Kids, Cupcakes, and Caring

First of all, I just have to point out that my godson Ty's 2-year-old sister Talia looks like a human Dora the Explorer. Come on, just look at those eyes as big as dinner plates!!! And she's cuddly and sweet and funny, and just about as adorable as anything that ever lived on the face of the Earth...

...except maybe for her big brother Ty, who if you can believe it, was just as adorable as she is when he was a baby, and who is now a surreally beautiful 8-year-old boy. Yeah, yeah, I know he wouldn't appreciate being called beautiful, but he is. He's smart and funny and hard-headed and silly as you might expect an 8 year old boy to be...except when he's your opponent on Wii, and then he's all IN YO' FACE, cuz he knows your creaky old joints won't let you beat him. EVER.

I'm telling you about these two precious kids in my life because I just got back from spending a long weekend at their home in Raleigh, NC with their parents Joyce and Cuong, and my Rio Road Dawg, Jamila. We played Wii, and watched movies, and watched Ty play soccer, and chased Talia around the house...and we ate. We ate like food was going out of style. We ate full meals, and then we went back and ate again. Joyce (who was one of my dearest friends 'til she got on Facebook and commented on my snoring one night!!!) is a terrific cook, and Jamila is a flat out, undisputable gourmet. I just sat back, feigned ongoing jet-lag, and let these two wonderful women cook for me all weekend.

Specifically, I think I craved this time with these two terrific children because I'd been in in Kenya for 10 months, and I've seen so many desperately poor, hungry, struggling children. I needed to remember that there are children for whom life is no more complicated than getting a cooking lesson on how to make coconut cupcakes. I needed to remember the joy and support and love that exist when parents can provide amply for their families, and when circumstances aren't so far beyond their control that they are helpless to watch as their innocent children suffer.

And, well, truth be told, I needed Jamila to help me set up the PayPal account for Project Archangel Julie, my plan to help provide free meals for the children of the PCEA Muniu Primary School near the Maai Mahiu Internally Displaced Persons Camp. For years, Jamila has been my technical guru. She kept insisting that I get an iPod until I finally did, and now I can't imagine life without it. Whenever we're in the same general vicinity, I get her to synch music libraries, defrag computers, explain basic Internet priniciples...and I even understand about 25 percent of what she's saying!!!

So, if you look at the upper left hand corner of the blog now, you'll see the notice about Project Archangel Julie, and how you can contribute. If you'd like to learn more about it, please go back and read my March 20th blogpost. To summarize, I'm doing this in memory of my sister Julie, who was the fount of love and support for me and my entire family, and whose presence nurtured our lives. And the amazing thing is that once I got over the exquisite grief of losing her, I realized that she's STILL nurturing our lives.

And she's also keeping the bar high in terms of what she expects from me. You see, once I visited the school and saw how much the children were lacking, I knew Julie would want me to do something. I could feel it inside my bones. She would wonder how I could stand there and watch those children trying to survive on their meager portions of food and not do something about it. So I'd like to help fund a program that would provide breakfast and lunch for the children at PCEA Muniu.

I know my brother in law Ron wouldn't want me to mention it, but he really launched Project Archangel Julie with an extraordinarily generous donation. (He's just as afraid as I am about those errant lightning bolts, I reckon.) Several other friends have promised to donate as well, and I'm so grateful that people care.

For me, here's the thing about spending time back in America this past week, after 10 months in Kenya. I realize that as an American, you can't expect to travel throughout the developing world and not see things that will rip your heart out. You also can't help every desperately poor, struggling person that you encounter. But when you find yourself in a situation where you actually can help, you have to. You just HAVE to.

So if you can help out, with whatever amount, please know that nearly 100 percent of it will go for food. We can't provide gourmet cupcake lessons for the kids of PCEA Muniu Primary, but we can help them believe that somebody cares enough to help them focus on learning, and not just struggling to survive.