There is nothing quite as special as witnessing this kind of encounter.  Mary has been sponsoring Girlene (Nina) for about ten months.  Mary has been praying for her.  They have exchanged many letters and pictures.  But there is nothing like a face-to-face encounter.

Both were filled with great anticipation and excitement knowing what was about to happen.  As Mary and the team started walking up the hill to Nina's house, Nina had been watching and saw them coming.  She immediately walked toward the group as fast as she could.  She went right up to Mary and they hugged and hugged.  Mary said it was an "unbelievable experience." 

They bonded immediately. "I had been thinking of her as my own child, and it's like I have known her forever."  They both felt that connection and it was obvious to everyone around.

The emotion of the moment was very hard to describe, "It's like my heart burst out of my chest.  Touching Nina, holding her, kissing her, squeezing her just made everything so real."

"I'm not a crier," Mary claims, "but you would never know it by this trip."