Want to transform your life?!? Jump into the middle of the mess with passion!
I was born with a servant heart and raised in a home that taught me the importance of giving back. For years I had given countless volunteer hours at my kids’ schools, at our church and in the community. I dropped off donations and wrote checks, but never really gave to the point of being uncomfortable. I was giving my extra time, extra food, extra clothes and money that was available to spend on the “extras.”
An opportunity to travel to Haiti came for me in the middle of my own messy life.
I had lost a baby, lost both my parents to cancer and was going through a divorce that I did Not want. Perhaps it was a bit of an escape to say “Yes!” and step out of my comfort zone, but what I learned changed the way I looked at life. In the middle of the messy slums in Cite’ Soleil, Haiti, people who literally had Nothing, taught me Everything about what real Faith & Trust looks like. A little girl I met while delivering water to one of the poorest areas, taught me what Gratitude looks like. Wearing nothing except dirty underwear, she ran across the dirt, garbage and broken glass toward our water truck, carrying her little yellow bucket. She patiently held her bucket under the drips from where the hose was attached to the truck, catching every precious drop of water until the truck was empty. With an inch of water in her bucket, she knelt down to splash her face. Her smile lit up the darkness of that place and taught me that Joy is Not a result of our circumstances. I keep her picture as a screen saver on my phone, but her joyful spirit will be carried forever in my heart!
I traveled to Haiti in 2011 and 2012 with Healing Haiti and Reiser Relief, who work in cooperative efforts to bring clean water, food, health care and education to some of the poorest of the poor. This experience led me to my work as a Team Leader at Feed My Starving Children, who has partnered with these and some 200 organizations in 70 countries, working to eliminate hunger in areas of extreme poverty. Through my work at FMSC, I have discovered my passion for helping people nurture their servant hearts and discover that they can impact lives all over the world. It is such a cool thing when you witness somebody’s Aha moment as they discover that they are part of something so much bigger than themselves!
Feel free to contact me at: mschroeder@fmsc.org if you were Born with Passion to serve the poor or want to learn more about Feed My Starving Children… feeding those Hungry in Body & Spirit!
Check out these Websites to learn more about these amazing organizations.
Feed My Starving Children: www.fmsc.org
Healing Haiti: www.healinghaiti.org
Reiser Relief Inc.: www.reiserrelief.org