I am here this week with a great team of artists and speakers that partner with Compassion!

I LOVE being back in this country. It has been 2 years TOO long!

Yesterday we visited a Compassion program right out side Quito . . .

Is that pic above not the sweetest. . .

Today we are headed north to a community on the coast almost bordering Colombia.

They have had very few visitors SO I know we are excited ( and they are too!)

Can’t wait to share this part of our trip on Thursday when we get back to Quito!

or the jump

or the leap. . .

Whichever way you look at it

I have opened an Etsy Store!

I am a big fan of the great handmade online store!

Do you Etsy? Love to hear your favorite sellers. . .

Anyways…I decided to not just be a buyer on etsy but alas a seller.

And here is the photo that sparked it all  ( that at the convincing of some friends)

“London Calling Nashville”

and yes, it comes as a print or a canvas ( fancy eh?)

So here it is!

A little Shoutout to

my little shop around the interweb corner.

More photos to be loaded on the shelf (???) soon!

What an amazing time in “Xela”!!

How beautiful are these girls. . .and their dresses!

Each Fabric has a story!

Stories of battles, love, culture, strength and more. . .

Loved looking at the little details in each!

LOVED watching the Tenth Ave North guys with kids this week. . . Amazing Time!

And Now I am sitting here in Guatemala!! It’s rare for me to do trips back to back like this but I am

So excited to be back here this week!

This is my 4th time here this year and this trip I am doing something totally different!

We are driving up to the Northern part of the country. . .

Excited to get to travel with new people AND we have a 4 hour bus ride this morning to get acquainted too ( ha!)

But first its off to have a Guatemalan Breakfast. . . One of my favs. . .fried eggs accompanied by refried red or black beans and corn tortillas and some plantains! mmm mmm!

Not sure of internet in our next location but, Hope to update you from 7,000 feet above sea level!

Here this week visiting Compassion with Tenth Avenue North.

“Pieces of Our Lives”

Amy has partnered with Compassion for a little over 20 years. Together with Synergy ( a great production / tour company in town) they put together a tour that was focused on raising awareness and sponsors for Compassion’s

Leadership Development Program

This program is one of my favorites! And each night I SO enjoyed getting to share stories from my travels about the students I’ve met that have graduated university and are making a difference in their communities because of the work of Compassion!

The conversations each night were amazing!

And. . . the best part is we had one of our graduates from Kenya, Ben Mwangi, a former Compassion Child and graduate of the

Leadership Program share about his journey with Compassion each night!

And entertain us with his stories each day!

And let me just say. . .that never got old!

I was continually amazed watching him not only share his story each night but also watching him talk to people encouraging them to

Sponsor a Leadership Development Student

and send a child through University in their country!

Each night there was a beautiful art gallery that the guys at Synergy put together and . . . I mean beautiful. . .

It was so fun to walk into each venue and see amazing photos and art displayed in the various lobbies.

and if I may take this next little bit of your time to totally geek out for a moment

About half way through the tour I was standing in the gallery ( which I had done every other night) but this night I decided to read the little blurb under a photo I really liked and I TOTALLY had a moment as I realized it was a photo by

Annie Leibovitz.

One of my all time favorite portrait photographers. And seriously, this picture is stunning.

Amy was doing an ad for the Milk Campaign with Annie in the 90′s and in between shots Annie took a few photos of Amy and one of her daughters.

Okay done with the photo geek out. . .but I want you to stare at the photo for a sec.

Stunning huh?

Each night Amy & the band made it feel more like a living room then it did a venue

A really cool living room that just happened to be in some amazing venues

but you know what I mean. . .

And halfway through the night Amy would invite Ben up to join her on stage and share his story about

growing up in the slums of Kenya

how he joined Compassion as a boy, excelled in school and leadership and at 18 entered the University in Nairobi and graduated with a degree in Physics.

And now as a graduate he is spending about 9 months here in the states traveling and telling his story in hopes of getting others to sponsor and support Compassion.

Ben would end his story with a great challenge to those there and then he made his debut as a percussion player!

And after each night we would be full from a fun night and full from FOOD! ( and of course great bus conversation)

seriously Justin, our road manager, was pretty much a bus food connoisseur. He was sure to find each city’s . . .

“The Best_____”

But back to Ben =)

I was like a proud sister. . . So proud of him each night.

I LOVED watching sponsors want to talk with Ben afterward because I watched the story of Compassion become REAL to many many MORE people!!

So often I walk the streets surrounding our Compassion projects and various songs play through my head

Sometimes its the song that’s playing on a radio in a nearby house that can be heard through the streets

This day as we rounded the corner as surreal as it was

“When You Wish Upon a Star”

was playing.

I let my flesh start to doubt, start to think. . .

Where do “Dreams come true” here??

But then other songs enter. Songs that quickly turn to prayers.

Prayers over the streets covered in trash and mud.

Songs about the Kingdom that turn to Prayers about the Kingdom.

The song that continues to be my prayer these days is  John Mark McMillan’s

How he loves Us

Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

I am reminded that these streets are covered by His Love

The Streets with tin front doors and cardboard walls

He Loves us All

And

These Streets are not their Home.

Thanks again for traveling with us this week and for Sponsoring a child

Making a difference in a child’s life

letting them know that

They Are Loved.

An amazing first day in Guatemala

This last picture

is what

Sponsorship

looks like. . . .Thankful to be a part of a beautiful time with Ann.