Some days I find myself waking up and thinking back to the peaceful shores of Little Corn. My mind drifts to the winding dirt paths through the jungle, and the smell of salty air and fresh coconuts. I daydream of swaying in a hammock, rocking back and forth with the ocean breeze. Other days I see children laughing in the street kicking around a soccer ball, and my mind flashes back to Monty’s. I picture Ramon and all his friends kicking their soccer ball back and forth and jumping around in the waves.

Another GIVE group has come and gone, and Ramon has met a new set of volunteers whom he has made friends with. What it must be like, constantly living a life in which people come in and out of your life so frequently? Does he pause and think of me and the day he climbed his coconut tree for us? I certainly remember him and all my Nicaraguan friends.

There is something so strong and beautiful in the lives that we touch on this earth and the bonds that we form. When someone touches your life – grazes past you like a butterfly softly brushing your skin – that feeling never fades. The butterfly travels to new places, finds new homes, but you’re left with a radiating warmth that follows you wherever life may take you. ​