Category Archives: Shadow of His Wings

The orphanage in Monjas, Jalapa, Guatemala

Caty’s Refuge Chapter 7

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CHAPTER SEVEN

ADVENTURE AT MAMA CARROLL’S

A time came when I offered the house parents a break, and had Caty stay with me for a week. I took her into the  spare bedroom. 

    “This is your room, and the bathroom is across the hall. It has a shower, and I’ll show you how to turn on the water.” I didn’t hear any response but saw the glimmer of light shining in Caty’s eyes. 

   Caty went through the nesting process while I prepared lunch, and when I returned, I saw my Pooh Bear layered in three of her shirts. The rest of her possessions lay on the bed in neat piles. It impressed me to see accomplishments, but I would soon take a different view of the visit.

   The adventure began when Caty put her dirty clothes into the washing machine, and dumped in Ajax. A  day later a full bottle of shower gel stood empty after two showers. I don’t think being clean was her motive for the showers. 

   Her period began, and I found the paper strips from three Kotex pads lying on the counter. I guess she wanted to be prepared. I watched her with more caution but was secretly pleased to see the initiative she took in taking care of herself.

   Caty loved watching movies, so one night I chose “Rudy.” 

   She rarely commented about what she saw, but pointed to a young woman and declared, “That’s Amy, I know her, that’s Amy.”

   Amy worked as a volunteer nurse in the orphanage. I marveled at how Caty went through the mental process of identifying someone she knew with a movie character.

    “Yes, it does look like our Amy, doesn’t it?”  I said chewing on some popcorn.

   I wanted this time to be special for our gal, and remembered a necklace of plastic Christmas lights I had in some stored decorations. I dug it out and showed it to Caty. Encouraged by her smile, I hooked it around her neck and pushed the button to turn on the lights, and then moved her in front of the mirror so she could see the colored twinkles. Bedtime came, and I removed the necklace, promising she could wear it the next day and laid it on the nightstand. 

   The following day, while sipping my coffee, Caty marched in with the necklace around her neck and the lights aglow. This amazing girl had it all figured out.

   The time came for Caty to return to her casita, and I saw an attitude coming on when she refused to pack up her things. So, for an incentive, I told her I’d give her the necklace to keep when we got to the Home. Caty grabbed her bag and climbed into the car quick as lightning. That worked, and off we went. 

Not An Institution

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I attended many court audiences where a group of people would present their perspectives on where best to place a child. A representative from Shadow of His Wings Orphanage, the court social worker, someone from the child’s rights group, the court psychologist, a person representing the child’s family, the child, and the judge made up this group. The first two audiences gave time for case investigation, and during the third audience the judge would make her final decision. I learned quickly that judges oppose the idea of institutions. We had a new government-approved nonprofit association, and yet the courts viewed us as an institution.

A movement in Guatemala followed the States’ way of dealing with children by using foster care and removing orphanages, thus eliminating institutions. During one particular visit at Shadow by a court social worker, I observed her talking seriously with two of our girls. It disturbed me because conversations like that should include the representative of the orphanage. I later talked to Joanne, and after talking with the girls, she found out that the courts were removing children from the institutions. The social worker told the girls about this plan. Did this mean we wouldn’t receive children? We had worked hard to grow the orphanage, and now we would be looking at shutting our doors. We needed to move fast and get ourselves known.

An opportunity presented itself during the next audience. “Your honor, I need to explain that we are not an institution.” I took the liberty to describe to these officials how we structured the orphanage. “We have house parents, a mother and father, who are in charge of up to twelve children. We believe it is important that these children learn how to function in a family, to feel loved, and to know they are an important part of this family structure.” I had this judge’s attention, but there were many other judges and court officials who did not know what we represented. Oh, Lord, may we find favor with these people. Let them see our project for what it is and not as the institutional types present in Guatemala. 

Our next plan went into action, and we invited the judges, social workers, and court officials to come to the orphanage to see where we lived. We took the time to explain our plans and vision for the children. Not many came, but the ones who did expressed how impressed they were with what they saw. I knew that the word would spread to others in time. Meanwhile, we needed to use every opportunity to get our information to all of the children’s courts in Guatemala City.

The day came when my heart jumped for joy. During an audience with one of our girls, the social worker said that an institution like Shadow of His Wings would not be the best place for this child. The judge responded, “This orphanage is not an institution. I visited the Home, and they are functioning as a family. I recommend the child remain there.”

The process seemed slow, but in time more of the judges saw what we had to offer the children and showed us favor. It got to the point where they encouraged us to take in boys and not just girls. One judge suggested that we write up a manual describing our program and make our model available to others interested in developing orphanages. I’m sure my mouth fell open before I thanked her and said that it was a good idea. Inside I’m saying, “Thank you, Lord!” Word spread, and we received requests from surrounding areas of Guatemala City to take children into the Home. Our doors stayed open, and we overfilled our capacity, sending us out to look for a larger facility that allowed for growth.

