Anniversary

Well friends it has now officially been a year to the day since I wrapped my arms around my sweet girl in El Salvador.  Somehow a year has passed since I boarded my first ever flight, full of trepidation, on my way to a country that would come to capture my heart in one short week.  It has been a year since I met a wonderful group of friends adventuring alongside me.  And it's been a year since I was heartbroken by the effects of poverty and overwhelmed by the beautiful spirit of the people in that breathtaking land in the heart of Central America.

The year since that fateful journey has been full of growth and opportunity for me.  I have become more comfortable with myself and more articulate about things that I am passionate about, including Compassion.  I have also begun to get a better feel for longterm plans for further school and a career.  And I truly believe it all began with that simple decision to give up a school trip in order to travel to El Salvador with Compassion to meet Marlen.

It is unbelievable to me that somehow a year has gone by when everyday I can see her smiling face and feel her warm hand encompassed in my own.  How could a year have passed when I can hear the laughter of excited children and experience the sorrow of a struggling young mother every time I let my mind wander back to that land of lush volcanoes surrounding areas of dire poverty?  And yet somehow it has.

I am determined to go back to El Salvador someday.  I don't know how or when, but I left a piece of my heart there a year ago today and it is calling me back to my second home.

This beautiful place will forever hold a special place in my heart.

Letters!

School is out for the summer now so hopefully I will have more time to dedicate to writing.  In the last couple of weeks I have been very excited to get letters from 2 of my Compassion kids.

The first letter was from one of my new correspondent kids, 18 year old Joan from Uganda.

I was very excited to be assigned to write to an older girl and was thrilled to receive this letter from her (it's even written in English!).  Joan tells me that she is in a tailoring class at her Compassion project as part of her vocational training.  She says they also offer classes in carpentry, knitting, music, and drama.  She also says that she is involved in clubs at the project including English speaking, discipleship, and debate team.  She tells me about the crops that were being harvested in her area.  She ends with the Bible verses she is currently studying.  The letter is beautifully written and very loving.  I can't wait to get to know this girl more in her last few years in the project.

The next letter I got was from little 4 year old Rhean from the Philippines.

I love that I am getting very regular letters from Rhean about every 2 months.  This one is about what she does everyday.  She lists when she gets up and goes to sleep as well as some of the activities that she does throughout the day like playing with other kids and watching tv.  On the back she drew me a precious picture of a house with lots of flowers around and kids playing.

Then Rhean's mom wrote me a longer letter.  I love that her parents' write for her as it allows me to know her family better than if a tutor at the project was helping her.  Her mom says that Rhean loves the little goodies I send with letters (like stickers) and says that she puts them in her notebook.  She tells me that for Rhean's birthday the family celebrated together at their house.  Similarly, for Christmas Rhean and her siblings and cousins played together all day and sang carols to their neighbors then they attended mass that night.  She ends the letter by offering blessings and asking for prayers for their family.

I just love getting mail from my kids around the world!