To the little girls...

To the little girls who stole my heart....

Thank you for letting God use you to change my heart.

It was 4 years ago, but I have been forever changed.

I could speak only baby sentences to you, and you responded with giggles.

Because I probably sounded like one of the toddlers.

Last summer I longed to sit down with you, Ornoria.

I longed to look into your eyes, hold your little hands, and tell you that you are beautiful.

You are not fat, you are not too old, precious child. You are a princess.

I so badly wanted to hear your heart as well, Claudia.

I wanted to hear about what your dreams are.

I wanted to hear about the hurts, the disappointments.

I wanted to hear about what it's like to live in an orphanage.

I wanted to hear what it must be like to have different people love on you. And then leave.

But I couldn't express myself through my broken Spanish.

To Maria....the sweet, humble woman who invited us into your home 3 years ago.

You were ashamed. Ashamed for "rich Americans" to see your humble living situation.

But you insisted we sit on your only chair.

You offered us water. Water that came from who knows where.

We wanted to give you money for healthcare as a gift. But you insisted on selling us jewelry.

You would work for what you received.

I could barely understand what you told me.

And I struggled to express what was in my heart with my little vocabulary.

So God brings me half-way across the world.

I'm learning hundreds of vocab words, having real conversations with people.

I'm doing this for you, precious sisters in Christ.

For the wailing babies abandoned in the streets.

For the children living in orphanages.

For the young mothers great with child, filled with fear, and unable to care for the coming baby.

To the little girls who stole my heart.

This journey is for you.