A GTP follow up

I’m linking to this post from a few days ago, because there’s a great story behind the picture, and Mark relayed it in the comments.  I thought it was worth a separate post to share here.

Hi, Dawg fans and GTP readers.

Over 10 years ago, the church I attended oversaw a boarding school/orphanage for street kids in Kenya in desperate straits. Similar to Worldvision and Compassion International, you could “sponsor” a child in need for around $30/month. There were two children left when I inquired about the program and sponsored them both, which included writing letters and mailing pictures back and forth.

Over the years, as they grew older, they exited the program and that was the end of contact with them. Needless to say, the “I love you and will see you in heaven one day” last letters were sad but also celebratory in terms of the misery they had avoided and the educations they had gained.

Then, a couple of years after those last farewells, they found me on Facebook and sent the same message, “Dad, when are you coming to see me?” I have no biological children and I’m the closest to a father that they have–even though we had never met in person.

So, I went for the first time to see them last year. And just went on my second trip to see them this month.

Never in a million years did I ever think I would be swimming in the Indian Ocean–let alone with a Kenyan daughter God blessed me with.

We’ve got some good folks out there.

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