Reality Continued

Katrina (far left, front row)

I sit here trying to put into words the experience of loving people for Christ and words rarely convey the depth of that experience. I am going to introduce you to Katrina and as I do I hope I can find the words to help you get to know her.
Katrina is 30 years old, she is married and has a little girl. She had submitted an application to attend the first training we had but because we were focused on reaching young people we did not invite her to attend the first class. When we called her and invited her to come for another interview to attend the second class she happily came.
This time when we interviewed her we saw a potential leader, someone who could help us train, a person who could encourage and someone who even though she was past over the first time did not give up. We had no idea at that time how wonderful she was and what a blessing Katrina would be. As we read the professional referral for Katrina it confirmed it for us. It said, "She is a humble, hard working, fast learning and a mature Christian. She will be able to even train others. She is someone who likes to motivate others positively."
She was one of the first we accepted into the second class. She was such an encouragement to us and to her fellow students. Everyone of the students respected her and even looked to her for help. Her knowledge of the Bible and faith in God is truly remarkable and it drew the other girls to her. Over the weeks of training, everyone got to know each other and learned that they could trust each other. Once that trust was established Katrina began inviting the girls to church and began mentoring them.
Katrina completed the program and is now working for the Garden Cafe. She is amazing and she will be a leader some day soon even though she does not think she will be. She does not see what I see. She comes to work with a smile, she greets and is greeted by everyone, she gets right to work, she has almost learned every area of the kitchen in just a months time, she works hard and is focused on detail and excellence. What she does not see is that she is setting a great example for the others and without even knowing it she is leading already.
When we asked her to write a thank you note to those who helped make the program possible this is what she wrote:
 "Dear Sponsors, First of all I will like to give thanks for our Heavenly Father for giving you the strength to make me acheive something in life. I will like to thank you for the way you sponsor us, so that we can experience something. I am so happy that you make my dreams come true. And I am now able to work with people, be polite and loving people. I also thank you for the kind cute people Mr and Mrs Duran you gave us or send them for us. May all the blessings be upon you and may our Heavenly Father always be with you. I'll always pray for you. And once more thank you very much. Love you all. Read Psalm 23. From Katrina."
Her words say it better than mine and they still bring tears to my eyes. Each of these wonderful people God brings accross our path are His children and we are so blessed to get to know them. Each is an inspiration to me and helps me to be a better person and a better Christian.