I'm an orphan. When I heard that you were coming to see me and my friends, I got so excited. My heart jumped inside my chest and I let out a joyful yell! Finally, someone was coming who we could relate to. And when I saw you for the first time, I knew that you were different. You smiled at me. Your eyes watered. You understood.
My mommy was taken from me, by poachers, when I was almost 3 months old. But these nice people here at the orphanage have taken me in and have given me hope for a future. They feed me every day, and they are teaching me to live on my own. I'm the youngest kid here at the orphanage, but I seem to be everybody's favorite. I think it's my knobby knees and short trunk.
I'm a baby elephant, you see. But we connected. It was like there was a string from your heart to mine, and we were tied together by our stories. I'm so happy that we got to meet. I can guarantee, your life will never be the same.
Love always,
Baby Elephant
When we arrived in Nairobi, Kenya, I had no idea what to expect. One of the first things we saw coming out of the airport were giraffes and zebras.Our squad had the opportunity to go to a local Elephant Orphanage. We watched them chug bottles of baby formula, and heard their stories. We saw them play with each other, and we even got to touch the ones that came close enough to the rope that separated us. I knew Kenya would be amazing, but I never imagined that I would have an emotional connection with a kid elephant. Not only was I an orphan, but I'm also the youngest on the squad.
For those of you who haven't figured it out yet, I was adopted at a young age. To this day, I don't know who my biological parents are. However, I was blessed with a wonderful family. I was an answered prayer. I am loved. I am cherished. I am supported. And I wouldn't trade them for the world.
The amount of growth that has happened in my life on the race, and in their lives back home (following me on the race) excites me for the growth to happen when we are all together again.
A family that prays together, stays together!!
So here's to my family: I love you guys. You're more than I could have ever asked for. We fight, we yell, and sometimes we are OOC (out of control), but we're family. And we're the coolest family out there– at least in my book!
