A Miracle for My Mom
Donation protected
Hi, my name is Steffi and I am the youngest of 4 daughters. My mom, Betty Suetomi, is the most generous, kind, and positive person I know. She is always telling me to think positive thoughts and to expect miracles in my life. She has given up a huge part of her life for me all these years and still continues to help me in whatever way she can. She's done nothing but support me and has bent over backwards to give me the best life I could ever have and everything I've ever wanted. Now that I'm married and have a family of my own, I realize that I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for her.
My mom is always giving service to others and often puts other people's needs in front of hers. If anyone needs help, she's always there going the extra mile. Whenever there's a need to fill, she fills it. When students at school come up to her asking for money for fund raisers, she's always donating whatever money she has to their cause. Even when kids come to school without their lunch money, she always digs into her purse for a few extra dollars so they won't go hungry. If she has no money, she shares her lunch with them. If she hears of another family starving, she takes whatever food we have to give them. Sometimes she gives away valuable things like the TV and Blue-Ray DVD player because other people needed them more. :( And 9 out of 10 times, she can never replace those things again. When Japan had the tsunami, she gave $100 to the Tsunami Disaster Fund even though she was struggling herself. She pays her tithing to her church regularly and donates an extremely generous amount of money every month to help the poor and needy in our church. If you look on her Facebook wall, it is filled with positive, upbeat messages to uplift others and put a smile on their faces. She likes to make people happy and so a smiley face is her trademark.
My mom has a special place in her heart for the less fortunate and homeless, probably because she used to be on the Board of Directors for the East Hawaii Coalition for the Homeless. I can still remember her dragging me to those boring meetings when I was little! On payday, she sets aside a $20 bill in her purse that she saves for emergencies, usually to give to someone less fortunate than herself.
At first, it really bugged me that my mom would waste a perfectly good $20 bill on a homeless guy who would probably use the money to buy drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes. Especially when she hardly had enough for herself! I used to argue with her about that but her answer was always the same. She told me, "It didn't matter what they did with the money. What was really important was that we gave from the heart. The minute that you say that the guy is probably going to use the money for drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes, then you are judging him and we are not to judge."
I don't know how many times I've watched her give $20 to a homeless person begging on the corner by Walmart. If she drives by and misses him the first time, she'll go all the way around to catch him again. I remember this one time when my mom handed me a $20 bill to give to this scrungy looking homeless guy with a family. I gave the money to him and he got all teary-eyed and looked like that was the first time he ever saw money before! I turned to my mom and said, "Did you see the look on that guy's face? He looked like he's never seen a $20 bill before!" My mom just smiled at me and said, "You never know. Maybe Heavenly Father turned that $20 bill into a 100." That's the kind of person my mom is. To this day, I will never forget that warm feeling inside my heart when I saw that guy's face.
My mom taught me that we should always take advantage of once-in-a-lifetime opportunities because once-in-a-lifetime opportunities are just that. They only come around once in a lifetime. It's kinda like finding something really good at ROSS. If you don't grab it when you see it, it'll never come around again.
I don't know how my mom ever managed to raise us 4 kids as a single parent on a part-time income. Now that I have my own family, I completely understand how hard it is to make ends meet, especially with the high cost of living here in Hawaii. I started this fund for my mother because she would never be able to come up with enough money to do this on her own. She only works as a substitute teacher so having any extra money is a luxury.
There is a really special event happening in Okinawa this year during October. It is the Kubasaki High School Okinawa Friendship Reunion. My mom was born and raised in Okinawa, a little island south of Japan. Her dad worked for the Civil Service so she attended the DOD (Department of Defense) schools from kindergarten through high school. Most of the students who attended Kubasaki High School were only there for 2 years since their fathers (who were in the military) were transferred to a different post every 2 years. Her father had a more permanent job so she was able to attend Kubasaki all 4 years. Since my mom graduated decades ago, there have been many Kubasaki High School Reunions all over the U.S. but she has never attended any of them. This is actually the very first time that they are having a reunion right at the actual school location in Okinawa. Nobody had ever attempted to have a reunion there before because 1) the school was located in a foreign country and it would be too expensive to hold it there and 2) you had to get military clearance if you wanted to go on campus. Someone finally was determined and persistent enough to arrange a reunion in Okinawa this year. I hope to raise enough money from this campaign to cover my mom's passport fees, round trip airfare (Hilo-Honolulu-Tokyo-Okinawa), hotel accommodations, ground transportation, group activities, sightseeing tour fees, meals, etc.
This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for my mother and a chance like this will never come around again for her. She's been there for me and for so many other people and has blessed us all in whatever way she could. She has really made a difference in our lives. She has always given so much of herself to others and has put others' needs first. I want to pay her back for all she's done for me and so many other people. Now is her turn to get something good for herself. This reunion trip must mean a lot to her because she gets so excited when she talks about it and I have never seen her desire or want something so much. It's been decades since she's been back to Okinawa and I know that she really wants to go on this trip so badly. Please open your heart and contribute whatever you can to this campaign to help my mother attend her reunion in Okinawa this year. As my mom has always told me to expect miracles, let's make this miracle happen for her! Aloha and mahalo nui loa.
