This Tuesday at the girls home was awesome. We only spent time with the older girls again because we were having too much fun all together. At first we were just hanging out all together and catching up on the past two weeks, since we didn’t get a chance to see them. One of the girls was straightening her hair, so yes for the first time in my entire life I straightened a weave! And might I add, it came out beautifully.
Half way through our catching up, this beautiful scene appeared in our window. The sunset had us all mesmerized, but really, look at how incredible it is:
This is the room that we meet to do poetry every week. It has glass windows along side of it so we have a view of Philadelphia!
One of the girls came feeling pretty discouraged this week. Ms. Em looked at her and said, “You know you are always smiling. Every time I see you, you are smiling. With all that you are going through, that shows strength. So don’t ever stop smiling.” Immediately the biggest smile came over her face. She started talking about her family and went to get pictures of her family to show us. We heard lots of stories.
The conversation quickly moved to how the girls are frustrated that their parents aren’t active enough in their lives. So we shared with them how they can learn from their parents. I told them how my Dad lost his father when he was a teenager. He always tells us that he wants to give us the things in life he never had. I told them how I think he is the best Daddy in the whole world. The girls smiled and agreed, they can just provide for their future children the things they never had. One girl said, “That is what I’m going to do for my son when I leave here.” It was encouraging to see how our lives can help the girls see theirs in a more positive way.
We then started to read poetry of girls from previous years. The girls loved to learn about other stories. They were inspired to keep writing in order to help girls in years from now. The girls all went to their rooms to get the poetry they had been working on. We read poems about heartbreaks, parents, family and my favorite about an ice cream man. Before leaving a girl asked if we could pray again this week. So we stood in a circle, held hands and thanked God for all that He has given us. And for all you Pocono Plateauers out there, after we said Amen, we shook hands. Needless to say, it was quite a week!
Voices Of Beautiful Flowers 
This is my favorite entry yet, because it clearly shows how, no matter what kind of background we have, heartbreak is a part of that human experience and the lessons learned can apply to anybody. Rebecca’s story about her father’s response to loss, was quickly adopted by the girls, to turn a tragedy into a blessing.
This is beautiful! Glad you were able to share your story there is always a silver lining!
Hand shake. ‘Nough said.
What a lovely narrative of your time with the girls. I have to tell you that your undertaking is inspiring. It is amazing what one can learn from others experiences. Sometimes it is just becoming aware of other choices that one might have in life. I think that the poetry endeavor not only gives the girls a way to express their feelings but a way to taste hope. What an accomplishment!