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Former LAF’er Nicki Borgstandt sent me an email this morning that she wanted to share with everyone. I found the story very touching and reminded me of why I started to wear my LIVESTRONG wristband the same summer, due to my grandfather battling the disease. Her story from Brazil is below.

In Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, just outside the main part of the city, there lies a church called Senhor do Bonfim. It is impossible to visit Salvador without at least learning about/hearing of this church, as t-shirts, skirts, bags and ribbons all bear its name. The ribbons are of particular interest, as tradition indicates that upon visiting the church, one makes a wish (or prays to Senhor do Bonfim) and leaves one ribbon tied to the fence of the church, while tying the other – in three knots – onto his or her wrist to wear until it breaks.
 
On my last day in Salvador, I went to visit the church. I expected to experience something touristy and memorable, and instead I experienced so much more. Upon arriving at the church, the site of the fence covered in colorful ribbons was beautiful. But what really hit me was a room in the back, just to the right of the altar. All four walls of that room – and even the ceiling – were covered with offerings to Senhor do Bonfim. There were fake legs, arms and hands displaying ribbons, hanging from the ceiling. There were notes, cards and drawings – most in Portuguese – pleading for help or offering thanksgiving on the walls. And there were pictures – hundreds of them – of people seeking help. There were photos of people who had been in accidents, of newborn babies on respirators, of breasts and heads and other close ups of body parts that I couldnt help but assume were cancerous. And there were hundreds of snapshots of people young and old from all walks of life.
 
I suddenly became overwhelmed and was brought to tears. I realized that this church, this saint, this sacred spot gave hope to the hopeless. 
 
And then I looked down at my left wrist. On it is my LIVESTRONG wristband, the same one that I have been wearing since my Grandpa was diagnosed with cancer in the summer of 2004 (the summer that they came out). Then the images on the walls surrounding suddenly reminded me of the tribute wall from the Challenge Mission Booth and the walls that decorated our office with letters from people that Lance and the LAF had inspired. And at that moment I realized that the Lance Armstrong Foundation provides to people the exact thing that Senhor do Bonfim does – hope and inspiration, something to believe in. The ribbons of Bonfim were like the LIVESTRONG bands.
 
As I exited the church, I pulled one ribbon – a white one – out of my bag. I took off my LIVESTRONG wristband, tied the ribbon to it and then tied the ribbon to the fence. My offering – the memory of my Grandfather, the two years of my life I devoted to the LAF as an employee – joined the offerings of so many others.  I then tied the second ribbon – a yellow one, of course – to my wrist, making not a wish, but a prayer – for my Grandfather and for everyone affected by cancer.