So technically I'm back in Philadelphia - longest travel day ever! I was in Denver for an hour. You might ask "Quinn...why would you fly to Houston, to Denver, and then to Philadelphia?" That's a great question, but I'm still trying to figure that out! As you know, Quinner has been slacking with her posts - there was a lot going on in Hondo. Since I'm about a week and a half behind with my blog, let's pretend that I'm still over there, shall we?
So last Thursday (June 23rd), a bunch of people from the group packed lunches to take to the boys and girls juvenile prison (separate buildings) and to the dump. Chick Fil A donated 500 of their food boxes to our group, so we were able to use those for our lunches. Each lunch included a PB&J sandwich, an orange, chips, a cookie, a pack of chicklets, and a napkin. It's a good thing that there aren't any Chick Fil A's in Hondo b/c the people we were handing the lunches out to would have gotten a surprise!
We got a late start going to the girls prison and to the dump, so I didn't actually get to visit with any of the girls. Because Steph's kids are a bit young, she did not want them going to the prisons, and had to pick them up from Janet at the Mi Esperanza center. I needed to meet up with Janet and Lori and go to a reception for a new girls home that afternoon, so we both left without getting to meet the girls. I heard later on that the girls had already eaten lunch, and that since we were late, they didn't get to do many as much as the group had hoped to do with them. Also, a storm went through the area, so the roads to the dump washed out and the group wasn't able to go there either.
My day turned out great though! I got to see Karla, Alejandro, Karin, Moises, Marta, and Gracie again! Janet, Lori, EA (have I mentioned her before? Elizabeth Ann (EA) interned with Mi Esperanza, and has designed most of the bags in the store) and I went to the Casa de Ester open house. Janet and Lori are good friends with Carol Mallasch, who was one of the founders of Casa de Ester, and Carol is also the woman who put Janet and me in contact with Gracie.
A note about Casa de Ester. It will house 30 teenage girls who have been victims of sexual abuse, will provide the girls with academic, spiritual, and life skills to prepare them to live successfully and independently one day. What's exciting is that Casa de Ester hopes to partner up with Mi Esperanza, since ME already offers free sewing, computer, and beauty salon classes to women! So many women will get the opportunity to be prosperous! The new girls home is beautiful! It's so beautiful in fact, that I forgot to take pictures while I was inside - my bad. I have picture of the view from the girls home though!
I think I mentioned at the end of Karin's and Karla's stories that I got to see them again. It was great to see them and to be able to hug them again. I got them each a little something from the ME store, and they were really excited to get them! Gracie told me that she was so happy I came and stayed with them, and that I made a big impact in their lives. That baffles me though...I was only there for about 30 hours, and couldn't really speak directly to them because of the language barrier, yet my being there had an impact on their lives? Karin and Karla's stories have had a HUGE impact on my life! I can't stop thinking about them! I'm happy that we made that connection with each other though, and I honestly cannot wait to go back to Gracie's and see them soon.
I made an impact...who knew?
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