team 3: meet bobbi

"It's a joy to think that our trip is two months away. One day I just woke up and realized it was almost here. This year is so different from last, which was my first. I didn't know what to expect last year, and each moment was new, each day was about getting to know new children by face, by name, and by their story. I remember arriving that first day at St. Mary Kevin and each child already knew us...they were waiting for us with OPEN arms, hearts, and faces. It was....quite something. I learned that even though all of our stories are different, and theirs are stories that are unfamiliar and unbelievable to us, we are still very much the same. When hearts connect, healing occurs. When eyes truly see each other, healing occurs. We become part of their new reality, and they become part of ours. Walking around and feeling hands slip into your hands...longing for connection. Aren't we all. Given what these kids have been through, it's amazing that they continue to have so much love to give. I'm excited that so many young people are coming this year. The kids love young people...and they will so fall in love with them. So much to do, and yet all of it is about being with them. Those of us who go will never be the same, and yet more the same than we've ever been."

[Bobbi has been a therapist for 24 years and worked with children for 10 of them. She was with Catholic Charities during that time, so she visited areas of South Florida, where she lives, that were depressed and with families in need of outside support. Since that time, she's been working with relationships...teaching about the power of deepening connection, through listening and validating another's experience. Besides conducting group and individual therapy at the orphanage, Bobbi will be traveling with a duffel bag full of yoga mats and plans on conducting yoga classes.]