Did World Journey of Smiles meet my expectations? Almost.
Did I expect…..
…to feel overwhelmed by their stories?
…to ache for the children who were turned away?
…to be brought to tears by the desperate yearning of mothers and fathers?
…to witness compassion that could heal the heart of humanity?
…to understand the power of collaboration that could unify nations from across the globe?
…to appreciate that by working together we could make a difference?
I may have imagined all of this and more…
…but I didn’t expect that we could change the world….until now.
Having worked for Operation Smile for the past year I believed I knew what the organization stood for, what it meant to be a part of it and how we were impacting the lives of many, one smile at a time. However, the full appreciation of what has come to be over the past 25 years revealed itself to me on my mission to Jordan. To be in the Middle East during this time of crisis and to witness the common bonds of compassion, understanding and acceptance, uniting people from all nations, is a testament to what can be accomplished when we join together to realize the essence of our humanity.
With much appreciation and thanks,
- Kyla Shawyer, Operation Smile
I hope all is well with you. Last year I was in Jordan during Thanksgiving; I felt sad; very few people could understand the delicious magical joy that is ” Thanksgiving “. Last year on Thanksgiving reminded me of my first ” Eid ” many, many years ago in the United States. My first year at Wilmingon College ( now UNC-W ). There were very few Moslems at Wilmington, NC in thoses days. I like the name ” Operation Smile ” and like ” changing lives one smile at a time ” even more. Please let me know how, if possible, I may help. I speak and write Arabic fairly well. I have been a citizen of US for many years and am, also, a citizen of Jordan.
Peace and best wishes,
James/ Ghazi
Nice job again Operation Smile… i hope u can do also services in Beograd, Serbia…. Good Luck .. with all the wishes from the Philippines…
a crowd of smiles was created in a family of 5,father,3 sons and a daughter from my country kenya.i was part of the local volunteer team and have been doing so for the last 6 years.i think its time kisumu opsmile youth association{kosya} got more recognition internationally.kindly advice
This was my first mission to Madagascar, and it was a very humbling experience..some amazing work was done to people that became transformed in the most amazing way… I’ll be ready for the next mission.
Would be nice to see some pictures of the Madagascar Mission, and to have the South African Team mentioned, as I think they are the “baby mission” so to speak.{this is not a biased opinion of course} Everyone did a great job, as I am sure everyone all over the world did.
God bless you all
very interesting.
i’m adding in RSS Reader