Cuidad Cuauhtemoc

As you may know, there is a drug cartel war present in Mexico. As you may not know, the incident is isolated in the North Eastern part of the country. The rest of the country is as safe as ever; however, the entire country is effected.
For the most part, Mexicans LOVE their country with an undying passion that inspires me still today. It breaks the hearts of the Mexican people to have their county, even just a part of it, in such an fragile state.
In the areas surrounding the conflict, like Cuidad Cuauhtemoc, the people are thirsty for hope. For the children especially, most of them grow up expecting to join the cartel because that is the only place they can see themselves being successful. No one is telling the children who they could be.

That is why Up With People came to Cuidad Cuauhtemoc, and that is why I joined them.

Hope.

We showed the children of Cuidad Cuauhtemoc that they can be so much more than the World before them. They can take a stand and say "enough".

That is what my tour was about; Hope. Hope of a smile today and brighter tomorrow. And that is what I leave with you.

There is more hope in a smile than in all the money and possessions and empty desires the world has to offer. So get up, go out and be that hope for someone. Make YOUR world a better place. One step at a time.

“The world is indeed full of peril and in it there are many dark places.
But still there is much that is fair. And though in all lands, love is now
mingled with grief, it still grows, perhaps, the greater.” 
-J.R.R. Tolkien

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."
-Eleanor Roosevelt

Thank you so much for following me, for your countless prayers and support, and your smiles!
This was the perfect end to a perfect tour.
End: Cast B2012
Begin: Cast A2013

God Bless!