Meet Ruth

The sweetest little girl I ever knew. Ruth is 9 years old and the first born in her family. She is SO strong. She helped carry those huge and heavy blocks down a hill with us. She had more strength than I do for sure. She followed me everywhere. And I loved every second of it. She even followed me to the bathroom! And when I came out of the bathroom, every time she would be sitting there waiting with a bucket of water she ran and got for me to wash my hands in.

She told another girl on the trip that we have beautiful hands. Morgan, in response, said "YOU have beautiful hands Ruth!" And Ruth's response was, "No, look how clean they are. They are so beautiful!"

These people don't have running water. They have wells. And is the water even clean? MMM no. Not really. Not safe to drink for Americans.

In her eyes, cleanliness is beauty. Some of us can't stand to go a day without a shower. . . These poor Guatemalan people have never had the luxury of taking a shower. Maybe rinsing off with a wet cloth; but they don't even have soap.

She sat here everyday and watched for hours as I worked. Laying block. So patient. So happy. So smiley! I love this girl so.

She was so patient with me and my crazy limited Spanish. And even took the time to teach me a little bit. Her smile so warm and friendly. Melting my heart away each second I saw it. And smiling seemed to be one of her favorite things to do. Because it was rare to catch her without a smile.

The last day, Ruth wanted me to meet her mom. I was so honored that she wanted her mom to meet me! How cool! What a big deal! She ran home and dragged her mom out to where we were working and introduced us. Beautiful moment.

My sweet beautiful Ruth with her mom

Ruth stole my heart from day one and she is a beautiful girl that I will never forget in all my days. So loving. So giving. So generous. So sweet. SO INCREDIBLE. I love you, my sweet Ruth!

This is Ruth and her best friend Maura
Cuties!

Some of my last moments with these sweethearts.
Ruth is the one with her arm around me :)

Maura, Ruth, and Romelia.
These three were inseparable and glued to me every second

Oh how I love that smile

The three best friends that anyone could have

Love her!!