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Mom, Dad, I am who I am because of you. Thanks for allowing me to be me.
Govi, I am who I am becoming because of you. Thanks for believing in me, for loving me even when I was difficult to love, and for being with me even when I was miles away.
Sita, I stay young because of you. Thanks for sharing your life with me. You are one of my greatest blessings.
Alison, I stay grounded because of you. Thanks for the laughter, the tears, the years we've had together.
Fellow writers, friends, and brothers and sisters in faith, I stay hopeful because of you. Thanks for walking with me on this arduous but wonderful path we have chosen.
Pastor Piquera, thanks for opening the door to the chaotic but fascinating world of Gypsy Spain. All you knew about me when you answered my first E-mail was that we served the same God. And that was enough, wasn't it? I will be forever grateful for your hospitality, and for the link you made possible to another world.
Pastor Pepe, Pura, Magdalena, Lolo, Juan, and all the wonderful brothers and sisters from La Iglesia Dios Con Nosotros, thanks for opening the doors of your hearts and homes to me. I will never forget your generosity and loving spirits. Dios os bendiga y os guarde para siempre.
Heidi and Oscar, thanks for being my family away from home. Who ever thought I'd find two fellow "Boricuas" in Seville? Thanks for all the moments we shared. For the comraderie, the exchange of cultures, and the special moments we spent together. Our trip to Torreblanca will be forever etched on my memory.
Silvia y Juan Manuel, thanks for being my "cultural consultants." Your ability to see your own culture objectively without losing the love and passion inherent in your people is incredibly insightful. I hope that we can work together to make our two different worlds a little better by taking the best of each and making a new and even better one.
And to my pastors Juan del Río and Migdalia Suárez I owe the most profound thanks. Without you, I would be lost. Pastor Juan, once you said to me when I doubted what I was doing, "Just keep writing. God will direct you to the right path." Thanks, Pastor. You were right. Dios les bendiga. Les quiero mucho.
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