Jamida had a bright future—she was young, beautiful and looked forward to a promising nursing career. The 18-year-old Ugandan was also engaged to be married, but her Islamic parents adamantly refused to let her marry a man who was not a Muslim. Jamida broke the sad news to her fiancé.

Over the past few weeks I have had the enormous pleasure of meeting some of the most hospitable people on the globe. In response to my "hello" or "greetings," I keep receiving the words, "Welcome, welcome," from warm, expressive faces. Beneath the sincere salutations and gleaming white smiles is something even more beautiful: incredible tenacity and fortitude. Each day I've been meeting people who live each day in circumstances that I myself would have considered hopeless. All these things are making it very easy for me to fall in love with this place and its people!