Dear Sara,
I’ve been meaning to write you for quite a while, ever since we saw you perform at the Unitunes show in Houston this past January. You might remember us as my wife, Leilani, is from the Philippines. She asked you to perform ‘Simply’. Thank you for that.
The reason I’m writing is about children. You sang a song about the Romanian children. You were brought to tears. I’ve never seen that from someone on stage and I admire you for that. In that
song you mentioned many countries. That song brought to mind an experience. I had met what appeared to be a somewhat wealthy woman in Taiwan on my last trip to the Philippines trying to work out our own immigration problem with the embassy in Manila. She had adopted a Filipino child 3 or 4 years earlier. The child supposedly immediately becomes a U.S. citizen. Even with that
legal benefit the child still had to have a visa issued. At that point she could only visit her own child! As you can imagine there many many children there that need good loving homes. The irony is that even when one is provided there are still useless bureaucratic delays from a ‘pro-family’ administration. My two trips to the Philippines were real ‘eye openers’ as I was able to see first hand widespread poverty and over population. I strongly encourage every American to travel outside their ‘envelope’.My hope is that through your work with children and perhaps with some of your contacts that rule can eliminated or shortened. Many children could find loving parents in the U.S. What a blessing for everyone this would be!
Thanks for reading. Leilani and I hope see you next week on the 29th in Houston.
Your dear friend,
Michael
Dear Michael,
I WOULD like to help children more extensively. I’m not sure how to go about doing that, just yet, except to make my music about these issues and share it at shows, on my blog and
on my site. Currently, I am hoping to go to India with my oldest daughter next spring, to visit orphanages through the Miracle Foundation. I think at this point in my life, with children of
my own and the current performance schedule I keep, that I will continue to try and motivate others to get involved and help make change. But I will certainly do my best to bring the issue you have laid before me to those in the world of politics through my personal encounters and letters.
Thank you for your kind letter,
Gratefully,
Sara