Letter from Jazmin
Greetings and Salutations! First off, thank you for taking some time to read this. It truly means a lot. I have learned that someone desired of me to write a small essay based on a list of topics. And, I have chosen: A good memory here at New Song Mission. Now, let’s move onto the story, shall we?
It was on Sunday, April 8th. Which just happened to be my 17th birthday. I had woken up to a ‘Happy Birthday’ banner hanging on my curtains and to my sisters walking into my room. They all decided to sit upon my bed. “Happy Birthday Jazmin!” was what they told me as they handed me a couple of birthday cards. I found this sweet.
As I read the ones they had written me, Julie, the second youngest, handed me a yellow envelope from my mom. I smiled softly and laughed at the contents that were scrawled on the cards from both my mom and sisters. It really made my day a whole lot better! Later on, I got to talk to my mom for a couple of minutes. She congratulated me on becoming old! I laughed at this joke and thanked her for the card. After that, me, my sisters, and house family prepared ourselves to go to church.
About thirty minutes later, we arrived at church. When we all walked in, many smiling faces greeted us. A couple of people and their families hugged me or told me “Happy Birthday Jazmin!” These gestures of affection made me feel loved and happy, but it also struck me at that moment with a twinge of sadness. However, I smiled back and thanked them all. We all then sat down in the chairs to begin service. When worship and service were done, we stayed awhile longer to catch up and talk to everyone. Maybe about 15 or 30 minutes later, we all drove to the Augsburger’s house, where my party was going to be held.
As soon as I walked in, my mouth fell open. The entire room was beautiful! It was beautifully decorated with flowers, since the theme was flowers and pastel colors. Me and my sisters and house family just hung out while we waited for all the other guests to arrive. Pretty soon, the Augsburger’s house was packed with people from our church! As soon as everyone arrived, we prayed then ate; after a while we all gathered around the large table in the dining room. I sat at the head of the table surrounded by both loved ones and presents. We prayed once more before opening my gifts. I read all of the cards and letters that I had received before moving to the gift bags.
My smile grew bigger and bigger with each thoughtful gift, such as the following: China teacup, 
watercolor pencils, pastels, and a new sketch book, a watercolor pad, $30 Amazon gift card, etc. I thanked everyone, but then Mrs. Tonya told me that I had one more gift left to open. Then, two of the girls that I attended church with exited the room only to return with an oblong pink gift. As I unwrapped it, at first I was incredibly confused at what I was looking at. I thought that I might have gotten a ukulele, but I was even more surprised when I unzipped the carrier bag to find a brand-new and incredibly beautiful violin! I teared up at this gift, which turned out to be my favorite gift. After that, all the kids went out to toss the football around, and I was the game's referee, yelling out in Spanish from the sidelines. This is one of the best memories that I loved here at New Song. It’ll be in my heart forever. This is all, thanks again!
Sincerely,
Jazmin