Do You See Me? Can you Hear Me?

Our six month old  white golden retriever has an endearing way of getting our attention. He brings us his stuffed animal of choice, stands at our feet while wagging his tail, and begs (which involves a low groan and lots of eye contact with those big brown eyes) for us to play. In dog language, this means “Do you see me? Do you hear me? Want to play?” We can rarely resist, which is one reason I am posting this somewhere just before 1 AM.
Max is an American dog, and has been brought up with all of his emotional and physical needs being met. He was fed when he was hungry, he is warm at night, and he is loved. He gets treats, he gets lots of attention and he has a nice dog bed.  As a result, this dog knows he is special. He is centered, emotionally balanced, and as long as he has his monkey, he is happy.

Marta has no tricks for getting noticed. In fact, she wouldn’t dream of being singled out for attention. It isn’t the “way” in her village, nor in her culture. Her mother is a widow, following the death of her husband who succumbed to Tuberculosis in 2010. The needs within this small family are so enormous that Marta knows better than to ask for anything. Her one meal a day is supplied by Finding Freedom through Friendship. We delivered a bed last Tuesday-the family did not have one. When I visited the family last month, I was offered the only chair, which was a tree stump. Her shirt was donated by a neighbor. There is water outside in the yard but the house has no electricity.
Meanwhile, Finding Freedom is working on finding the funds to build Marta and her family a home, so we can put them on concrete floors instead of dirt. Marta will be sponsored for school in January. Her needs, even if she can’t find words to express what she dares not hope for, will be met.
We wish we could send Max to Guatemala to play with her…that would put a smile on her face!