We witnessed the effects of the atrocities these children had endured before they entered the Home. At times anger rose in me because of the scars on the children left by wicked actions. Generally, I could keep my emotions under control, but then another hurting girl came to us.

An ambulance pulled up to the front gate, and a medical assistant helped an eight-year-old walk into the house, dressed in typical Mayan clothes. Her father had raped Evelyn*, and her pelvic bone had been broken. Rushed to the emergency room, this thin child had surgery to repair the damage. Oh, Lord, how can she survive such a horrible act against her nutritionally deprived body. We immediately gave her our welcome greetings and gentle hugs. What I saw surprised me. She responded with smiles, as her warm heart reached out to us. This innocent child, fresh out of the hospital and barely walking, just wanted our love.

Joanne and I looked at each other with silent communication. We left Evelyn with the lady who would show her around the home, bathe her, and get her clean clothes. We hurried down to the apartment, looked at each other, and burst out bawling as we held each other. Emotionally, we faced tough times as each child came into the orphanage, but this little one broke our hearts, knowing what she had endured.

I think her smile and friendliness made more anger rise in me. How could anybody take advantage of someone so sweet and cause so much physical and mental damage? If I were judge and jury, I would have found a machete and made sure the father never functioned in such a horrible way again. He would be missing body parts. Thankfully, those thoughts only stayed with me a short time. I quickly realized that I had another lesson to learn. I reminded myself that I functioned in the Home for the children and not for revenge in the name of justice. I needed to let go and put my attention on the healing process of the girls.

I never did find out if the father had been arrested and convicted for what he did to his daughter. The wheels of justice turn differently in Guatemala. Years ago, not many men were arrested for sexual assault, but that is slowly changing. Later, the court gave custody to Evelyn’s mother, and she took her daughter to her grandmother’s home, where she resided in a town close to the coast—a long distance from the residence of the father.

It still jerks at my heart when I picture small and thin Evelyn being taken out of that ambulance with a smile on her face, because she knew she had a refuge in Shadow of His Wings. The good news is that all will be dealt with through the justice of the Lord. I’m thankful for the time we had with Evelyn, where she experienced love and family while she healed.

*Name has been changed.