Teresa is 13.
We visited her today at her tiny, windowless home in the village of Adami Tulu, where she lives with her mom and younger sister.
Her eyes are bright and animated, and she has a beautifully shy smile, always glancing her eyes downward and bringing her fingers to her face.
Her clothes are tattered; the red scarf wrapped around her hair is worn and weathered. Her home is simple... dreary even. But Teresa and her mom exude such hope. Strength. Resolve.
It's evident in their eyes and in their words.
Teresa's mom shared about the challenges she faces—like paying rent for their home—but also about the support she receives from Food for the Hungry. She talked about Abraham, their FH social worker, and what a gift he has been to her. She described him as being like a father figure in her life. She finally feels as though she has someone who cares about her and looks out for her, and that is a priceless gift. Hope. Strength. Resolve.
Teresa has been in the Food for the Hungry sponsorship program for 5 years.
When we asked her about her sponsor, she ran into her house and came back out with pictures, cards, and notes she's received over the years. She proudly showed us her sponsor family and told us how grateful she is for the education she receives because of them. She said when she finishes her schooling she'd like to become a doctor and build her mom a new house. Hope. Strength. Resolve.
When we asked Teresa what she might want to say to people in America, she didn't hesitate.
"There are so many children in my village who have never even seen the inside of a classroom. I want them to have the same help and support I've received, the same opportunity to get an education."
Hope. Strength. Resolve. I love seeing the ways sponsorship infuses those life-changing gifts into children and their entire families. Makes me want to be more intentional in my relationships, because I want my life to always build hope, strength, and resolve in others. I've seen what a difference it can make.
If you feel like Teresa was talking right to you, take a look at some of the kids you can sponsor in her community.
{Photos by the amazing David Molnar}
Then you look back and see that somewhere, something changed, even though you may not be able to identify specifically what or when. That is exactly what happened with me. Right now, looking back, I see a bend in the road. And I have no idea how or exactly when I turned that corner, only that I did. And I find my heart open at last to the possibility of a different future.
This was long before email and cell phones were commonplace, so we kept in touch by writing letters. We exchanged novel-length scribblings, sharing the mundane and the significant, and we did whatever we could to keep our friendship close despite the miles between us. We sent care packages, we made long-distance phone calls, we planned reunions.
I know there are seasons in friendships. I get that there's a natural, healthy ebb and flow in relationships. But sometimes things just seem to change.
I'm not talking about a fight. Or a falling out. Sometimes you just sense a shift... something's different...
