{"id":536,"date":"2011-04-06T09:44:53","date_gmt":"2011-04-06T15:44:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alwayssupportourheroes.com\/WordPress\/?p=536"},"modified":"2011-04-21T02:26:10","modified_gmt":"2011-04-21T08:26:10","slug":"the-humanitarian-in-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alwayssupportourheroes.com\/?p=536","title":{"rendered":"The humanitarian in me …"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Do you ever have so many thoughts on your mind, you are unable to sleep?\u00a0 That is what caused me to put pen to paper (or fingers on a keyboard\u00a0 hehe) today.\u00a0 Writing is cathartic for me, cleansing if you will.\u00a0 Deep within I know there are thoughts and words I need to share \u00a0… so grab your favorite beverage and join me for a minute, won’t you?\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

You see, I have been heavily burdened the past month with having to remove someone who was once a very good friend from my life.\u00a0 It was a decision based on what was and is right for me.\u00a0 Not because I believe they are a bad person, but because their behaviors are toxic to my being.\u00a0 There is so much to be said, but at the end of the day, I felt as though this individual was ultimately keeping me from being my best.\u00a0 God’s best.<\/em><\/p>\n

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One of the best days of my life … at an orphanage in Haiti, April 2010<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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One thing I have learned through the lessons in my life, is to be an example I want other people to see.\u00a0 Recently I was told “although I never comment on your Facebook page, I watch what you are doing very closely there, and through your blog.\u00a0 I am fascinated by your zeal to help humanity.\u00a0 But I don’t understand ‘why’ you are the way you are. Why do you feel the need to go to other countries, when there is so much need here in America?”\u00a0 My response\u00a0was the same as I gave\u00a0to those who urged me\u00a0not to go to Haiti to help after the earthquake, and were\u00a0upset with me that I got sick and ended up in the hospital upon my return to the states.\u00a0 Laying in that hospital bed with an IV in my arm because I had a kidney infection &\u00a0various other issues, I remember saying\u00a0“you can give me a blood transfusion, but you can not take the humanitarian out of me”.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Baby Palesa … I cannot believe it has been 3 years since I have seen her!!<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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In just a few days I am embarking on an adventure with my “adopted” niece, Amy.\u00a0 We are going to Johannesburg, South Africa to spend time with the orphans who stole my heart years ago, along with those who look after them.\u00a0 Sinethemba (<\/em>http:\/\/www.sinethembahomeofhope.co.za\/<\/span><\/a> <\/em>)\u00a0 and Mpumelelo (<\/em>http:\/\/www.mpumelelochildren.co.za\/<\/span><\/a><\/em>) .\u00a0 With my trips as an individual over the years, I networked through Airline Ambassadors (<\/em>http:\/\/airlineamb.org\/<\/span><\/a><\/em>) & Destination International (http:\/\/www.destinationintl.com\/<\/span><\/a>) \u00a0and they now include these two orphanages in their mission trips.\u00a0 It is with honor I have been asked\u00a0to be one of the board members and\u00a0a trustee for Raise Your Hand Open Your Heart (<\/em>http:\/\/www.raiseyourhand.org.za\/<\/span><\/a> <\/em>)~~ because it connects people with giving aid and volunteering wherever your passion may lay.<\/em><\/p>\n

The reason for this\u00a0particular writing\u00a0is to encourage you to find your passion.\u00a0 To realize wherever those little heart strings are pulling you … to take action.\u00a0 Take the brokeness you may feel in your life, and put the energy towards helping someone in need.\u00a0 Doesn’t matter if you have money, you can still donate your time.\u00a0 You can volunteer at a local soup kitchen, or adopt a service member through their deployment (<\/em>http:\/\/adoptahero.us\/<\/span><\/a> <\/em>).\u00a0 Something amazing happens when you ask others to help with a cause greater than yourself … God works miracles. (thank you to those of you who have donated for this specific trip!)<\/em><\/p>\n

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Sinethemba means “Hope House” … and I am thankful to everyone who has donated to help us deliver “hope” with the much needed supplies we are taking on this adventure …<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Finally,\u00a0I see from the outside looking in, that if I allow myself to be caught up in other peoples chaos, I am not being the right kind of instrument.\u00a0 The most difficult thing I have ever learned was to “let go” .. and today I realized (it is about time!) that in the “letting go” .. the greatest transformations happen.\u00a0 I feel like a catepillar who just busted out of the coccoon … because through the sleepless night, I not only loved the other person enough to let them go completely and fully … I just let God be God.\u00a0 It is in the silence that I am finding inner peace.\u00a0 And in that peace, I just want to spread my wings and fly.\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Orphanage in South Africa in 2007<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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So as Amy and I embark on an adventure of a lifetime, I am going to challenge you to remember we are all created equal.\u00a0 It doesn’t matter if you are from Germany, China, Africa, Asia, America, or any other country in the world.\u00a0 We all have red blood running through our veins (well, unless of course you are alien like my dad was .. hehehe) … and we all need to raise our hands and open our hearts to saying a kind word, holding open a door, doing things to make someone else feel validated.\u00a0 It is in the simple things, of this world, in simple gestures and kindness and love and hope and dreams, that we are to remember that we all are human, that we all are the same, that we all only need love. Unconditional love.<\/em><\/p>\n

Allow yourself to be blessed, by being a blessing to others … and in doing so, remember to thank those who put themselves on the line every single day, in order to protect your freedoms.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

A family of heroes …<\/span><\/div>\n

Always,<\/em><\/p>\n

Robin<\/em><\/p>\n

http:\/\/alwayssupportourheroes.com\/<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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The Sky Angel<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do you ever have so many thoughts on your mind, you are unable to sleep?\u00a0 That is what caused me to put pen to paper (or fingers on a keyboard\u00a0 hehe) today.\u00a0 Writing is cathartic for me, cleansing if you will.\u00a0 Deep within I know there are thoughts and words I need to share \u00a0… […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1],"tags":[4,21,20,7,18,13,12,19,22,5],"class_list":["post-536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-supporting-our-heroes","category-uncategorized","tag-donations","tag-hero","tag-heroes","tag-humanitarian","tag-robin-schmidt","tag-sinethemba","tag-south-africa","tag-the-sky-angel","tag-travel","tag-wounded-warrior"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alwayssupportourheroes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alwayssupportourheroes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alwayssupportourheroes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alwayssupportourheroes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alwayssupportourheroes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=536"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.alwayssupportourheroes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":542,"href":"https:\/\/www.alwayssupportourheroes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536\/revisions\/542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alwayssupportourheroes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alwayssupportourheroes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alwayssupportourheroes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}