Tag: black excellence

Samekh Takes over Peru!

Something Amazing will be featuring people while they slowly take over the world while volunteering. Here is our first entree.
Hola from Lima, Peru!smaehk 4
My name is Samekh Ward, and I am 20 years old! Currently, I am participating in a month long mission trip in Peru, and it has been a life changing experience. I am here through a organization called Buckner International. They have a section of their organization called Project Go and that is the group of college students I am apart of. I was here for a month last year and I loved it so much I had to come back. We are able to help the community in different ways while we are here. We mainly worked at the two family hope centers, Buckner has established in Peru, Villa Hermosa and Pamplona. This year we have painted rooms, did VBS with kids 2-6 years of age, and did a new project called Healthy Homes!samehk 6
The Healthy Homes project consists of us going into the homes of the people of live in Villa Hermosa and helping to clean up their homes and do whatever we can to help them improve their lifestyle! Also short term groups will come for a week, and we are able to help them out with whatever minister that are doing! Usually they are the groups to go into orphanages and have VBS with the kids so it is cool to be able to participate in those moments. I have been so blessed to work with the Buckner staff another year! This experience has been so humbling for me, and there is no other place I rather be right now. I have grown to love the amazing people of Peru!samekh 5
Here is one entree from my travel journey:Friday
This day was pretty much the same as most of the other days this week except for the fact that this was the last day for our Healthy Homes project! It was definitely bittersweet leaving the home for the last time but knowing the family appreciated our hard work was rewarding. Also knowing that they were going to keep up with improving their home is a blessing!samehk 5

Saturday – Zoo Day!
We took the kids from both Pamplona and Villa Hermosa to the zoo! The kids were sooo excited because it was the first time they had been out of the places where they live! I rode the bus with this little girl named MariaFe who I remembered from last year. When we got there we were asked to take the hand of two kids and keep them with us all day. So in a sense they were our children for the day. I had MariaFe and this other girl Tamara. MariaFe was pretty chill, but Tamara is a different story. She kind of reminded me of the little girl Brisa that I told you guys about last year. I thank God for my experience with her all the time and He has given me the peace and patience I need everytime I ask Him. When we got off the bus and were lining up, she came to me and took my hand. I was a little nervous about having Tamara because she is one of our little runners and can be mean to the other kids at times. At the zoo, I saw another side of her! She was scared at times and wanted me to hold her as we walked from animal to animal. I definitely prefer to hold her versus her running around everywhere. Since she wanted to be held most of the time I was able to let MariaFe walk with another member of Buckner and focus mainly on Tamara. It was cool tho because during lunch she came and found me to help her open her drink. Then during the time the went to play, she came and found me if she needed anything. On the bus ride back, I had MariaFe with me again. She played games on my phone then feel asleep on my lap!

This week has been awesome and it’s kinda crazy to think week 2 is coming to a close.

samekh 1

Volunteering abroad has definitely widen my perspective of the world. It helps me understand that not every culture is the same and we all do things differently. The language barrier was definitely difficult at first but after continuing to remind myself what I’m doing this for, God gets through by my actions.
Jill here now: I am beyond excited to hear about people’s travels and journeys as they discover themselves in different ways.
Until Next Time,
Stay Awesome,
Jill

 

Father’s Day Let’s Celebrate!

Fathers do not get the warm welcome of being thanked on this holiday.
Many families have been broken by absent dad5fathers. Children have grown up without a father figure making these people bitter on this holiday. I sympathize with these people, but today is for the fathers. I will be celebrating my father along with all the other fathers who are trying their best in their child’s life.dad6

Let me tell you about the wonderful person I call dad. He came into a family that was already made. The first day we met my older brother, Corey, shot him with a water gun and I threw a plastic knife at him. If on the first day he could handle anything thrown at him we knew he needed to be a part of this family.My dad is a man of few words. He loves differently than any other person I know. He is a person who shows his love. Through the many years of happy and crazy times he has always been there for me. .From the time I came home crying because some boy in the neighborhood said he was going to punch me in the face. To the time I left for my first trip abroad. I love my dad for always standing by me in difficult situations. For always be the person I turn to when a giant bug is torturing me. Or when I have a difficult life decision and he just stares at me while I am rambling.dad3

Step Fathers do not get enough credit. These are men who have many different roles. Apart from being the man of the house, taking care of the family, and all other responsibilities, He steps in when a space is vacant. He did not have to step into our lives when he did, but I couldn’t imagine our lives any different. I thank you for everything you have done. As I said in my Mother’s day blog, I am not the easiest person to be a parent to. Therefore for someone to have stuck around this long and continued to love me even when I say weird things.dad2

I love you dad,

I hope you enjoy your day.

Stay Awesome

Jill

Trip #2: Malawi

Warning this blog post is not for the small minded.

“ A man’s gift makes room for him and brings him before great men.” Proverbs 18:16. Traveling has given me the opportunity to meet so many different people 12325241_1122600041114198_2080878537_nfrom all walks of life; chefs, restaurant owners, hostel managers, and others.  While staying at a hostel called Stoked Backpackers in Muzinburg, South Africa I met the manager, Henlry.  He is an amazing man from Malawi, a landlocked country in southeastern Africa.
He has been living in the country of South Africa for seven years and provides for his family back in Malawi.  After many years of helping the local communities in the different townships of Cape Town, he has started a volunteer program back in his home village, Lumemo, Malawi.  After a few conversations with Henlry, we realized we had similar dreams and we can work to together to achieve a common goal.

For those that are not familiar with volunteering and mission trips, they can be very expensive.  I always had a strong desire to help people around the world.  After officially being on my first volunteer trip I can say this isn’t fully what I was expecting, but I embraces all challenges and worked through them. Something Amazing is here to illuminate the gap between volunteers and companies. Volunteering should be a family shared experience that accompanies the volunteer along the way. The vision for Something Amazing is to have those on a limited budget to experience the world first hand in a safe environment while giving back. On each trip Something Amazing sets out to donate to the village/ program/organization in areas where help is needed.

I am excited to say Something Amazing is announcing our second trip! This trip will be open to others to join! A three-week trip to the village of Lumemo in Malawi.  downloadThis trip would run from Mid December to early January. Sekanawo Volunteering Program in the Kingfisher campsite is welcoming Something Amazing to join on a three week volunteering program. There are three different programs available, assisting in the HIV health care program, teaching/mentoring in the schools, or working on the farmland. In these exciting three weeks along with volunteering and helping the community you will be able to see and experience the culture and beauty of Malawi.

Here is a mock itinerary, there will be four days volunteering and the weekend will be spent exploring the culture of Malawi. Week 1 of the trip we will visit the Nyija National Park, Week 2 we will visit the Mushroom Farms to see Machewe Falls.  Week 3 we will experience The Kazuni Vwaza Game Reserve. I know you may be thinking that this trip will be very expensive, but as promised it isn’t.  Due to sponsors (personal and companies) and generous donations from the supporters of Something Amazing, the only cost to the participant will be the flight and an administration fee.  All housing, food, and weekend activities will be covered through Something Amazing.

Volunteering is for anyone that has the heart to help. Spending Christmas in a village that needs our help will change your outlook on life. I am working hard to secure all the details to make this Something Amazing’s first group volunteer trip. Something Amazing 2 Green 3If you or anyone else (18 or older) is interested in joining me. Or if you have a company that wants to help sponsor a portion of this trip email me at ExperienceSomethingAmazing@gmail.com. I can answer all questions about the costs, flights, and fees there. Please share this blog with anyone you believe may be interested. The things to come are exciting

Until Next Time,

Stay Awesome

Jill