Causes For Change: Just a month to go...

Dear Friends,

I can't believe it.  We're only about a month away before our third time going on the adventure of a lifetime...  a healthcare mission with Causes For Change International.  (www.causesforchange.org)  The trip is scheduled for June 17th-23rd.

Whoever is reading this (and I hope SOMEONE is), we'd really love anyone's support in either donations to this nonprofit or your personal decision to come with us.  There still is time!  You'd just need to contact the founder, Zully Alvarado through her website.

Now, even though this is a life-saving healthcare mission for thousands of poor children in Ecuador, you don't have to be a healthcare professional to come.  I'm a writer, video producer and marketing consultant, but in Ecuador, I wear a totally different hat.  While the kids wait outside in the 90-degree heat, away from our electronic world (can you imagine - no electricity???), I entertain children with music on a borrowed guitar, play games and tell stories.  (Last time, they went CRAZY over the chance to do coloring!)

At the moment, I'm coping with a sudden case of laryngitis, so I'm hoping for a speedy recovery.  I also happened to fall into a small hole in the ground last month and actually fractured the small bone below the pinky finger on my right hand.  Fun, fun.  I thought I was just fine until someone last week shook my right hand -- really HARD.  Ouch!  Now, I have an official-looking bandage, pinky splint and wrist band, and I'm temporarily shaking hands using my left hand.  I'm told the fractured bone should be fine in a few weeks.

Anyway, my wonderful, compassionate husband, Joel Sanders, is currently the ONLY dentist signed up for this healthcare mission.  If you know any other dentist or healthcare professional who'd like to be surrounded by a tidal wave of love and gratitude, please have them contact Zully at Causes For Change International.  During our last two experiences, Joel had at least one or two other dentists working with him.  I can't imagine how he can manage to treat 2000 children in five days.  (Even though we are there for a week, it takes a full day of traveling to get to our destination and back home.) 

Since there has been no electricity, the dental care consists of examining teeth for infections, and then pulling (or as the professionals say, "extracting") the teeth.  Before this experience, I never realized that an untreated dental infection can result in death.  So, you can see that the work is vital.  While I'm singing songs like "Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes," and valiantly trying to translate whatever I can into Spanish, the kids are laughing at my mistakes... which keeps them a bit more relaxed before they have their first dental experience. 

Once we're in Ecuador, I won't have access to a computer or cell phone.  I'll take notes in my journal and can relay the stories back to you when we return.

In the meanwhile, I hope you'll consider making a donation -- even a small one to Causes For Change (www.causesforchange.org), which can help pay for the dental supplies.  We even need to bring the kids toothbrushes, because they've never had them before!  Our son Andrew, who speaks Spanish well, has taught children the art of toothbrushing and they love it.   The kids spit on the ground, but at least they'll have a toothbrush.

I'm going to include a photo or two from the past, so you can see what the experience looks like.  In the meanwhile, please send up a prayer for us when you can.  I know I can use all the help I can get.  Each day, we travel by bus to a remote village and it's an adventure!