Steffi Seufale
My mom is always giving service to others and often puts other people's needs in front of hers. If anyone needs help, she's always there going the extra mile. Whenever there's a need to fill, she fills it. When students at school come up to her asking for money for fund raisers, she's always donating whatever money she has to their cause. Even when kids come to school without their lunch money, she always digs into her purse for a few extra dollars so they won't go hungry. If she has no money, she shares her lunch with them. If she hears of another family starving, she takes whatever food we have to give them. Sometimes she gives away valuable things like the TV and Blue-Ray DVD player because other people needed them more. :( And 9 out of 10 times, she can never replace those things again. When Japan had the tsunami, she gave $100 to the Tsunami Disaster Fund even though she was struggling herself. She pays her tithing to her church regularly and donates an extremely generous amount of money every month to help the poor and needy in our church. If you look on her Facebook wall, it is filled with positive, upbeat messages to uplift others and put a smile on their faces. She likes to make people happy and so a smiley face is her trademark.
My mom has a special place in her heart for the less fortunate and homeless, probably because she used to be on the Board of Directors for the East Hawaii Coalition for the Homeless. I can still remember her dragging me to those boring meetings when I was little! On payday, she sets aside a $20 bill in her purse that she saves for emergencies, usually to give to someone less fortunate than herself.
At first, it really bugged me that my mom would waste a perfectly good $20 bill on a homeless guy who would probably use the money to buy drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes. Especially when she hardly had enough for herself! I used to argue with her about that but her answer was always the same. She told me, "It didn't matter what they did with the money. What was really important was that we gave from the heart. The minute that you say that the guy is probably going to use the money for drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes, then you are judging him and we are not to judge."
I don't know how many times I've watched her give $20 to a homeless person begging on the corner by Walmart. If she drives by and misses him the first time, she'll go all the way around to catch him again. I remember this one time when my mom handed me a $20 bill to give to this scrungy looking homeless guy with a family. I gave the money to him and he got all teary-eyed and looked like that was the first time he ever saw money before! I turned to my mom and said, "Did you see the look on that guy's face? He looked like he's never seen a $20 bill before!" My mom just smiled at me and said, "You never know. Maybe Heavenly Father turned that $20 bill into a 100." That's the kind of person my mom is. To this day, I will never forget that warm feeling inside my heart when I saw that guy's face.
My mom taught me that we should always take advantage of once-in-a-lifetime opportunities because once-in-a-lifetime opportunities are just that. They only come around once in a lifetime. It's kinda like finding something really good at ROSS. If you don't grab it when you see it, it'll never come around again.
I don't know how my mom ever managed to raise us 4 kids as a single parent on a part-time income. Now that I have my own family, I completely understand how hard it is to make ends meet, especially with the high cost of living here in Hawaii. I started this fund for my mother because she would never be able to come up with enough money to do this on her own. She only works as a substitute teacher so having any extra money is a luxury.
There is a really special event happening in Okinawa this year during October. It is the Kubasaki High School Okinawa Friendship Reunion. My mom was born and raised in Okinawa, a little island south of Japan. Her dad worked for the Civil Service so she attended the DOD (Department of Defense) schools from kindergarten through high school. Most of the students who attended Kubasaki High School were only there for 2 years since their fathers (who were in the military) were transferred to a different post every 2 years. Her father had a more permanent job so she was able to attend Kubasaki all 4 years. Since my mom graduated decades ago, there have been many Kubasaki High School Reunions all over the U.S. but she has never attended any of them. This is actually the very first time that they are having a reunion right at the actual school location in Okinawa. Nobody had ever attempted to have a reunion there before because 1) the school was located in a foreign country and it would be too expensive to hold it there and 2) you had to get military clearance if you wanted to go on campus. Someone finally was determined and persistent enough to arrange a reunion in Okinawa this year. I hope to raise enough money from this campaign to cover my mom's passport fees, round trip airfare (Hilo-Honolulu-Tokyo-Okinawa), hotel accommodations, ground transportation, group activities, sightseeing tour fees, meals, etc.
This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for my mother and a chance like this will never come around again for her. She's been there for me and for so many other people and has blessed us all in whatever way she could. She has really made a difference in our lives. She has always given so much of herself to others and has put others' needs first. I want to pay her back for all she's done for me and so many other people. Now is her turn to get something good for herself. This reunion trip must mean a lot to her because she gets so excited when she talks about it and I have never seen her desire or want something so much. It's been decades since she's been back to Okinawa and I know that she really wants to go on this trip so badly. Please open your heart and contribute whatever you can to this campaign to help my mother attend her reunion in Okinawa this year. As my mom has always told me to expect miracles, let's make this miracle happen for her! Aloha and mahalo nui loa.
Steffi Seufale
Organizer and beneficiary
Betty Suetomi
Organizer
Hauula, HI
Betty Suetomi
Beneficiary