Colombia Meets Havre de Grace

What a wonderful and special day today has been. We connected once again with Jose and Lina and their host family (see their blog here!) and headed down to downtown Havre de Grace to take a tour of WXCY—THE Country Music Station. Our host was General Manager, Bob Bloom. He showed us the computer room that powers our favorite country hits, and introduced us to some of the staff there. One staffer, Naomi Ellis, was so excited when she saw the Kidsave t-shirts Katie and I were wearing. I imagine it isn’t often that they do a public service announcement for an organization, then have them show up at the station! She happily tagged along for the tour, snapping pictures and video along the way.

Soon, we crowded into the DJ booth where DJ Tim Hartley was hard at work. Not speaking a lick of Spanish, Tim was so gracious with the kids, and his communication with them definitely transcended the language barrier. He and Bob showed us their equipment, and how we could tell what song would be coming up next. And THEN they actually invited all of us to go live on-air with them! I think that was exciting for everyone. We taught Tim how to say “Hi, how are you all?” (“Hola, como estan?). He did great, and the kids were very enthusiastic with their response. Saying goodbyes to Tim, Bob led us back to the front office where he had a shoulder bag filled with pens and pencils for each child. Wow, what a terrific gift! We were so grateful for the special experience.

After a quick lunch at Burger King, we headed over to Bomboy’s for their locally made ice cream. That was a sweet treat for everyone. Oh, AND, I took some of the kids for a little ride through the shop on my knee scooter. That was pretty funny!

We also had an impromptu opportunity to visit the home of a local friend. They have chickens, so the kids got to go see the chickens and look for eggs. Monica, of course, LOVED the birds. She got to hold one in her arms which was great. Diana found a very small bird’s nest which had been abandoned. Perhaps it was a hummingbird’s? Our friends also had two very large golden retrievers who were just loving the love the kids had to pour out.

Having found out that Leidy’s favorite dinner is tacos, we plan on having that for dinner tonight. This is Monica’s last day with Leidy—at least for a little while! Tomorrow morning we will say “hasta luego” to Leidy. I anticipate a few tears, but I know that close on the heels of those tears is hope for a forever family. Please help that hope come true! Share my blog, tell everyone you know about these special young ladies!