Review of the book “L’espoir court”

Claire and her friend Lara dreamed of traveling the world after college. They traveled to Africa to participate in a running race. Along the way, they found an orphanage that allowed people to stay in their guest rooms. Once there, they became attached to a boy named Samuel.

The girls stayed for a year, which was very important as the children were used to visitors passing by to take pictures and leaving. While there, the girls started a running club in hopes of training them to compete in races where they could get exposure and opportunity. They did shoe and clothing drives and reached out to people via social media to get involved.

At a friend’s wedding reception dinner in 2009, Lara sat next to the director of financial aid at a Maine high school. She caught Claire’s eye and said he was someone she should meet. Claire was able to become Samuel’s legal guardian so he could begin attending in his second year. He received a full scholarship.

Samuel spent a year in Ecuador with a service organization after high school. At first, he didn’t like the foster mother he was living with because he thought she was mean. After speaking with the mother, Claire and Lara helped Samuel gain a new perspective. They explained that she was just a mother doing the best she could with what she had and that he could help her by offering to help instead of waiting to be asked.

This change helped him grow into an adult. As he changed, the foster mother also softened.

The book ends with Samuel returning to Africa in 2014. His hopes were to go to college and reconnect with his biological family members. Claire and Lara’s journey has brought her the world. He had so many good people helping him along the way. The experiences he gained made him someone with so much to offer the world.

It was a heartwarming memory. Stories become dear to us when we meet other people who come into our lives. My daughter-in-law is from Sudan. I mentored a young man from Sudan when my kids were in college. Today he is dear friends with his own family and has come a long way. I’m sure God knew that one day my son would marry a girl from Sudan.

Stories don’t do with closing a book. That’s when they’re just getting started.