Some Perspective in the Politically Charged Time

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails."
Proverbs 19:21

I think that pretty much says it all.

Probably the Weirdest Thing I Have Ever Done for Work

So last week for work we had a team building offsite. I know what you are thinking, because it is what I thought originally. You're thinking work offsite where you sit around and play cheesy ice breaker games and some how learn more about the people you work with. Usually these offsites are really more work than fun because you are all forced to do things no body really likes doing.

However, I was pleasantly surprised, or more acurately, totally shocked when I found out what we were actually doing. See below for a few pictures that speak for themselves.

I sure all of you are thinking to yourself. There is no way Heidi actually did indoor sky diving. She is not an adventurous person. Well that is what I thought myself. Fortunately I have some proof...

Here is the practice time with our instructor. This is the position you are supposed to hold while 100 - 120 mph wind holds your body up in the air. Here Derek is telling me that I need to bend my legs more. Oh and you are supposed to relax.


Here is me right before we went into the locked room. Do you like my Superman colored suit. Pretty sweet, hey? It even has red down the back like a cape. Everyone else was totally jealous. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of my actual flight since they wouldn't let us take any lose items in (go figure). I do have a sweet video of my flights if anyone wants to see it. If anyone has ever had the random thought to do this, it is totally fun. I give it two thumbs up!

My 750 Words of Fame

Well I have been published...well not quite. But I was interviewed for the Compassion Blog. I have to say being interviewed make me nervous (I say that like this happens all the time) but I guess some people really wanted to know about Compassion's Complementary Interventions ministry so I got the job of explaining it. I always have a hard time describing what I do so with the help of a professional editor, my friend Amber, we got it down on paper. If you would like to check it out visit Compassion's Blog (http://blog.compassion.com/) for October 10, 2008 or you can check it out here.

When God breaks your heart

I am not even sure how to express all the things that I have been feeling this week. Have you ever come into a situation that just breaks your heart and you feel wholly insufficient to even process what is going on. Well that is how I have felt particularly this week.

This week at work I have been reviewing and analyzing all the proposals we have received for the Global Food Crisis. In case any of you don't know the prices of food worldwide have escalted due to all kinds of factors, increase in the price of gas, lack of production, bans of exports into other countries, the list goes on. The main jest of it is people are not able to afford the food they used to eat. In Bangladesh I have heard reports that the cost of rice has gone up 90% this year. So many of our children (Compassion kids) are getting a bit of food because of their involvement with Compassion but their families are starving at home. Parents are pulling their children from school because they need them to work to support the family or can no longer afford the cost. Other parents are selling off their children because they can't feed them and they just don't know what to do.

This whole situation has weighed on me for awhile now. Friends, as I was reviewing these proposals for millions of dollars it became painfully obvious that we were not going to be able to provide for all these children. Compassion is working hard to find a the funds we need but as you can imagine the need far outweighs the funds. As I read the stories of these families who have nothing my heart broke for these people. I realized how preoccupied I get with not having the things I want when there are people who are literally starving to death. It brought me to tears and still does.

Today Compassion staff worldwide are participating in a day of prayer and fasting. It is honestly the easiest fast I have ever done. Not because I don't feel the hunger pains. Its just that when I do, I think of the families that live their lives with empty bellies and I think to myself, don't complain just pray. I have the faces of those children and those families in my mind and I pray that God, who knows all their names, is comforting them in their time of need.

Although Compassion does need the money right now, I don't want to ask you all for money (If you want to send some I won't object). I just want to make you all aware of the painful reality I have been discovering the past few days. This stuff is not in American media very often so much suffering goes unnoticed. My purpose in this post is to share my heart and ask for your prayers for these precious children. If you want to know more, well just ask me. If you want to check out Compassion, please do. www.compassion.com. It is amazing the things God will teach you if you just take the time to listen.

The above picture is me in Peru with my sponsor child Anabel.

Isn't this what it's all about?

This picture is a good reminder for me of why I do my job. To watch children all over the world discover Jesus, worship and pray in their own language brings joy to my heart. Looking at the faces helps you realize why these little ones are at the heart of God. Praise God for these little ones!

So this is Manado, Indonesia

If you are curious about what Mando looks like, it is beautiful! The first picture is sunrise from my hotel room and the second is overlooking the city .

