Saturday, March 31, 2012

Three Hearts: A World Away, Three Children Need A Miracle

Each year over 1 million children are born with congenital heart defects... most of these children live in areas where surgery is not an option.  That's where The Children's Heart Project (CHP), a ministry of Samaritan's Purse, comes in.  CHP works with top-quality hospitals to provide surgery to children who live in countries where the medical expertise and equipment are not available.  Since 1997, CHP has arranged life-saving operations for more than 800 children  from Bosnia, Kosovo, Honduras, Uganda, Mongolia, and Bolivia.* 

The documentary "Three Hearts" chronicles the amazing journey of three children from Mongolia all who were born with a heart condition known as tetralogy of fallot, a condition that is fatal by age twenty if not corrected.  At the outset of the documentary, I wasn't all that sure I would like it as it begins with Cissie Graham Lynch's internship, and struggles to balance her role as intern and new wife.  That all changed, however, when we're introduced to a Texas family (the son of whom had heart surgery as a young boy) who were invited to travel to Mongolia and escort the three children (Otga, 16, Uunga, 18, and Toggie, 3) and their mothers to San Antonio, Texas, for operations. 

Click the link for Garrett's story:  http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/articles/the_cardiac_kid/
Click the link for Otga's update:  http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/articles/reaching_biger_for_god/

But if you think this documentary is just about the physical correction of the children's heart defects, think again... Throughout the film, we see the love of our Lord and Saviour worked out through the hands and hearts of everyone involved, from the Texas family who brought the children to the US, to the surgeon, to the host families.  The children were not just physically healed, but the Lord met them and their mothers in the midst of this trial and healed their broken spirits as well.  All in all, this film captured my heart for these three children and all those like them who without ministries like CHP have no hope of ever experiencing normal, healthy lives.

Click here for more information on the Children's Heart Project:  http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/ChildrensHeart/index/

Click here to order your copy of "Three Hearts":  http://www.threeheartsmovie.com/

From the DVD cover:
Graduating college senior, Cissie Graham Lynch, granddaughter of evangelist Billy Graham, takes on an internship at Samaritan’s Purse working with the Children’s Heart Project. This project is dedicated to saving the lives of children by providing medical procedures that aren’t available in many countries. Cissie is charged with supervising the arrival and surgeries of three Mongolian children suffering from fatal congenital heart defects.


But the task is not easy and filled with unexpected challenges. Cissie balances responsibilities as a newly married wife to a professional football player and her tasks with the internship. Meanwhile the Children’s Heart team turns to a Texas family who travels to Mongolia for the adventure of a lifetime to help bring the children to San Antonio for their surgeries. In Texas, two host families make sacrifices to care for these children and their mothers, while a team of doctors and nurses volunteer their time only to stare directly into the face of life and death. How far would you go to save a life?

It’s a fight for survival, a fight of faith, and a fight for a new life for these three hearts.

Bonus Features include: trailer, deleted scenes, and video clips about the Children’s Heart Project.

* Excerpt from Samaritan's Purse, Children's Heart Project website.
** I received this DVD free from Thomas Nelson Publishing as part of their Booksneeze Blogger program.  There was no compensation for a favorable review of this, or any, product.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

The "Perfect" Homeschool Kids

Last night as we were leaving church a fellow Awana volunteer was walking out with us and commented on my 2 boys that she thinks are 'perfect'...  Now don't get me wrong, I do appreciate it when people say our boys are well-behaved, but... but... perfect?  No!  They are just normal kids who do normal kid things...  while I'm partial to my boys and think they're pretty awesome (because they are), they are far from perfect.  The people pleaser in me struggles with wanting to be perfect to everyone... if I'm 'perfect enough' I'll be good enough for friendship, ministry, parenthood, marriage... the list goes on and on and on....  The truth is my boys get angry with one another and say unkind things sometimes;  sometimes they are disobedient or sassy;  sometimes they are too competitive and have a bad attitude.  The truth is they have a sin nature just like everyone else, and they have their own individual areas of sin in which they struggle...  all that said, I hope that when that very nice lady learns my boys aren't 'perfect', she will still love them as Jesus loves her, and them, and me...

Blessings

W