it takes a village (natalie)

That old saying is so true. Let me share my village story with you...

For about three years now, we've been sponsoring a boy named Wilfredo. I've talked about him before, but he is such a gentle, quiet boy. He was abused as a child and doesn't have any parents. He is a hard worker and just wants to be a good boy.

Earlier in the summer, another expedition group called Wings World Wide went to the orphanage. Wings World Wide is a non-profit group that does free dental work - a wonderful group of people. I emailed April, one of the expedition members, and asked how things went. She told me that Wilfredo had broken off half of his front tooth and they tried to salvage it, but weren't able to and had to pull it. He was now missing one of his top front teeth. She said he needed to be taken to a local dentist to have a bridge put in.

Another friend went down to the orphanage a month later and saw Wilfredo. She said he was so embarrassed that he would't look at anyone and wouldn't smile. He didn't want his picture taken either. That broke my heart. She tried taking him to the dentist but wasn't able to while she was there.

Another month went by and another expedition went down. I emailed four expedition members and asked them to take Wilfredo to the dentist. They took him and he ended up getting a root canal and a bridge put it (and all for $280 which I thought was a great bargain). Jenni and Kathy also took him to lunch and had a sweet little conversation with him. Here is Kathy's email:

...He continued eating, then stopped and said, "Natalie, Jenni and Kathy take care of me like they are my mother, and I have never had a mother." I could barely hold back the tears. It was a very neat experience--one of many incredible experiences I've had on this trip.

So thank you April, Chuck, Jenni and Kathy. Thank you for taking care of the children. I couldn't have done it without you.

ps: the photo above is Wilfredo with his new tooth!

pps: Wilfredo and other Sunflower children can be sponsored through Generations Humanitarian.