eaves raises the point that through our mapping of a human's DNA, we can identify the genes for physical traits or for a person's IQ. But he asks the very interesting question of where are the genes that give us a passion for justice or the genes that cause someone to have a kind heart?

In my discussions with my class, I told them that most of us grow up hearing that people are the way they are either due to genetics or environment. After reading this part of the book, I began reflecting on the fact that we all know families who have 2-3 children who are loving and kind but then one child who just doesn't care about anyone else but himself or herself, and who even might be....well.....mean. Does that rule out the environment argument for a person being kind? I asked the high schoolers in my class where they think true compassion comes from. Can someone be taught to be compassionate? Do you think a desire to help others is part of a person's DNA and they either have it or they don't? Why do some people feel burdened to help those in need while others have no desire to ever get involved? What are your thoughts?