It is a very tropical place, very lush and green. The heat here is quite a nice change, but the humidity is a shock, to my hair mostly. It is a very famous place for scuba divers apparently. It kills me that I forgot my diver certification card. If only... Oh well I was able to go snorkeling which was really beautiful. The people are so friendly and nice. They seem to speak quite a bit of English too, which is surprising. Apparently their language is based of the Dutch language due to their occupation here. Many of the older generations actually are fluent. So interesting fact of the day. Here's some more info in case you are interested...

The Dutch began to colonize Indonesia in the early 17th century; the islands were occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945. Indonesia declared its independence after Japan's surrender, but it required four years of intermittent negotiations, recurring hostilities, and UN mediation before the Netherlands agreed to relinquish its colony. Indonesia is the world's largest archipelagic (a large group or chain of islands) state and home to the world's largest Muslim population. Current issues include: alleviating poverty, preventing terrorism, consolidating democracy after four decades of authoritarianism, implementing financial sector reforms, stemming corruption, holding the military and police accountable for human rights violations, and controlling avian influenza. In 2005, Indonesia reached a historic peace agreement with armed separatists in Aceh, which led to democratic elections in December 2006. Indonesia continues to face a low intensity separatist movement in Papua. - The CIA World Factbook

Little known trivia...
**Indonesia has more than 300 ethnic groups and languages. However, most Indonesians converse in Bahasa Indonesia.

**Indonesia is the native home of the largest lizard in the world, komodo dragon.

**The largest flower in the world, Rafflesia Arnoldi, is native to Indonesia. The flower was named from Sir Stamford Raffles. Even though it is huge, it doesn't smell nice like roses or jasmine flowers, for Rafflesia is an insect-eating flower.

**Indonesia consists of more than 13,000 islands, making it the largest archipelago in the world. However, most of the islands are uninhabited.

**Balinese have four basic names for their children, namely, Putu/Wayan, Made, Nyoman and Ketut. If a Balinese has the fifth child, it will be named Putu/Wayan.

**Indonesia has more volcanoes than any other country in the world - there are 167 of the 850 active volcanoes known in the world.

Indonesia Food

So Indonesians are very proud of their food. Some of it is good, some of it I have avoided like the plague. They are very proud of the fact that they eat bats, cats, rats, mice, and dogs. I have had fish for almost every meal and chicken when possible. The picture above is what I COULD have had for dinner. It is called a Coconut Crab apparently. It is an endangered species so I can't figure out how they can sell it for eating. Apparently these things live in coconut trees. I am supposed to go snorkeling on Saturday and I am now terrified to walk under trees. This thing's body is about as big as my head, not including the legs. Yikes! Tonight I am really hoping we have dinner on our own so I can go down to the Pizza Hut! I would give anything for a pizza or pasta.

Singapore and the Transit Hotel

Ok, so if LA is now my least favorite airport, Singapore is my new favorite. It is so spacious and open. There are so many windows and plants and comfy chairs. It is really a very peaceful airport. My favorite feature is the Transit Hotel. This is a hotel, within security, for travelers to stay in. I had a 11 hour layover in Singapore on my way to Manado and let me tell you this room was a totally blessing. Just to have a quiet place to lay down was nice, but a hot shower and dark room was amazing. After my 18 1/2 hour flight from LA this was a welcome refuge. I don't understand why more airports don't build these places in. I am a fan!

Does this look like a $14 lunch to you?

Good grief $14 for this? So every time I fly internationally I switch back and forth as to which US international airport I hate the most. This trip, since I was going through LA this time, LAX takes the cake. There are so many irritating things like the fact they don't have a SKYTrain or anything so you have to go out of security to change buildings and re-enter security in the new building. This is really obnoxious due to the sheer number of people that go through LA. Don't even get me started on the immigration lines either.

Anyway, my favorite thing is that they don't have any food places except a little kiosk that sells this stuff within security in the entire International terminal. How crazy is that? Do they think international travelers don't get hungry. Anyway, I got this lunch and it was pretty decent. Too bad $14 dollars of Compassion's money went to the lunch though. What can you do?

The coolest thing happened today

So after only 34 hours in the hospital, little Morgan Elizabeth Partlow made her entrance into the world. I am so pumped to be an aunt but something even cooler happened today. I got to experience today the joy of seeing the light in my big brother's eyes as he became a first-time dad. 

