Kathy Skipper is Director of Public Relations for Food For The Poor. She and her husband Joe have been blessed to sponsor Ruth through the Angels Of Hope program for the last two years. This is a birthday letter to their little girl, who lives at Our Lady of Lourdes Home in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Food For The Poor’s Angels Of Hope sponsors support more than 3,600 children in 120 orphanages throughout the Caribbean and Latin America, where the children receive food, clothing, shelter, education and lots of love and attention.
Our dear Ruth,
Just a week from now, you will celebrate your eleventh birthday. As you approach this special day, Joe and I share your anticipation and pray that your day and your year will unfold in wonderful ways.
You are such a beautiful girl. That was clear to me when I visited you this year, felt the warmth of your smile in person and watched you interact with the other children at your Angels Of Hope home. Your typically adolescent nature — playfully sullen to suddenly silly — made me laugh out loud with you.
Each time I see a girl carrying water or missing school to help in the fields, I thank God that you can go to school and be free to be a regular pre-teen girl with homework, and friends to tease. At night, we go to bed knowing that you are in a safe place with a door that locks.
Your letters and drawings mean so much to us. My heart skipped a beat when you sent a drawing of a pink rose bush that looks just like one in our yard. Thank you for adding such love to our lives.
On your birthday, we pray that you know how much you are loved. We pray that knowledge will encourage you to pursue every dream you have, fulfilling every promise God has made to give you a bright future.
You are loved, sweet girl. Until we meet again, peace and love from your American family.
Kathy and Joe