Tag Archives: orphanage

Go For the Gold

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I described the dream to Joanne because it now made sense to me.

“In the dream, I looked out a huge picture-window of a house sitting about a block away from a looming mountain. I could see the covering of rock and dirt lacking any vegetation. Raining in torrents like I’d never seen before, water poured down the slope of the mountain.  Water squirted out of the cracks and crevices so that it looked like little waterfalls all over it.  With the rain, smaller portions of rocks rolled down the mountain and built up in piles at the bottom. I remember standing there in total awe and telling everyone to come and look at the awesome sight. I looked at the rubble below and said, ‘There is gold in that rubble and I have to go get it.’ In the dream I knew the gold depicted something precious. The desire burned in me to go get that gold. Two fawns came into the house during the storm. I immediately pulled them close to me.  Obviously starving, I held one on my lap and said that we needed to feed them immediately. While feeding them from a bottle, I petted the one on my lap.  Feeling something by its ear and very concerned I exclaimed, ‘This one has a tick and it is sucking the life out of this fawn. We have to remove it.’”

I saw the gold symbolizing the unsaved and hurting children. The deer represented the needs of these children. God knew the desires in Joanne’s and my heart that we wanted to take action on behalf of the destitute children. He then opened up the idea for the means to make this a reality. We heard the response to our questions: “Yes and now.” With confirmation, we felt in our spirits this was the path we were to take together.

Joanne and I wanted each child to have his own story of hope. How the Lord took him/her out of the filth of the world and filled him/her with His love. The Bible says God puts the lonely in families (Psalm 6:86) and there is no one lonelier and in more despair then someone without hope. We desired that the children who are rescued and brought into Shadow of His Wings would find a family, hope, and love never before experienced by them. The name, Shadow of His Wings, would represent all that we wanted for desperate and hurting children.

Business minded Joanne flew into action as she made an agenda for developing an orphanage. My mind went into the direction of a home and the material items we would need for the children. The Lord had placed us in perfect positions for reaping the wisdom of others in starting an orphanage. We tapped into this wisdom down to the written documents that described the logistics of an orphanage in Guatemala.

Then it all began suddenly. Joanne’s call shook me. She knew of a young unwed mother with a baby who needed help. Lord we don’t even have the orphanage established? I’m in the beginning of the Spanish classes so how would I communicate? Could we do this legally before we have governmental approval? My thoughts jumped all around. Am I ready to step into the calling God placed before me? Joanne said she would set up a meeting with Leti and then I could make the decision about her living with me.

The Birthing Continued

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Scan 5.1Pastor Carlos reached over, put his hand on my shoulder, and said, “You couldn’t get the girl out of the village, but I could. Then I would put her in the orphanage you are going to start.”

I swallowed hard as my mind flashed to a time several months before this. How could I explain the pieces the Lord has shown me when they are not even clear to me? I thought back to the day I received an email from a missionary friend. Dannie said that if I could find some children on the streets, she would come down to Guatemala, and we could start an orphanage. She and her companion-in-ministry served in the medical field, and with my teaching experience, we could help needy and abandoned children. However, after the first wave of excitement passed over me, I pushed the whole idea to the back burner of my mind. Now it came rushing forward. How could this pastor even have an inkling that I had given this idea some thought?

Looking around the table, I saw that all eyes had turned to me. My throat felt like sandpaper as I slowly said, “Would you believe I have a name for an orphanage?” Their shocked expressions provoked me into explaining the email from my missionary friend months ago. I told them that I had felt a slight tremor of excitement while reading the email and thought, “That’s a nice Mother Teresa idea and something I would be interested in someday.” Then I told how these words popped into my mind: “shadow of his wings.”

After the initial excitement, the president and I decided to seek God’s plan with prayer and fasting for this monstrosity of an idea. The board assured us of their prayers, and we departed, while I tried to glimpse into the mysterious future.

I went home and pondered all that had happened. My thoughts focused on how this could be a good “someday” project. The impact of all of this scared the wits out of me. “Who am I to be involved in building an orphanage?” I cried out to the Lord. I laid before Him all the reasons why someone else would succeed with something like this. I didn’t even know Spanish, other than words like taco, burrito, or adios. Me? No way! Being a loving and patient God, He spoke to me and said that many of the things I had gone through in the past were preparation for this time. I needed to listen to Him, and He would guide me around the stumbling stones. He continued, “I am behind you, at your right side, at your left side, leading you, lifting you up, and you are under the shadow of my wings.” Did I hear correctly? Shocked, I heard the same name that came to my mind months before when I received Dannie’s email.

I looked up at the bulletin board that hung above my desk. I focused upon the photo of the children I had been involved with in ministry. The two elderly sisters stood behind the four girls, and the pain I felt for those little abandoned kids washed over me again. The impact of all this imbedded into the very core of my being, and I wept.

The Birthing

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I looked forward to this board meeting, because we were going to my favorite restaurant. I possessed a little skip in my step (I was too old to have a big one), when we entered one of the most popular places in Guatemala. The smell from the roasters assailed my nostrils, and my stomach gurgled in anticipation of this tasty pollo (chicken). There would be no eating of beans and tortillas this night. While we waited for the rest of the board members, my friends and I chatted, as I gradually pulled myself away from food thoughts.

For months, I had been asking the Lord why I felt like there was more He wanted me to do in Guatemala. I hadn’t received any answers, but something resonated in my heart—something besides teaching missionary children. I just hadn’t been able to put it into words yet. I shared my feelings with my friends. “I know I’m doing what the Lord wants me to do, but I sense that there is a change coming.” I had no clue how quickly those words would come back to me.

The last member of the board, Pastor Juan,* came in, and the board meeting started. As an advisory board, we needed to make some decisions as to what widow or orphan needed assistance, and then act upon that need. A gentleman in Missouri sent money to ACSI (Associated Christian School International) for this purpose. The director of ACSI gave my friend, Joanne, the responsibility to oversee this project. Believing in doing things properly and with accountability, my friend formed an advisory board. She asked me to be a representative, because I had been widowed and worked with children as a mother and a teacher.

During the meeting, Joanne addressed the group, asking, “Does anyone have concerns or suggestions for someone who needs help?” I did have someone on my heart. My sixth-grade students from Christian Academy of Guatemala told me about twelve-year-old Arelie. I spoke up and shared the story of this young diabetic orphan girl. She lived with her sister and husband, who sold any donated medicine and used the money for their personal use. Arelie was dying.

“What could we do as a board to help her?” Joanne asked, looking at me expectantly.

“I would like to offer her sister and husband some money, if they would give me custody of her. Then we find her a home,” I responded. The words hung in the air as my friend translated them into Spanish for the others. Pastor Juan reached over, put his hand on my shoulder, and said, “You couldn’t get the girl out of the village, but I could. Then I would put her in the orphanage you are going to start.” His prophetic words spilled forth like cold water thrown on me. An orphanage? Lord, what are you telling me? Pastor Juan added that I had shown a heart for children, and I should be the one to start the orphanage.

With wide eyes and her mouth open, my friend responded, “Carroll, that’s a great idea! Have you ever thought about such a thing?”

*Name has been changed.