What an amazing thing to grow up with this imaginative little boy who made playing G.I.Joes in the gutters of West Texas or turning our bunk beds into a fort complete with a fireman's pole, such an exciting adventure. Life goes by until one day I find myself standing in his wedding, watching as this boy becomes a man and a husband by marrying his very best friend. Before you know it its 7+ years later and I get to see this same man become a father in front of my very eyes, now with a beautiful daughter of his very own.  She is so small but she already has her daddy's spunk and lungs. She put up a fight to come into this world, I think only because Lindsay had kept her so safe and comfortable inside. But she's here now weighing in at 6lbs 6ozs and 18 1/2 inches long. She was born via c-section around 10:45pm on February 21st, 2008. Officially she is 3 weeks early but you wouldn't know to look at her. Great job Lindsay!

Please join me in praising God for this wonderful blessing to the Partlow family and congratulating the happy (and exhausted) new parents. Here's to you big brother and sister. I am so excited for you. Don't forget to call me to baby sit. I have much spoiling to do. I love you guys!

Love, Aunt Heidi (has a nice ring to if I do say so myself)

By the way I am sure they will have lots more pictures of Morgan on their blog as soon as they get a free moment. http://partlows.blogspot.com

I'm gonna be an aunt...but not quite yet

So for all of you keeping up on the progress of my sister-in-law Lindsay, she is doing well but no baby yet. Lindsay is a trooper with the pain but has been laboring all day and isn't moving nearly as fast as they would like, or as I would like really. The baby's heartbeat is strong and doing well. Big Papa Marshall is holding strong too. Everyone please keep praying for them. I hope to post a picture of my beautiful niece soon.

Hong Kong's Special Cuisine

This was served for our lunch two days ago. Pretty exciting. Dan, a guy I work with is like, why do people insist on shaping food to look like the animal is started out as. It is easier to eat if you can’t tell what it used to be. I have to say I agree with this one. Some things, although they don’t taste too bad, to mental image is really hard to get past. For lunch today we had jellyfish and octopus. When I say we, I mean everyone else. I didn’t eat this. I just couldn’t. Apparently it tasted pretty ok, but the look and taste was quite difficult to work out in your head.

Anyway, just to clarify, Hong Kongers (yes that’s what they are called) don’t eat the head. Apparently you can eat the comb but no one really does that. They are bigger on the chicken feet instead. I asked Amy, who is from Hong Kong, if she likes chicken feet and she said not in this sauce (pictured below) but she does in a different sauce. I say, are you kidding me, the sauce makes the difference while chewing on chicken legs and toes. In case any of you are wondering, you don't actually eat the bones. Really you just chew off the skin. As a side note, I have noticed I have used the word "chewy" to best describe some of the things we have had "opportunity" to eat. Use you imagination on that one. Bon Apatite.

The World Through My Window - The Story Behind the Name

Hi everyone - well I am finally getting my own blog. I thought this day would never come as I was waiting to have a free minute to get it started. Well now I am in Hong Kong with nothing but time. Yeah right.

Anyway, I have started this blog especially to be able to let you all know how I am doing on my travels abroad. As most of you know I work for Compassion International which is a Christian child development organization helping children in poverty all over the world. It is an awesome organization so if you haven't heard of it check out the link on this page. I am privileged enough to be able to travel for Compassion with my job. As I mentioned I am currently in Hong Kong for a training of our Asia staff.

So what's with the name? Well the places I travel are generally not ones you can just walk around anywhere you want. Additionally there are many times that the only way you are seeing the country is when you are inside some mode of transportation that almost always have windows. These two things being the case, most of my pictures are taken through a window pane. I have gotten to see many very cool things but there is this pane of glass between me and the world. So I thought, if I ever wanted to make a coffee table book, I would call it The World Through My Window. Since that is probably not going to happen I thought a blog would be the next best thing.

So there you have it in a nut shell. I hope you all enjoy my blog. I will be posting some of my older trip pictures a little later (aka when I get home where they all are) so you can see some of the things I have, through a window of course. I hope to post a few things about Hong Kong and Colombia (where I will be on Saturday) so you can see these two cool cities and meet some great people. Until then, thanks for visiting and come back soon.

Blessings,
Heidi