Tag Archives: Poverty in Mexico

You Don’t Need A Purpose

Several hundred smiling Mexican children line the pathway. They shake pink and blue balloons with the same kind of a vigor you’d expect from too much caffeine. As we hike up the path, the children greet us, one by one, with handshakes and hugs. We trek along the cheerful pathway of bouncing balloons and happy children toward a huge arching banner with the words “Bienvenidos” (welcome).

Our greeting feels like heaven.

This is how I expect heaven will be ~ a jubilant greeting of happiness and joy full of children and colorful balloons.  Perhaps heaven will be a little warmer, as my three sweatshirts did not keep me warm. read more

I’m Not a Man (Everyone knows that. Or so I thought.)

Manuel with his mother Alma Rosa. They traveled in a bus for 14-hours to meet me in Veracruz.

Manuel thought I was a man. He thought this from the time I became his sponsor eight years ago. His mother, Alma Rosa, explained over lunch when we met in Veracruz last week. She told our interpreter Aaron that, in their mind, the name ‘Bronwyn’ is a man’s name. Compassion International, the ministry that connects sponsors with children in poverty, had sent me a letter in the beginning of my sponsorship asking me to not send pictures of my house or car or any picture displaying the luxury of my American life. read more