CONNECTION is the second half of our name. We feel it when we see what our donations and prayers accomplish, and experience it when we exchange letters with children we sponsor. But it’s possible we don’t take enough time to celebrate it.
On September 9, about 75 supporters assembled to recognize the many miraculous connections that make up James Connection. Leslie Swensen, hosting the event at her own expense, invited guests to join in honoring founder Jan Swensen as he starts his 90th trip around the sun as well as the 22+ anniversary of James Connection. A newly-renovated, intimate space in the offices of our partner, The Pittsburgh Foundation, provided the backdrop. As the sun set over the city’s bridges and rivers, guests enjoyed dinner, the view, and getting to know one another.
In her welcoming remarks, Leslie highlighted the many connections that have brought Angels’ Place from a dream to a busy campus that provides housing, food, faith instruction, academic education, and vocational training for 160 children. Among those connections:
- Early support from Holiday Park Church of Christ
- An organizing committee of volunteers
- Early capital funders who invested in what was then only a dream.
- Friends and family who became sponsors of individual children
- Pittsburgh-area churches and others in West Virginia, Tennessee, and Georgia, who heard the story and chose to help.
- A sponsor network that stretches from Cape Cod to California and even to Saudi Arabia and Switzerland.
- The board and volunteers who maintain the US side of the operation
Following remarks from Executive Director Jan Swensen and his successor Jim Ice, Leslie introduced some of the most vital connections: the staff and children at Angels’ Place. Via video created by Angels’ Place manager, Siam, guests met key staff and observed the children going about their day. Connection became evident immediately, as the boys’ and girls’ supervisors are both graduates of Angels’ Place. Manngaihuen, the girls’ supervisor, would have been pleased if she could have seen her former sponsors, Tom and Linda DeLong, who found themselves on their feet, teary-eyed, but smiling, as they saw the little girl they had written to for years, now grown up and giving back.
To conclude the evening, Leslie paused the video and remarked, “About 20 years ago when we were visiting the orphanage, we saw twelve shy girls with a couple of stand-up mics and the courage to perform in a foreign language a song they chose: ‘We Are the World.’ It’s on our website and we have used it a lot. Here now is the newest production of that song. It says everything there is to say about why we do what we do.”
Indeed, as guests watched the new, artistic rendition, the words drove the theme of connection home: “The world must come together as one . . . We are all a part of God’s great big family . . . Change can only come when we stand together as one . . . “
Please take a moment to view the song and feel the connection for yourself. To get an more in-depth peek into the lives of the children at Angels' Place, watch the full length video on our Angels' Place page (scroll to bottom).
