Every time letters arrived at the Back2Back-partnering children’s home, Lila* watched her younger sisters receive envelopes from their sponsors. She listened as their names were called and letters were placed in their hands, watching longingly as they opened them and were reminded that someone far away knew their name and thought of them. And every time they arrived, Lila waited – for her name to be called, for an envelope to be placed in her hands.
“Why don’t I have sponsors?” she would ask. “I’m the only one who never gets a letter.”
She had been at the partnering home for nearly a year, slowly finding her place after being moved from one school to another. Lila was the oldest of three, but she was the quiet one. Lila was more likely to observe a room than command its attention, but if you sat by her long enough, it became impossible not to notice her. Remarkably bright and deeply creative, Lila filled notebooks with intricate drawings, noticing details others always missed, but she didn’t quite believe in herself just yet.
Her multiple moves between homes and school left gaps in her education. Along the way, Lila fell behind, believing she wasn’t smart. She was met by patient adults when she arrived at the Back2Back home; they reminded her that her educational gaps didn’t define what she was capable of. They repeated the truths, again and again, praying they would eventually sink into the impressionable young girl before them.
Her younger siblings, at four-and-a-half and six, were outgoing and quick to connect. They were children easily pulled into activities and conversation and, within months, both had sponsors. Still, Lila waited hopefully for her name to be called on letter–writing day.
Lila watched her sisters open their letters, watched her peers receive envelopes full of words and photos just for them. Nearly a year passed, and still, she waited. So Susy Gibler, Back2Back staff member and Captain of the children’s home, decided to pray.
The prayers continued as summer began, and a mission team prepared to visit the home right before Lila’s birthday. Staff asked the visiting mission team to help make her birthday extra special. The team agreed, believing a young girl deserved to feel special.
A woman on the team gravitated toward Lila immediately. There was no agenda, and she had no knowledge of Lila’s great desire for a sponsor who wrote to her; she simply noticed a quiet girl and wanted to know her. They connected throughout the week, and Lila found herself opening up to someone who chose to move toward her.
Then the woman learned who she was. “For nearly a year, she’s patiently waited, and I’ve prayed someone might visit and choose to know her through sponsorship,” explained Susy.
The visiting teammate and her husband decided to pray.
The final day of the mission trip was Lila’s birthday celebration. She opened the gifts the team had brought for her, surrounded by people who had spent the week getting to know the quiet, creative girl behind the story. Then staff told her there was one more gift, though it wasn’t something wrapped in paper. Her gift was that the woman she had connected with all week wanted to sponsor her.
Her face changed instantly. Her eyes lit up, and she wrapped her new sponsor in a hug as tears filled the woman’s eyes. This was more than having a sponsor to share letters with. For a girl who had spent most of her life believing she wasn’t as smart as her peers, it meant something deeper. Someone was speaking up and saying, I see you. I choose you. You are worth knowing.
They hadn’t known each other a week earlier. A woman came to serve and, upon arriving, noticed Lila and moved closer. She discovered the artist, the thinker, the older sister, the girl who had spent too long underestimating herself. Sometimes being known begins simply by someone paying attention.
