Power to Say NO

The group of girls that have touched my heart the most. I truly feel I have impacted their life, and I know these girls will never forget me. 

NEVER did I think I would teach a SEX talk to a group of pre-teen girls!! Let alone in Guatemala, in another language. All I have to say is wow. Just wow. What a meaningful and rewarding discussion. We all shared personal stories, stories about friends and loved ones. And we talked about the importance and opportunity to say no. We talked about the consequences, and how one decision can flip your life upside down. In this culture, it is so unbelievably common for young girls to get pregnant, and the man walks away. I was so impressed with how shy they were at first, and then they opened up and started sharing real life stories about their families. We all described what "real love" means to us. It was really powerful and interesting. Even though these girls are only about 11 years old. It is so much better to talk about these hard subjects NOW before they are living in the situation and they are feeling unprepared. 

Then, I also received a card from one of my preteen girls, "I will never forget the new things you have taught me over the past three months. You have been like a sister. Thank you for being honest and sharing your stories with us. Thank you for playing with us. I will never forget you. I don't want you to leave. God bless you." My heart melted. Saying goodbye to this group of girls is going to be the hardest. Today they all asked me to take a picture with them. They all wanted a group picture to remember me, and then they said, "can we all take one with you individually". I felt like a celebrity/model. But how special is that...these girls didn't ask for a gift, they asked for a picture. To them they didn't need a materialistic gift, they wanted a sentimental picture. Little do they know that next week I am going to be giving each of them a very special bracelet as well.