Whew...........this week has been a complete whirlwind. Each night I have had commitments, and Wednesday evening when I arrived home from a business holiday event, I found laying on our dining room table a larger envelope with my name addressed on the front. Matt always leaves my mail on the table, and through the new stack of magazines, sales catalogs, and other letters I received yesterday, this larger envelope caught my eye. A hand written address was written on the front, and I decided I just could not wait, I had to open! And, you will not guess what I found inside. A sweet birthday card from my friend Anita and LETTERS FROM SUDAN!!
Now to be completely honest, I was talking on the phone with my good friend Ryana, and as I opened the envelope and found the letters I squilled with excitement. (Sorry to scream in your ear Ry.) And, then I don't know what came over me, but tears of sweet joy quickly filled my eyes. I don't cry often; however, I cannot tell you the amount of prayers and thoughts I have had towards these young women, my amazing friend Anita, and all the work they are doing in that country.
I took time last night to read each and every letter, and each one was so sweet yet so unique. Each one, in their own way, told a story of life in Sudan and their desire to achieve more in their lives. One of the young ladies said she wanted to be a doctor, while another letter, a young lady made sure to assure me that she was making excellent grades. :-)
The other two letters had incredible art work on the handmade envelopes, in fact all four (4) letters had hand made envelopes, and that is something that I would not be able to do. (I have no artistic bone in my body. Ha!)
You see, these young ladies are truly examples of conquering your dreams. With hard work, dedication, and a loving spirit you can achieve anything. In all reality, these young ladies had more of a chance of becoming the norm and only finishing a few years of school;, destined to have little education and a minimal future. However, because of amazing people like my good friend Anita, they have the opportunities to reach for the stars and become doctors, leaders, and major providers for their families.
In your thoughts and prayers, please remember these sweet faces of Southern Sudan. As the political struggles become more stressful in the coming weeks, remember there are amazing young ladies studying, learning, and growing to become our next great generations of GREAT leaders.
For more information on Africa ELI, please visit: http://africaeli.org/
And, for some reason for the past few days the following song has been on my heart and I just wanted to share:
Kim
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