A young girl arrived at Shadow of His Wings Orphanage in horrible physical and mental condition. She had suffered sexual abuse to the point that she did not have normal bodily functions. I faced another case that made me scream out for justice on her behalf. More than that, I desired that the Lord’s hand would heal her mind and body. She needed the “word planters.”

I met with her and shared words of love and hope, but I didn’t expect the response I received.

“Karla*, welcome to Shadow of His Wings. You’ve met the couple who are your house parents and the kids in your casita. Are you ready for school tomorrow?”

“No, I’m not going.” she growled out as dark eyes glared at me. “I don’t have a uniform.” I saw another hard case before me. Fill her with your love, Lord.

“We’re working on that now. We have a lady who will sew a skirt and top for you. There aren’t many extras in the storage room, and they are usually the big sizes. Meanwhile, you have permission to wear any skirt and top until your uniform is finished.” I hoped that the casual talk would help her relax, but she held her hands in fists, and her taut face didn’t show any signs of a smile.

“Karla, I’m here to help you in any way that I can.” Her smirk and sigh told me of her doubt. “You are a special young lady…” and before I could finish, she jumped in with, “No, I’m not.”

Several of the children I’d talked to may have thought this, but she was the first one to say it to me. I need your wisdom, Lord. Please help me to know what to say. I asked her some questions (did she have a good friend; did she attend church), but all of her short answers were matter-of-fact. She appeared emotionally cold. I couldn’t even see a flicker of light in her eyes, and her face was void of expression. Ana* had shut down her brain, but Karla had shut down her emotions.

With many prayers said, the Shadow team spoke words of love and hope into this girl. The response turned into a great victory when we saw her believing the words she heard. This gal did not know how to read and had not attended school before coming to Shadow, but with the annual Fine Arts competition looming ahead, Karla decided she wanted to participate. She memorized a long poem, dressed in typical clothing, and performed as if she had done it many times in the past. It gave me chills to hear her speak with a strong voice filled with emotion. Yahoo, she spoke with emotion! Yes! Lord, You did it. Those positive and encouraging words planted in her were bearing fruit.

Karla still had a long way to go in the area of physical and mental healing, but it thrilled me to see how the adults rallied around her with healing words. This turned into teamwork, with the Guatemalans and North Americans pouring themselves into her and other hurting children. I mentally thought of us as God’s “word planters.” I prayed that we would all be word planters with whomever we came into contact and that the Lord would give us His words of love to share. I knew there wouldn’t always be immediate responses like in the case of Karla, but we needed to do what we could and let God do the rest.

*Name has been changed.