The Pre-Pearlington Struggle

and its outcome

31 March 2006

Before leaving for Pearlington, there was a battle waging inside. This struggle revolved around my youngest child, Giovanna. She is 6 years old and has some physical limitations. Giovanna tires easily and can be difficult at times. As I thought about the week, I couldn’t think of a job that she could do. The bottom line was that I didn’t want to be distracted by her. I didn't want to spend the week watching her, I could stay in Minnesota and do that. It was hard to think about going down to Mississippi and not do what I felt He was calling me to do. It didn't even dawn on me that God might have a plan for her down there. Once there, I was not distracted by her, not did I just "baby sit" her.

God had a plan in mind for this little girl and it was not one that I could have planned or prepared for. I stood in awe as I watched how God use this little spitfire all through the week. God did heart surgery once again and made me realize that my vision is so limited.

Once Giovanna’s feet hit the dirt in Pearlington, she did what she does best – walks into a room with her smile that lights up a room and instantly becomes everyone’s friend. By the end of the week, she knew almost everyone in the Pearlington Hilton complex. Some here in Minneapolis have experienced the following: Giovanna sees someone she knows and likes, says “Mom, Look.” Then she takes off running, grabs the person’s leg and gives them a big bear hug. She did this in Pearlington to a lot of people from the community. Towards the end of the week she stopped yelling, “Mom look” and just ran. Many in Pearlington could not help it when they saw her – they just burst into a big smile – it was infectious.

There were small tasks for her to be a part of. For instance on Monday the kids and Gary went to a place and picked up shingles. Mr. Randall had a magnet with a rope on it. Giovanna pulled that magnet around for over 2 hours picking up shingle nails. She would walk around the building once, meet Mr. Randall who would clean off all the nails she picked up, hand the magnet back to her to start again. She was really tired at the end of her day

There were many High School kids there on spring break working. All of them knew her by name and really looked out for her. Some were reminded of little sisters that they had back home. One of the leaders of the group from Chicago came up to her and said, “You are a cutie.” Giovanna’s response, “No, Gigi.”

She was the ray of sunshine in a community that needed a fresh look at life.

At the end of the week when I was telling some of those in the community that I had struggled with bringing her down, their reactions were priceless. Larry Randall said, “I am so glad you brought her. She has brightened everyone’s life.” Another one of the regular volunteers said, “It was good for her to be here. She needs to remind us that kids play a vital role in our recovery.”

I was humbled and in tears. Jesus said, “Let the children come to me.” He used her in a way that I would never have imagined. Children play a vital role in this community's recovery.

Everyone wants to see her again.