An eighth grader is showing incredible resilience after losing both her parents in a plane crash in Alabama on Sunday.
Sarah Perry, whose parents were among the three couples from Oxford, Mississippi killed in the crash, wrote a message on Facebook vowing to stay strong to get through the tragedy.
“The truth is, yes, I am heartbroken, sad, tired, and devastated, but I have to keep my faith,” she wrote. “It has to grow stronger and stronger. This wild journey brought me closer to my family and grew my relationship with God! and this is just the beginning.”
Perry also promised to take care of her younger siblings and grandmother in her parents’ absence.
“I will help them with anything They need. I will be my sister’s Santa Claus and I will be there for my sister when she gets older! I will help my brother with his homework and with any problems he ever has! and I will also help my grandmother who will be raising me for the rest of my life,” she wrote.
She thanked her friends and family for their support and asked them to share their memories of her parents.
“[I]t will be hard and there will be obstacles along the way, but if we all stay strong and stick together we can get through this because I know this is what my parents would want!” she continued. “I know for a fact I will never physically see my parents again on earth, but they will never, ever leave my heart.”
Read the rest of her incredibly uplifting message below:
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Introducing the 2024 TIME100 Next
- The Reinvention of J.D. Vance
- How to Survive Election Season Without Losing Your Mind
- Welcome to the Golden Age of Scams
- Did the Pandemic Break Our Brains?
- The Many Lives of Jack Antonoff
- 33 True Crime Documentaries That Shaped the Genre
- Why Gut Health Issues Are More Common in Women
Write to Samantha Cooney at samantha.cooney@time.com