When I first entered the Orange room at Grace home, one of the apartments in Sarah’s Covenant Homes (SCH), and met Faith, I was overwhelmed. She is a 13 year old girl who has severe autism and habits of hitting, biting, pinching, or head butting anyone who tries to get close to her. The environment was chaotic, and she constantly wanted all 8 of us to give her attention. At the beginning, we spent most of our time in the Orange room simply trying to keep her from hurting herself, her sisters, and us. I was discouraged and did not know how in the world I was going to be able to help her or even how my presence there was going to make a difference.
But now she is like a different person. A radical transformation has taken place in this sweet girl in just the short time that we’ve been with her. We have devoted so much time to praying over Orange room, that the girls and even the atmosphere itself is noticeably and tangibly different every time we step through the door. It’s incredible the amount of progress I’ve seen in this precious girl in just the 2 short weeks that we’ve been here. Her personality has come alive as we sit and play with toys with her, or put on music and dance around sillily. We’ve learned that she loves order and having things in the right spot–even us! And of course my favorite part is just simply sitting with Faith and cuddling. Tenderly wrapping her in my arms and rocking back and forth while rubbing circles into her back is a way that I get to show her how much she means to me.
Instead of chaos, I am now overwhelmed with a sense of peace, love, and such tenderness when I walk in the room. I no longer just see kids with severe mental illnesses who need to be entertained, but precious little girls who belong to Jesus and deserve his love more than anyone. The Lord has helped changed my perspective drastically and absolutely helped me to see them though his eyes, with his tender and loving gaze. He’s given me the privilege of seeing how calm and loving Faith is when you get to spend time with her. Instead of pushing us away or hitting on us, she now runs up to greet us and pull us away to go play with her as soon as we arrive. God continues to give me not only his heart for these sweet treasures, but also ridiculous amounts of love to pour out on them every single day. It’s truly amazing how God has moved in Orange room. He has changed the girls, and he has changed us.
After much prayer, the Lord has shown us a way to make a lasting impact on this sweet girl. Faith, and a few other girls from the Orange room are in need of funding, and our team has made a goal of getting 3 of them sponsored this month! These girls need an advocate, someone to stand up for them and fight for them. Someone who lets them know, through action, that they are loved, cherished, and cared for. Will you consider fighting with us by praying about supporting her financially? Her whole life, she’s received the message of being unwanted and too much to handle. But this precious child of the Most High God is so beautiful, so treasured, and so loved. Whether by physically being here and loving her, or by supporting her monthly, you can accomplish that.
If you feel led to sponsor Faith with either $40, $100, or $200 a month that will cover the costs of therapy, housing, medicine, food, security, rent in a safe neighborhood, clothes, etc., Please contact me directly so that we are able to update her status on the SCH website! Thank you so much for helping us make a difference in these precious girls’ lives!
And If you would like to learn more about Faith, you can visit the Sarah Covenant Homes website, where you can read her profile!
Also, please check out my team mates’ blogs to hear the impact that Faith has had on them!
Mary Lynn – Sarah Covenant Homes: Faith
Megan – Royals
Ricci – A Girl Named Faith
Lindsey – Faith is Hard, But Worth It
Amy – Faith Needs Your Help
Marina – Her Name Is Faith
Mary – Loving Faith
