Perception is:  “the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses.”   Question is, can you trust your senses?  Never 100%!

Of course there is the obvious:  smell what appears to be garbage, and most likely there will be a reason for the odor.   Taste what appear to be off and it might be!  We’ve got a new heads up these days by food packaging  ‘sell-by dates’.

Years ago when I was an international model, (an exotic sounding vocation involving long trips, unsteady pay and daily starvation) I received an assignment requiring me to live in Germany.  And I was nervous at best and anxious at worst. My perception? Holocaust, hate, genocide, extermination . . . . and I was on my own!

Germany.  Land of the Nazi’s, who rounded up people based upon their heritage and faith, ran them through concentration camps, furnaces and physical and mental torture.  Eleven million people — wiped out.  What kind of monsters treat each other with such cruelty?  And I never came up with a reasonable answer.  Never will.

Determined to be courageous,  I marched into my next modeling assignment to face-off with these German devils.  But, as I met individuals, I found that these people who also had horrible recollections of Nazi abuse, were my new friends. They had been raised much like I, with strong house rules, secure in the fact that hard work pays off and laziness causes poverty.  I saw the hearts of these people one at a time – which is the best way to discover anyone’s true character.  And I met some of the most genuinely kind caring people in the world.

Years later when I took the ones I love most with me back to Germany,   I had drummed up enough enthusiasm to fill my family’s hearts with a great desire to see this country and meet more new friends. Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world.

Don’t ever let your perception block you from a visit to a country marked “Safe” by the US State Department.   And look at her people and her children,  one heart at a time.

Dawn

PS – Please follow us on Facebook and my blog for more on Germany this month!

Dear Dawn: Okay, you got me through the what ifs about my kids missing out on school if we take a trip like yours. But I’ve got plenty of what ifs left regarding the safety of these countries.  You’re telling me you weren’t ever afraid?

Hi again, What if . . . Ha!  Of course I was afraid.  But when I’m telling my kids to overcome their fears, I can’t add a list of my exceptions.

If someone were to offer you a free trip for you and your family, is there someplace you would refuse to go?  (other than Somalia, Afghanistan, Iran, etc.)   Used to be Russia for me.  I’ve heard the cold war, communism stories – don’t need to see or be the evidence.  And even though the USSR had been broken up in 1991, in my mind I still saw ‘the enemy.’

And I didn’t want my kids to end up like this:

Sad how we condition ourselves based upon our fears.  Eleanor Roosevelt lived by this motto:  Do one thing everyday that scares you.  Whoa.  I had years of fears to catch up with.  And as far as I could tell moms aren’t supposed to let kids see ‘em sweat!

When I marched forth into Russia with my comrades, I fully expected to see American-haters and men on buildings with Uzi’s pointed at my family.  But other than a few serious faces (how happy do you look in 16-degrees below Zero?), these are the things I noticed:

Took courage to send my youngest into the throws of evil Russian school children. Joke’s on me!  Just as Jesus once said: “A little child shall lead them.” 

Don’t let your fear of what could happen make nothing happen!

Start by doing a bit of investigation about the places and people that scare you most.  They also have children.

Dawn

“We all belong. The world is more beautiful the more you accept.”  That was the copy for the Airbnb ad played during the Superbowl – not a cheap message, but a good one.  The cost for a :30 Superbowl Commercial, was upwards of $5-million.

Was I the only one wondering why Turkish Airlines took such a healthy hack into their advertising budget when so many of their destinations are questionable at this time?    Their enticement was spot-on “There are those of us who like to venture to the unexplored, those of us who go out there with a sense of wonder, reaching worlds; finding delight in our differences. If you are one of us, and you would like to explore more of this great planet … we’re ready to take you there … it’s time.”

I completely agree with the 79-year old actor, Morgan Freeman, but for this:  Explorers and adventurers are usually more concerned with the places they are headed and the experiences that got them there, than stretch-out seating and drinks with baby umbrellas in them.

First Class was never in the budget or the plan for Ron and me and we certainly didn’t want to expose our kids to that world before they could earn it.    We were all about “widening the Hirn horizons” and never had comfort in mind when we traveled.  Explorers seldom do.   Safety was our issue.

We wanted to meet as many of our foreign sisters and brothers as we could, but we would have never put our kids in harms way in enemy soaked territories.  Our lives became enriched as we met the people and experienced life as they do.  And it was always our intention to leave with them our message of encouragement, and to bring home with us a new resolve of their courageous living.

We encourage you to explore this great planet.    How you get there is up to you!

Dawn