In Her Own Little World
By peggywlester on May 1, 2012
She had a twinkle in her eye and she stood as close to me as possible. Even though she couldn’t speak, we communicated. She loved to hold my hand and in my mind’s eye I can still see her looking up at me. I have a precious picture I treasure that captures her look.
Gina was around 12 years old and lived in the mountains of Los Guidos in Costa Rica. She had a normal birth and seemed to be doing very well before time to go home with her mom; but for some precautionary reason they were keeping her on oxygen. I didn’t learn all the details but I did find out there was an accident. Somehow the oxygen machine got knocked over and there was a very loud noise and Gina’s body received a traumatic shock.
In February of 1988, I had come with an evangelism mission team to San Jose. We were visiting from door to door and ministering to all who would listen as we shared about Jesus. This is how and when I met Gina. She welcomed us into her little tin/wood home for our visit with her family. Her mom shared her story with us.
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As Gina grew her mom realized there were medical issues. She was slow in learning normal things, some things she just couldn’t learn and she never did learn to talk. She knew who she was, who her family was and seemed to be very smart in her surroundings.
I so desperately wanted this young girl to be healed. I prayed and prayed that God would touch her and heal her. The team prayed for her as well. She seemed to be captive in this little body with no way to express herself but the twinkling in her eyes.
Our team returned several times to visit in her home area. Each time we arrived, she would come and walk beside me as we made our visits in the area.
She seemed to be well adjusted to her lifestyle. She didn’t go to school because this was one of the poorest areas of Costa Rica. Little tin houses, limited power and water resources for the area. The schools were small and crowded and not equipped for the term of “mentally challenged children.” Gina just hung around home in her own little world.
Would this be Gina’s destiny; a beautiful girl, smiling, pleasant, and trusting and “happy go lucky” living her life on the side of the mountain in Los Guidos? I wish I knew the answer to that question. I do not. I haven’t been back to Costa Rica; but I think of Gina often and wonder how her life is now. She would be over 30 years old. Surely for someone who doesn’t have all of their mentally capacities, God will bring them home as His child…surely He will…that is my prayer for Gina.
Another great blessing on this trip (besides meeting Gina) was the privilege of meeting Steve Green. Yep, that’s right, the one and only, contemporary Christian music artist. He did a concert there in San Jose. I’m not sure who had the clout enough to get us to meet him personally and spend time with him but we did get that opportunity. He is an awesome guy; humble and just glows with the love of Jesus. We were there to do altar counseling at the end of his concert.
Maybe you know someone like Gina. God knows them, too. We can ask why but when we get no answer we still trust our loving, Heavenly Father. He is Sovereign and someday we will know the answers. God takes care of those who are mentally challenged but He gives us the responsibility to pray and share Jesus either in word or deed. How are you doing with that responsibility?
Originally posted on Peggy W. Lester.
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