Internationalmatt's Blog

Spontaneous Decision Led to New Friend from Denmark/Philippines

Last night I spontaneously decided to go see my friends at Ministerio Manatial de Vida. Normally I teach on Tuesday evenings, but I have been on break the past few weeks. The past few Tuesdays I have been meeting with people, but last night I planned to relax at home when I remembered that my friends at Ministerio Manatial de Vida have a Tuesday evening meeting. I brought a DVD with me to suggest for the youth group to watch someday and was asked to share it with them last night. I am very glad I went because it allowed me to meet my new friend Mary from Denmark.

from left- Mary, Maritza and Tania

We celebrated Mary’s birthday with some ice cream and cake that she brought with the help of her host family. Mary is an exchange student from Denmark who has been at Northstar High School here in Lincoln. She is a very interesting young lady to get to know. She speaks Danish, English and French. She has a bright smile and a gentle spirit. It was my privilege to meet her and to share in her birthday celebration.

getting things ready

You may have noticed that Mary does not look like she is from Denmark. That is part of her incredible story. She was born in the Philippines and was adopted as a little girl by a family from Denmark. I do not know her family, but judging by her vibrant personality and joyful spirit it is obvious she grew up in a loving family. As we talked I thought about some of the families from my church who have been adopting children from other countries and seeing the love poured out to their adopted children. I would tell them to think about Mary as a great example of the wonderful things that can happen when a child is adopted and loved. Think about this- Mary is fluent in 3 languages and did well enough in school to be able to be an exchange student.

Mary came to share her cake and ice cream with the youth group and little children at Manatial de Vida. I thought it was wonderful that she wanted to brighten the evening of the kids during her last week in Lincoln. She will return home to Denmark on Friday. I am glad I had the chance to meet her and look forward to hearing more from her since we have become facebook friends

Joyeux Anniversarie, Feliz Cumpleaños, Happy Birthday Mary

July 13, 2011 - Posted by internationalmatt | children, Europe, Experiences of international friends, Hispanic friends, International Friendships, international students, Internationals, orphans