| A note from Lesia Cartelli, Founder and Director | |
My heart is full, my soul is in awe!
 | Dear Friend,
The seventh annual Angel Faces retreat is behind
us - but yet right in front of our heart. What an extraordinary week!
Many of you emailed to send us courage, strength, and compassion during
the week. Thank you! My staff, volunteers, and I gave the girls our
best in harmony, knowledge, and love. Many miracles were witnessed and
felt.
My heart is full, my soul in awe, of what we all experienced. Since then,
I find myself pondering between inspiration for several future retreats and
what the girls are doing at this moment since they are back
home.
What a magical thing to watch great needs collide with passion and great
resources; this is one way I can describe what this last retreat was
like.
Twenty one carefully selected girls arrived from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico
with challenges even greater than we had anticipated. We stood at
the entrance waiting, embracing, and ready. Most of the girls had
burn injuries to over 60%, a few at 90%, of their total body surface
area. They arrived with significant lack of mobility and trauma that
brought those injuries into their precious lives. I've learned,
over the last decade working with these courageous young women, that the
exterior injuries are only the tip of the iceberg. Socially, familial and
grief/loss issues are usually floating near the surface -- hungry for solid
education and tender loving care.
We have seen the girls return home and positively impact their families,
classmates, and communities; carrying greater self confidence, communicating,
and living their lives with hope and enthusiasm. While teaching the
girls that their accident was not just about "them", that often the family is
hugely impacted, I encouraged those who were struggling with wanting to talk to
their parents about the accident, but afraid the subject would be too emotional
for them, to write a letter. This exercise was optional, something to do
at their will, and in their own time.
During the closing ceremony one of the girls surprised us and read two letters
she had written to her parents (one to mom, and one to dad). She
said she felt so free afterwards, "even happier than before her
accident".
As the girls were departing, Bethany, 14 years old (burned as a toddler),
handed me this letter she wrote to her mother; I want to share it with you:
 
 Bethany attending Angel Faces 2010  | I believe healing comes in many forms and layers, and sometimes from the
unexpected. I can feel Bethany's bravery in seeing her own beauty
in her tragedy. Now you know why my heart is full and my soul is in
awe. This is one of many moments we experienced during the
retreat.
Thank you for supporting us - which not only allows the girls to begin to heal,
but their families as well.
In light,
Lesia
Cartelli
Founder and Director
|
