Hi Sandrine,

I hope that you are keeping well.

I have had such a lovely report from the family about Rachel that I want to share it with you.   I have cut and pasted it below…..

“Hi Maggie,
Thank you for your message. I wanted to wait until I had a moment to respond in full.

Rachel is absolutely amazing and we feel so blessed that you found her for us!!! She has become a real part of our family. You were right when you said that age does not have a lot to do with maturity. Rachel is such a mature 18 year old that I often forget how young she is.

Rachel is such a lovely girl with a sunny and upbeat disposition. She is a joy to have around. From the moment she arrived she has been enthusiastic about being here, learning English, making friends, discovering London. She shares that enthusiasm with the kids and when she has the opportunity, she takes them to museums or exciting places. She takes my youngest to the swimming pool — all her own idea.

The children have grown very attached. We are all dreading the end of her stay. She is incredibly warm and loving toward the children in a very natural way. She helps my eldest with piano (she is accomplished herself) and is very able to jump in with homework help or coming up with crafts for them to do. She is extremely helpful around the house, always asking what she can do to help.

I believe we have found a very good balance of living together and yet maintaining some privacy and independence. In any case, when Rachel is around we never mind because she is so lovely. She partakes in some family meals with us (we usually only have one in the week anyway — on Friday night) but seems content to eat on her own in the week. Weekends she is always out and about but we manage to stay connected and have good chats about her plans.

She did find a Chinese class at Morley college but dropped after about a month as the teacher sounded disappointing. She said she was happy to find the book that went with the course and now she practises on her own.

Rachel is a very special girl and we feel so lucky to have this year to get to know her. I feel so lucky to have her support with the kids, especially as they adore her and I trust her. It will be a sad day when she leaves but I hope she takes away from this experience lots of good memories and an excellent command of English (which I help her with whenever possible).

Thanks, Maggie. All the best,

Ellen