This was a Facebook post from one of our very first “campers”. She gave me permission to share it here. She was always an excellent student. You can read her beautiful description of her childhood at the home, Hogar Teresa Toda, our Sister Community in Azua, DR. She is now a wife and mother of two: daughter, 8 and son, 3. They are so cute! I thought this was so lovely, seeing how she appreciates the impact the Sisters have had on her life. One of the pictures is from that post and I added two more. Most of you know that their order is the Carmelites of Saint Joseph. They chose Saint Joseph because he took care of Jesus even though He was not his biological son. This is a straight Google translation, but I think you’ll understand it.
“Not only are they nuns or religious, they are women who know how to be mothers, teachers, and friends. They dedicate their lives to the foster and teaching of girls in need of attention, love, and thirsty to learn.
“I remember exactly my arrival to which would become my home for 11 years of my life and what a beautiful experience. It was always a kind of bubble, a safety dome, out there life became different, going from being cared for and fending for myself was the great challenge of my life😅. But I’ve always said it, every person who lived with me has been a lesson for life, because with them I knew the meaning of true friendship (Patricia, Natalia, Carolina). That to get along with my neighbors only have respect for each person around me. That I can learn from all, but also serve as a guide to the growth of another group. Creativity has no limits and with a pencil after a stroke more ideas emerge that can become art. That to be heard you do not need to scream. If you have firmness, that the money that makes me worthy is the only one I have right🙂. Always do things selflessly, even give love. I was taught to thank for everything, to do an analysis every night of my day, because that would help me improve my habits. I was given the privilege to study in two good schools, to value things and people, and taught me to believe in me.
“Thank you for relieving my fever nights. Thank you for those camps we longed for every school year end. Thank you for being the guide of 30 girls of different ages. Thank you for teaching me how to cook, to iron, to sew on a button, to sew the hem of my pants. Thank you for teaching me how to embroider, knit, paint, sing, for allowing me to learn to enjoy life from the simplest. Thank you thank you. Blessings.”
Peace,
Ann
Campamento 2023 