Denmark and shoes...

Little girl with her new boots

Andrea and Ildiko just came back from a trip to Denmark where they went to get boxes and boxes of shoes. There is a family in Denmark who puts aside shoes, clothes and toys to be distributed to orphanages, families, schools and institutions. We made the long trip to Denmark twice this year, and got lots of winter shoes and jackets.
We have been delivering this shoes both in Hungary and in Transylvania for two years already, as part of our humanitarian aid project, and plan to continue doing so for the next year.

Nell

Life is always easier when there’s someone by your side! I have Nell. She is soon to be 15, a Scorpio with a great personality.
We are very much like Don Quixote and his faithful squad. We fight giants and windmills together, and go in incredible adventures to the end of the world.
She is a wonderful girl, and a terrific friend. I wouldn’t be able to do half of what I do if it wasn’t for her. You see, she is Hungarian and translates for me whenever I get stuck with the difficult words. She also has a good memory and when we play guitar she tells me which chord comes next. She reminds me to write and visit people, and is always there when I need her help—in the kitchen, or labeling boxes, teaching kids a play, or bringing in the laundry when it starts pouring outside.
She is one in a million, and brings sunshine wherever she goes.
Thank you Nell, for being so wonderful!

Music is the language of love

I came to Europe seven years ago, and have lived in 6 countries during that time. Except for Italy and Spain, I’ve been in countries where I didn’t speak the language. I was never long enough in a place to be able to learn much, besides the few greeting phrases that people always learns whenever they travel.
I like children. And the hardest part of my job has been not being able to talk to the kids, because they seldom speak English at a young age.
But I always find myself surrounded by children. If I go to the park, they crowd around me; on the bus and train, they show off and smile at me; when I go to visit poor families, kids sit on my lap and take me to their rooms and show me their toys.
And how do you think I communicate with them? Very simply—I sing to them.
Music can break down any barriers. Children love it when you pull out your guitar and sing them a song. They sit fascinated and watch you strum the strings, and they try to sing along.
Children feel it when someone likes them. There’s no need for words. Love is an universal language and music is the language of love

Success is...

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote:
To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived...this is to have succeeded.