And so it begins. Days 1 and 2.

5-9-11
Today I met God. And Jesus. The very same. In the flesh. And that my dear, is a fact. At leas that's what he told me. Also, he knows the devil personally, calls him Jimmy, but he told the devil he can't touch me, because I'm saved. Also, JFK wasn't really assassinated. He's still alive and well these days. Just in case you were wondering.
Man, what a guy. Haha I'm quite positive that this gentleman wasn't all there, and he introduced himself to me like 5 different times and shook my hand. I felt for the guy. He probably had it pretty rough in his life. He probably talked to me for about 5 minutes, without a breath. I couldn't even get a word in edgewise. But it was entertaining to say the least! When he finally walked away, I couldn't help but smile. All in a day's work.
Today was hard. Really hard. I had fun, but I wasn't prepared for how much rejection I would face all day long. I started with high spirits at the beginning of the day but by the lunch break I was really feeling down. Nobody wanted to talk to me. I was feeling self conscious and I really just wanted to get a sponsor!   I definitely needed something to raise my spirits. The last 2 hours were still tough, but better. All the Campaign Managers were so great. They had such great advice and gave me awesome pep talks. They told me everything I needed to hear, exactly when I needed to hear it and I'm really grateful for that! For the last half hour of my day, I went to a new corner and one of the campaign managers told me to stop thinking about trying to get a sponsor and to just try to have a genuine conversation with someone and show them how much love I had in me. I did that with a few people and even though none of them signed up to sponsor a kid, I think it helped me get out of my shell. Hopefully I'll have better luck tomorrow.

5-10-11
Man. What a DAY! It was kinda cold til about 3 today and then BAM, hello sun! I totally got sunburnt. Whaaaaat? I know. Crazy. So I was talking to my dad last night, and thinking about my final pep talk yesterday, and i decided that today I was just going to do everything I could to just LOVE every person I met. Regardless of who they were or if they were going to donate or not. I just had my focus be on making new friends and getting to know the people that walk down these streets. I made a goal to smile the whole day long, and when I felt discouraged, I just had to stop and remind myself that I'm not doing this job for me, I'm doing it so that I can change the world, one child at a time. By standing on that corner, I'm making it so that a child, who could be my little brother or sister, can go to school tomorrow.
Wow. How can I even begin to describe how much of a difference that attitude made today? The day went by so much faster today and I had so much more FUN just talking to people. The rejection was still hard, but it was easier to shake it off and just laugh about it. I seriously feel sore from so much smiling but I think I learned a valuable lesson today. If you want to talk to people, you have to be approachable. And to be approachable, you have to exude love and happiness. Then, people are drawn to you and want to know why you are so happy. It was really awesome, because I got to make some awesome new friends today! I don't even know how many people I talked to today, but I had so much fun and I GOT MY FIRST SPONSOR!!!! Arthur Showden. He had just returned from Veterinary school in New Zealand! So naturally, we had a lot to talk about since I've worked at my Dad's Veterinary Hospital since high school. He also had a girlfriend who worked with the Peace Corps in Zambia, so he had a connection with one of the countries we sponsor kids in! It was great because I talked to him and then brought up who I worked for and what we do and once I was done with my spiel, he had no excuses. He just said he wanted to sponsor a kid in Zambia! Man, I was SO happy! That little girl is going to be so happy tomorrow when she finds out she's sponsored! Even though I didn't sponsor her specifically, I feel like I can take partial credit for that! So I 'm feeling great now! I didn't get another one today, but I finished in good spirits. I seriously couldn't stop smiling! I was walking to catch my bus and I just kept saying hi to people and talking to them and smiling at everyone. It took me a while to realize that I wasn't working anymore and I didn't HAVE to be that friendly, but at that point I just didn't care anymore. I have a feeling this summer is going to make me fearless. Bam. I'm not afraid of anything. I can accomplish anything I set my mind to! I have 3 more days to get 5 sponsors before I'm officially on staff. I know I can do it. I've caught the vision, I know what I need to do, and I'm going to SAVE SOME BABIES!!!

The best excuse I heard today was so funny. I just had to document it. This guy stops and is like, "I'm sorry I can't talk right now, I'm actually late to meet my girlfriend... She's pregnant." Hahahahaha. I just laughed and told him good luck. Good luck man.. I got some amusement out of it at least.