Have you heard about the beautiful book, “The Amazing Faith of Texas”? It is a book that came out a few
years back that I was very, very honored to be a part of…and, most of all, I was honored to get to spend
more time with the author, Mike Blair, who drove around Texas with his wife, Ginger, in their RV, meeting
and interviewing people of different faiths. Through my interview process with Mike, we became even closer
and I now love Mike like a brother. We’ve shared a lot about what spirit means with one another, and through
Mike I’ve met many people from the book I, most likely, would have never met.
When I first met Mike, it was when he was producing spots for Wal-Mart, and at the time, Lily was still in
a baby carrier! Mike would let me bring Lily into the vocal booth with me, and she was always a trooper—never
cried or sniffed or yawned during a take—so, in many ways, those days of my singing “…at Wal-Mart, there’s a
smile on every aisle!” have just as much of Mike and Lily in them as myself. Little did I know back then that
this producer (who seemed rather serious at the time) would later down the road become a mentor, friend
and counselor for life.
So, one of the great things about Mike is his quiet, enormous heart. Following is an email he sent out this
morning. If any of you feel so compelled, please support Isaura. I know you will be as moved as I was
to read about her story.
Thank you!
Love,
Sara
Dear Friends,
I’d like to take a moment to tell you about a young lady Ginger and I have come to know over the past four years. When I was working on “Amazing Faith” I interviewed four kids at San Juan Diego High School here in Austin. SJD is a private school for low-income children (mostly funded by donors and the Catholic Dioscese). As I interviewed these kids I was especially taken by one tiny hispanic girl. She was shy, but she was engaged and just seemed strong and fragile at the same time. After the interview I asked the teacher about the girl. She said her name was Isaura Martinez. She was 14 and a freshman at the time. She said that Isaura lived in a one bed-room apartment on the east side with her mother, three sisters and two cousins. She said that when Isaura was 12 she read about San Juan Diego HS and told her mother she wanted to go there. Her mother told her to forget it because they couldn’t afford the tuition (tuition is based on income). Isaura got on a bus and went to the school and interviewed for a scholarship and convinced the board to accept her even though her mother couldn’t afford to pay anything. For four years Isaura has gotten up at 5 in the morning and ridden three buses to get to this school and three buses home. Today, Isaura is a senior and will graduate this year. She has been accepted thus far to four colleges but because of the economy, scholarships are very hard to come by.
Ginger and I are committed to helping her realize her dream (she wants to be the first Hispanic President by-the-way) but we are in no position to do a whole lot for her. So……….I am boldly coming forward to ask if anyone would like to contribute anything to a scholarship fund for Isaura (no matter how small). If you can find it in your heart and your pocketbook, I would be eternally grateful.
Blessings,
Mike
HI! It’s me, Sara, again…If you are interested in supporting Isaura, please mail a check made out to the:
Isaura Martinez Scholarship Fund
and mail to me at:
Sara Hickman
3005 S. Lamar D-109, #412,
Austin, TX 78704
Bless you, thank you.
Sara