Panchewa

Panchewa (or just Pan, but pronounced more like “bun” than frying “pan” — figure that one out) is our oldest, both in age and in how long she’s been with us. She came to us around the same time as Alaypa and Lutiya and has been here longer than every kid but Isaac.

She had been living with her ailing grandmother, who was worried Pan wouldn’t have a family to care for her after she passed away. Pan’s mother died when she was in second grade, her father a few years ago. Her grandmother took good care of her, but because she lived in a mountain village, her education suffered. At the village school, the teacher would only show up once or twice a week, and even when the teacher was there, they didn’t do much in the way of work. When Pan moved to a school in the city for 7th grade, she could hardly read.

Now this girl is going to university, studying to be a teacher. She struggles sometimes, but she is an extremely hard worker (when she’s not on Facebook), and she has come really far in just a few years.

Now that she’s a college student, we don’t see her as much. But when she’s here, she’s quick to play with the kids or help out in whatever way we need. When we take her out, both Cindy and I feel like we’re hanging out with a friend, not one of our kids.

Mostly, Pan reminds us why we do this. She recently told me how she started actually liking church, and she’s going by herself now. All the time, she tells us (or others) how thankful she is to have parents who really care about her. She’s still got issues, no doubt, but she gives me hope for all the other kids in our family.

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