The little girl carefully picks up her treasured violin. Her eyes close as she lifts the bow and plays the notes to “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee.” The bow runs across the strings and suddenly her face glows. It is a beautiful smile. A smile of “I can do this,” a smile of hope and joyful worship as she proclaims her faith in Jesus through her music.
Most of the child’s life has been filled with anything but joyfulness. Prior to coming into care at BCH’s orphanage in Guatemala, she would have never imagined a God who loved her.
Her mom and grandmother were prostitutes. Her life was lived in unsafe environments. As a 10-year-old, her mom began grooming her for a life on the streets. The emotional and physical abuse she suffered caused her to retreat away from the world.
Her face was ghostlike. Her eyes were fixed in a blank stare. The caregivers at the orphanage feared that no one would be able to break down the wall she hid behind.
On December 25, this precious girl will celebrate her 13th birthday. She was a Christmas baby, born into a world of fear. But now, God has turned that fear into hope––the darkness in which she lived, into light. Through her houseparents and missionaries Roger and Vicki Grossman, she has been introduced to the One who has brought transformation into her world.
At Christmas 2019, Roger directed the children of the orphanage in their first Christmas pageant. This sweet girl struggled to sing in tune. But she loved music and she shared with the Grossmans that she wanted to learn to play the violin. But there were no funds to buy a violin and no teacher.
In January 2020, she received a late Christmas present––a violin––from Wilkesboro Baptist Church. Another gift came from a wonderful music teacher who had taught many children to play the violin.
Christal McDaniel, a member at Mt. Vernon Baptist Church in Olin, heard the girl’s story and was determined to help. She felt she could be an instrument of healing to a child who had opened up to the world of music. McDaniel provides the girl lessons bringing hope and healing.
Thank you Wilkesboro Baptist Church! Thank you Christal McDaniel! Thank you to each of you who make this ministry possible.
So many children are depending on you to help deliver this lifesaving ministry.
Imagine. Can you hear the girl’s violin? Do you hear the melody coming from the life you helped change? Can you feel the impact on hundreds of children like her?
We could not do what we do without you––and we would not want to. You are family.
What a year it was in 2020. COVID-19 impacted every aspect of BCH’s ministry. And the orphanages, clinics and ministries in Guatemala were especially impacted.
We had hoped the third cottage would be open, but mission teams who help with construction have been unable to go. We also experienced a financial deficit of thousands of dollars (approximately $120,000) due to funds and supplies that mission teams normally bring with them.
Last year, you rallied to raise $100,000 to help build Mae Home and $45,000 to purchase a van. This year, I am asking you to help raise much needed funds to care for the basic needs of the children in the orphanages in Guatemala and to help meet critical medical needs through the clinic.
Help us meet the many needs of the children. Help us continue to turn fear into hope and darkness into light. Help us rescue children. Last week, we received a one-year-old abandoned by his family who weighed only 12 pounds. Four other children came to the orphanage with the message: “Take them. We do not want them.”
There are three things that I need you to do. First, pray––and then pray. And then pray again. Second, love these precious children abandoned to fear and hopelessness. And finally, give that they may have life.
In James 1:27, we read: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this––to look after the orphans and widows in their distress...”
Thank you for following our biblical mandate to care for these precious babies, these beautiful boys and girls who are so valued and loved by our Lord and Savior.
For more information on how you can help, call Brenda Gray at 336-689-4442.
Worthwhile Investments is written by Brenda Gray, BCH Executive Vice President of Development & Communications