 

Life Changes for Vanesa: Part 2

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Gerber, Vanesa,* and I sat in the judge’s room waiting for declaration of the life changes for Vanesa. The snack I ate before coming in seemed to have fermented in my stomach. I squeezed Vanesa’s hand for encouragement. Without wasting any time, the judge introduced the man and the granddaughter Carmin.* She stated his claim to Vanesa and asked him to tell his story:

“My daughter died two months after the birth of her fifth child. My wife, we are now divorced, sold or gave away four of the children when I wasn’t at home. That included Vanesa at three years old. At that time, I vowed to find them.” Addressing us in a strong but soft voice, he concluded, “When Vanesa’s picture showed up in the newspaper, I knew she belonged to me.”

I clutched my heart, feeling guilty for thinking this man had evil intentions for Vanesa. With minimal resources, this older and slightly bent man found three of his grandchildren over a period of years, making Vanesa number four.

Everything seemed clear in the mind of the judge, and she began to sign the documents to release Vanesa into his custody.

Vanesa, knowing she had to speak up, boldly stated that she wanted to stay in the orphanage even if he proved to be her grandfather. The children’s rights advocate, with other ideas, pressed Vanesa about going with her biological family. The advocate then turned to the grandfather and pressed him to take Vanesa into his home. His response changed everything:

“I will take her home with me if she wants to live with me, but if she wants to stay at Shadow of His Wings, and they take good care of her, I’d want her to stay.” Then he added, “It is difficult for me to provide for Carmin, because I can’t find much work. She isn’t going to school anymore, and I would like to see her go with Vanesa to Shadow of His Wings and get an education.”

The judge asked Carmin about her not attending school. Her face paled, and she stammered as she confirmed that she quit because they lacked the funds to pay for it. Looking at me, the judge said, “Maybe Shadow could take in both girls?” She smiled at my quick response, “Yes!” The judge leaned over and whispered to me, “Thank you for helping us.” The toothless grin of the grandfather stamped his approval.

I had studied Carmin’s interaction with her grandfather. She assisted him with walking and being seated. She did not react negatively when she heard her grandfather’s shocking request. Impressed with what I saw, I felt it would be good for both sisters to live together at Shadow and have periodic visits with the grandfather. I could only imagine what must be going on in Carmin’s heart and mind. Lord, help this young lady accept the decisions made concerning her life. Life changes for Vanesa came to fruition in less than thirty minutes, and within ten minutes, Carmin’s life would never be the same.

*Names have been changed.

Dedication of the Property: Part 2

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dedicationpraying I moaned inwardly, concerned that we might get rained out, but the program continued. Running from the duplex to the stage, with wet hair plastered to their heads, the girls did their worship dancing. The band played without missing a beat. It’s going to be okay, I told myself. A little water doesn’t hurt anybody. As if to answer my thought, a deluge pounded the tent canvas. People under the tent began to shift around. Sitting in the front row, I wondered what was causing so much movement. Then I turned to see a flow of muddy water slide across the once dry ground, and water dripping through holes in the tent. By this time, if a person found a dry space, that’s where the chair went, disregarding any type of order. The program continued despite the attack of nature.

Celin, the youngest, and Miriam, the oldest, shared their testimonies of what it meant to them to live in Shadow of His Wings Orphanage. Irma, whom we nicknamed “preacher,” gave an inspiring message. To hear them tell how blessed they were to find a family, love, and security in this refuge made the desire to rescue more children grow in my heart. With ten acres and the help of others, we could bring in many more children, including boys. Yes, Lord, this is just the beginning. You have more planned for us.

The pastor of a local church gave a sermon, followed by Sharon Parks, who gave her thoughts about the mandate the Lord impressed upon us when we started James Project of Latin America. She prophesied over the Project, and at the conclusion, lightning burst forth from the sky with a boom that made us jump and punctuated her words. With my heart in my throat, I wondered if the Lord did that on purpose. He sure had our attention.

After the bang of thunder, the girls did the symbolic foot washing for each pastor from the area churches. The intentions of this act showed others that as disciples of Christ, we desired to serve one another with humility and honor. It became obvious that hearts were moved when tears formed in the eyes of the pastors.

Next, the girls, with glittery rectangle scarves around their necks, mingled with the crowd to pray for individuals. The girls inquired of the guests for any specific needs and went right into prayer. “Caty, you can pray for people too, okay?” I said to our mentally challenged orphan. She knew what to do. She gave me a closed-mouth smile, cackled, and off she went. The mantels around the girls’ necks sparkled in the light, and they looked like little angels in ministry. My heart soared in pride and love. Certainly the people in the community could see how far these kids had come from the streets to where they are now.

After the ministry time, the rain ceased, but there were two inches of mud everywhere. The girls proceeded to serve the tostadas, cake, and juice to over six hundred people. We realized the number of attendees from the number of paper plates we used. Two hundred invitations reaped a large group of people.

When the mud-splattered people prepared to depart, as many as possible crammed in the vehicles or stood in the back of the pickups. Since we didn’t have graveled roads yet, many cars had to be pushed out of the muck. I wondered if the townspeople were disappointed because of nature’s interference and the large numbers of people. Gerber explained that the people liked us, or they would not have stayed when the rain began. People made comments before they left, thanking us and saying how they appreciated having an orphanage in the community. I think we sealed a partnership with many in the community that night. Thank you, Lord. The dedication of the property is a night we will all remember.