Happy Thanksgiving everyone
I have to say that Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Not just because of the food, the big turkey and all the football games. Its because I get to spend it with my family. This time of year I feel humbled. I think about the things that I am thankful for every day.
This time of year I think of all of the people who have touched my life and make me feel thankful for what I have.
Some of you may not know but I have volunteered in other countries in different places that need help and aid.
This is a story about a girl named Joana. And when I think things are bad in my life I think about this experience. It gets a little graphic but will definitely pull at your heart strings.
One time in the Nueva Vida shelter, this little girl, Joana, was sitting on my lap after getting grounded for the billionth time. She was an 8 yr old problem child, adorable with dimples, but everyone said she had the Devil in her. Every single day there was another problem, at school or the shelter, and it ALWAYS involved lil Joana.
The directors of the mission were fed up with Joana and told her grandmother that we may have to give her back to her (Joana's mother is a drug addict and her father is in the prison near the shelter. Her grandmother normally takes care of Joana but her mother and her drug-addicted boyfriend kidnapped Joana and her brother, and kept them captive in a house in the middle of no where for sometime. Finally, The Police rescued Joana & her brother, and they were placed w/ us bc everyone knew that the mom's bf or his gang-banger friends would come for revenge & to take the kids again...)
Sooooooo, I was sitting with Joana during her extra homework session (torture for those who misbehave), and told her to put her pen down and sit on my lap. I gave her cookies and some of the fruit that I had (Joana hadn't had extra treats in awhile bc she was always punished). I started talking 2 her about why she acts so badly & about why she always picks fights with people?
Joana, who hadn't shown any emotion besides a mean streak for about six months, broke down and started telling me about all of these things that happened while she was with her mother and her boyfriend.
She explained how her mother's boyfriend molested her and her mom hated her. Her mother was jealous of Joana bc she blamed Joana for the abuse. Her mom would pass out from drugs and he would come for Joana. She was so little and couldn't defend herself. Pobresita!!
Joana explained that this "man" worked part time as a garbage man ( I don't know if you've seen a garbage truck in Mexico? The Garbage men just sit in the trash pile, jump out of the truck, pick up more trash, and sit back in it ---> GROSSEST job EVER!!!!!!) Anyways, she explained how he smelled like old rotted trash and how Joana ended up with infections bc her mom's boyfriend would molest her with dirty hands. 
Joana said that she would ask, "Why God had forsaken her? She was always such a good girl who helped with chores and got good grades. So why did God leave her all alone with this monster?? In this hell??"
Tears streamed down her little face as she told me the details of what happened to her, and how this "man" would tell Joana that she was "a little devil", "an evil whore"... Just disgusting things to tell a little angel!!
So, this is why Joana decided that she was evil!!!!!!!! Why she was convinced that God did not love her and why she was sure that the angels forgot about her!!
Now comfortable opening up to me, Joana asked me what a GUARDIAN ANGEL was. She told me that the reason no one protected her was because no one ever told her the name of her guardian angel. My heart broke listening to the innocence and simplicity of Joana's explanation for the atrocities committed against her.
I took a bracelet off of my wrist that another girl had given me a few months before (Lupita, who was also kidnapped by her mom's boyfriend, a murderer, ironically, a few weeks after giving me this present. *tear*)
The bracelet is made up of very pale beads that glow in the dark, so I told Joana to imagine that each bead is an angel of hers. I said that her Grandparents who are now in Heaven are some of the beads, as well as other beautiful angels which God himself picked out for Joana. I explained that, just as the beads wrap around her wrist in a circle, so do her angels form a multicolored circle around Joana all day and night long, hugging her and cheering her on every step of the way.
JOANA WAS SOOOOOOOOO EXCITED TO HEAR THAT SHE HAD ANGELS THAT LOVED HER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tears rolled down her face and her eyes LIT UP as I had never seen before, she hugged me and didn't let go. "So God loves me????", Joana asked. I explained that the beads look regular during the day yet glow in the dark. Unless you were to take the beads into the darkest place, you would never suspect that they formed an awesome ring of light and color conquering the darkness.
The same is true with our Faith. Sometimes we have to go through the worst experiences to really see how God's light and love can curse the darkness. I told Joana to not be scared of the dark anymore because her angels form a ring of love around her when she sleeps and protect her. After all, if God didn't love her, then how did she end up in our shelter?? Why is she eating cookies and fruits while talking to me about her fears?? Because God placed her in our path and He placed Joana in a home where she is FINALLY safe!!
In the end, this day was ground-breaking for Joana. Her ENTIRE attitude changed: She became friendly, loving, OPEN-hearted, generous and well-behaved. A few times, I heard her explaining God's love and the story of the Angels to some of the younger girls while she helped them wash their clothes and do their chores...
AND THEN I KNEW LITTLE JOANA WOULD BE OKAY :)
I think of lil Joana when I am having a bad day and the many people I have helped through missions and relief efforts. Take this to heart and be Thankful this Holiday season for all that you have.
I am thankful for my family and friends
I am thankful that I can wake up and know that I have a new day.
I am thankful for all that I have.
I am thankful for the blessings I receive daily.
And I am thankful for everyone here on TagDeaf.
What are 5 things you are thankful for this Thanksgiving??
