OLR Guest's Insight into Padre Spencer's Class

Mary Anne Cappellino

Guest Blogger

(Producer's Note: Mary Anne Cappellino is a writer, motivational speaker, exercise instructor and Mom! In this blogpost, she provides her own perspective on Padre Spencer's class, which she recently visited.)

Mary Anne Cappellino

I was on campus at Our Little Roses recently when I was asked by Padre Spencer to visit the girl’s classroom. 

I have visited Our Little Roses for 4 years now. I travel with my 15-year-old daughter, Mya, whom I adopted after she had been abandoned in China. We love the girls at Our Little Roses and the opportunity to build positive relationships with them. While there I teach ZUMBA to the girls, a Latin Exercise class. They love it! 

I was blessed to experience the girl's expressive poems. As I heard them recite their feelings about their country, their very personal fears and their dreams, I was moved to tears.

You could see the courage it took for them to express their feelings, to unlock their personal stories.

It will take time for them to see that by sharing their stories they will help others hold a greater understanding of their life circumstances. They will most certainly learn that their stories will give them purpose. When we share the pain and fears that we keep inside, it literally opens a door to a future filled with hope. Like an artist, we are able to paint a canvas with words for the world to see and by doing so we free the past in a way that it can fortify the future.

To summarize:

As the girls shared their poems aloud they revealed

pain, passion, pride and perseverance

Like the tightly wound bud of a rose

Struggling in the sun, wind and rain to open slowly

They revealed beauty beyond belief!

I am so grateful for the opportunity to listen and to share. 

- MaryAnne