6/18/9 Update

Today we got to spend the day in a local amusement park with the children we have sponsored. In our group from West Pines there were 3 children sponsored. My family had the privilege of being one of those sponsors, so I got to spend the day with our compassion daughter, Ericka and her mom, Leticia.

It was am amazing day. Seeing the park through the eyes of a little girl who has never been to a place like this before was truly amazing. I was really nervous about the day, because, as most of you know, this is usually Melissa's area of expertise. I had already asked Letty, Robey, and Rebekah to spend the day with us to help me make it a great day for Ericka and hopefully, deal with some of the awkwardness. Little did I know that Ericka would be the one who made it easy and anything but awkward. Having met me on Monday, she knew who I was when we got off the bus and ran over to me and gave me a big hug. She was so excited to go to the park and spend the day with her "padrino" which means Godfather in Spanish. Her father left them 5 years ago after her younger brother, Miguel Enrique, was born. She grabbed my hand and held on all day while we walked around the park, rode rides, and played games. It was an amazing day made even better by getting to share it with friends.

Here are some pics from the day:

Me, Ericka and Leticia (mom)

Ericka and I

Ericka teaching Rebekah a song on the swing

Ericka opening the gifts we brought for her

Ericka showing off her new sunglasses

At the end of the day, we taught her to play UNO. It was tough to say goodbye. She wanted to know when Melissa, Nick, and Bailey were coming to visit. All of the child visits went extremely well. It was a great day. More home visits tomorrow. I will keep you posted.