By Sue Floyd, Chosen Mentor
At first, we spent an hour or two a week with her at the facility and talked on the phone every few days. She did not have any local family or friends, and soon we were able to pick her up for short outings as she earned privileges. Most relationships through Chosen continue at this level—friendship and showing up on a consistent basis through all kinds of changes and the pains of growing up. Mentorship in this way is powerful, as proven through many stories coming out of Chosen. But for us, mentorship changed into something we never expected. I remember well the day when we were with our girl attending a church, and I asked her how she would like for us to introduce her to others. She simply said, “Can you say I’m your granddaughter?
The trust that has grown between us made it possible to take her on a family vacation with us this summer. We watched her step into so many challenges and situations that two years ago would have been impossible. She swam hours in lakes and pools, floated rivers and jumped into creeks, met tons of family, and road tripped 1,300 miles.
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