Last week Friday I went to Waterloo, where the other Mercy Ships center is. On the way out we stopped at a school that is being sponored by a Dutch NGO. While we were there looking at the school and taking pictures to send to Holland I met this little guy, Lahmen. He followed me around asking me to take his "snap", picture. He was so cute. I took about a dozen pictures of and with the little guy. I would take a picture and then show it to him. He thought it was the most incredible thing in the world. i can't help but wonder what will happen to Lahmen. I can only pray that he is one of the few fortunate Sierra Leonians to have a life that is not filled with poverty and hoplessness. His smile will haunt me, he is one of the reasons we keep fighting for a better world.

There are a million more reasons waiting to be met. I remember watching the news before I left the States. A famous athlete was thought to have tried to commit suicide, it ended up not being the case. His spokeswoman said, "why would he want to end his life, he has 10 million reasons to stay alive" referring to his rather large contract. We all need hope to continue on. One of my sources of hope is Lahmen. I will live my life to bring hope to the many without it. Ten million dollars is reason enough for some, one boy in the small village of Grafton is reason enough for me.