The Sunflower

My friends are a part of my family. I have always felt this way. My family knows and treats my friends as family too. My family treats their friends as family. It is just the Simmons way and I am so thankful for that. I am thankful that my wonderful Grandparents started a family with that kind of love in it. And I am thankful that my parents brought us up that way.

This post is about two very important, special, amazing friends in my life.

Morgan and Lisa are both friends we have met from church and quickly have become family to us. We have known them both for several years and have seen both of them evolve from bright high school kids into some of the best people I have ever known. This week both of them have embarked on a journey they would have never thought they would be on.

Lisa and Morgan are going to work at an orphanage named “The Sunflower” or “El Girasol” in Peru for 2 months this summer as interns. The orphanage is located outside of Cuzco, in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, just down the mountain from Machu Piccu and it looks amazing.

This trip is not affiliated with our church, or any church for that matter but rather a humanitarian program that runs this particular orphanage.

Lisa will be using her skills a Social Worker to help the kids, and Morgan will use her teaching skills to analyze the current curriculum as well as teach English to the kids. The best future these kids have is within the tourist industry so learning English would be a big advantage.

There could not be a better team.

Morgan speaks Spanish and has gone on several mission trips to Peru in the past. I had the pleasure of attending one of these trips and I will tell you, Peru is an amazing country. She is very familiar with the Peruvian culture and knows her way around both Lima and Cuzco. She is great with kids and adults alike and you just can’t help but love her.

Lisa worked as an intern last year at a hospital in Ghana which is in West Africa. She has dealt with language barriers, foreign currency, and respecting culture unknown to her. She can adapt well and has a personality that destroys any walls that people can put up. Lisa radiates love and acceptance.


I would love it if you checked out their blogs. They will have internet access and will update while they can. You can even say hello. They both know all about all of you, I tell my family everything, so they will not be surprised to see you if you decided to leave them a comment.

If not, just send them some good energy, happy thoughts, and/or prayers. They are getting “ninja” ones all the time!