John H. wrote:


It's a great vacation for the kids, and a pain in the butt for us. But when
they leave, we'll have tears running down our face as we say goodbye. It's
remarkable how strong an attachment can be formed in only a few weeks. They
soon seem like part of the family. One of these boys lives with his
grandmother. His mother's in jail for stealing, his father is not to be
found, and his grandfather is dead. The other lives in a two-roomer with
three siblings, a mother, and a father who's an alcoholic. Alcoholism is
the favorite illness over there, it seems. Every boy that's stayed with us,
and had a father at home, had an alcoholic for a father. Damn shame.

We'll probably have them back next year, but don't tell my wife I said
that!

I have always thought if people knew how much they get back
from
volunteering, there would never be a shortage of volunteers.

Thanks for sharing the photos, hopefully you have encouraged
a few others to look into doing something similar.