Wendy, in the story of Peter Pan, is a young girl who escapes to Neverland for a time to avoid growing up. It is in Neverland that she becomes a mother to Peter and the other lost boys who want to stay young forever. My sweet friend Wendy who lives at Sarah’s Covenant House was named well. She is 21 years old, but she loves to play peek-a-boo and dance and practice signing the alphabet. She cries when other children want my attention. She likes to hold hands. If I ask her, “Where’s Carrie?” she points to me with such glee because she is so proud that she can remember my name and the name of Bethany, my teammate who spends the morning with me as we love on our forever young girls.
Wendy likes to put flowers in her hair and she likes to show me her earrings; sometimes she is missing one. If you met Wendy, she would smile and give you a hug and want to hold your hand. She is and will always be a little girl trapped in a body that has grown up. Even still, Wendy is the mama of her room. She bosses the other girls to make sure they are doing what they should be doing. She makes sure the boys stay out of their room. She lets us know when she or other children need water. She points to an empty seat when she wants us to sit down and stay awhile. She shares her snacks and waves good-bye when it is time for us to go for the day.
My forever young little Wendy lives in an upstairs room full of beds with a small table and a cabinet. She shares her drinking class and her clothes. Her food is given to her because she wouldn’t know how to prepare it otherwise. She has a teacher who helps her learn. She is truly one of the most joy filled people I’ve ever met, and if you saw where she lived and what she has, you would wonder why and how. Her life is beautiful and ugly and makes me wrestle with the Lord wondering where His glory is in her suffering. I know though that Wendy is happy being the mama in her room, taking care of the younger girls and warmly welcoming all who come to visit her. I also know that Jesus is good and that he cares for the sparrow called Wendy when I don't understand.
Wendy is too old to be adopted. In India, after the age of 12, the possibility for adoption closes, which leaves Wendy to spend her lifetime as the mama to a room full of girls who will not get to return from Neverland and decide to grow up as Peter’s Wendy did. These girls are tiny little women who could be between the ages of two to four years old cognitively. They are delightful. They are rest for me when the rooms full of unmoving children become too much. I am blessed to know them and be loved by them. I know that you’ve never met Wendy or the other girls that she lives with, but I have. She is my friend and I am her “akka” and I want her to be cared for all the days of her little girl life, so if you can give to a little girl who cannot grow up, please do. Here is the link to Wendy’s sponsorship page: http://www.schindia.com/ChildSponsor/wendy/. Thank you!
Carrie
