I first met her years ago on a medical mission to El Salvador. She was living at an orphanage 45 minutes outside of San Salvador. Both of her parents had been imprisoned for murder. There were no other family members to care for her. She was 3 in this picture.  

Our mission team, on our day off, had gone on a tour of this little orphanage. As we were guided throughout the complex, this little angel kept tagging along behind us. I picked her up so that she wouldn’t have to work so hard in keeping up with us.  She soon realized that by staying in my arms she could gain access to areas that were designated for the older children. The orphanage seemed like a happy place, filled with staff that really cared for the children. The bedroom for the younger children had upwards of 6 or 7 sets of bunkbeds spread out throughout the big bedroom. I loved their bedtime routine. At lights out, the children would be in their beds, all armed with several stuffed animals.

When the staff turned out the lights and closed the door there would be instant chaos, with dozens of stuffed animals being hurled through the room at each other. Then, after a few minutes of this, the staff would open the door and say “Good night children”. Within minutes there would be a room full of sleeping children. And every morning the room would look like a battle zone. Those children were loved.

The Friday Night Community Meal program in Burlington offered a sit-down meal to approximately 300 people every Friday night.  An army of volunteers worked every week to purchase, prepare, cook, serve & clean-up. I volunteered there for over 10 years.  While I was there, they were able to purchase a huge 8 burner barbecue which could cook hundreds of hamburgers and hot dogs at a time. I was often the cook for these barbecue sessions, which were always a client favorite. Through this group I was fortunate to meet so many wonderful people. I was privileged to be a part it.