by anna valdez as told to

Beth Guckenberger

dany’sCHRISTMASwish

A true tale about a young girl’s unexpected

miracle.

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Dany is an adolescent girl

living in a children’s home

in Monterrey, Mexico.She has lived in this home

for 10 years,

rarely seeing her biological

mother during that time.

Last holiday season,

Dany faced the greatest

challenge of her life.Her story begins on a weekday

morning before school...

Dany’s Christmas WishAnita was tired of waking up at 5:30am every

day, but the girls in her dorm room depended

on her. “Buenos dias. Time to get up,” Anita

announced.

She already knew who would struggle to wake

up and called out their names a few times in

particular. Some girls sat up in their beds, others

went directly to the bathroom; Dany stayed

asleep a little longer. Anita tried stroking her

hair, but Dany pulled the covers over her head.

“Ok,” Anita announced. “When I return with

breakfast, everyone who is in their bed needs to

be dressed.”

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Anita came back just in time to see Dany

laughing, sprawled on the floor.

“That’s what happens when you get out of bed so

quickly,” she quipped. Dany slowly brought herself

to her feet. “I just fell. It must be slippery.” An hour

later, as she heads out for school, Dany loses her

balance again, falling on the pavement outside.

“Anita!” She immediately cried out, “I can’t walk!

My legs, they feel numb. I can’t control them.”

There was no laughing this time. Dany was

always in control of how she looked. She

couldn’t control the reality that she was

in a children’s home, how often her mom

visited or even who took care of her, but

she could control what she wore, where she

went, and, certainly, how she moved.

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Dany was always in control

From that point on, things progressed quickly,

and soon, Anita was watching as Dany was rolled

away in a hospital bed, staring into her eyes,

searching for comfort. Anita tried to keep calm,

but the day felt surreal and comforting words

were difficult to find.

Dany spent the following nights yelling in

pain. Anita would stay at the hospital, moving her

from side to side, trying to make her comfortable.

The first night she would lay in the same position

for 15 minutes. Then, the pain would resume.

The paralysis soon spread over her whole body.

Eventually, Dany was only able to move the right

side of her face.

Her smile was crooked, one eye was shut, and

the pain was only escalating.

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Doctors diagnosed her with Guillain-Barre

Syndrome, a rare disorder in which the immune

system attacks the body’s nerves.

“Help me…please Anita help me,” Dany

moaned.

Thankfully, early mornings gave Dany some

rest. And while Anita returned to the children’s

home to sleep, Anita had reached out to Dany’s

birth mother to help care for her.

“I don’t want you to leave,” Dany confided to

Anita. “I don’t like it when you’re gone. Please

hurry back. I don’t want to be with her alone.”

Dany rejected her mother, Flor, from the

beginning. She had lived in the children’s home

for 10 years and rarely received a visit. For that

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reason, she believed her mom didn’t belong there,

and she did not belong to her anymore. It was

now torturous for Dany to depend on her to

even move. Flor wanted to help, but was always

anxious for Anita to return.

One night, as Anita walked back into the

hospital, she felt something stir in her heart - it

was almost hopeful. She prayed, God, do the

impossible. You are the one who makes all

things possible. Heal her.

Anita settled in for the night beside

Dany. “Do you want me to sing you

to sleep like I always do at home?”

she asked, as she gently moved Dany’s legs.

Dany nodded, closing her eyes.

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God, you are the one who

makes all things possible.

Anita sang softly, and when Dany was almost

asleep, she asked in a small voice, “How many days

have I been in here? How many more days until

Christmas?”

Anita stopped singing. “It’s soon, but remember,

Christmas will happen wherever we are.”

“Do you think I will still be here? Will you be

with me? Will my mom be here?”

“I don’t know Dany,” Anita responded. “But I do

have a question for you. What do you want this year?”

“That’s easy. To be all better. And I want to

be out of here by Christmas. I think I want

to be with my mom and my sisters.” Dany’s

lip quivers. “I even want to go to church in

the children’s home, and you know I never want to

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what do you want this year?

go. When I get better, I’m always going to church,

and I’ll be in the front dancing.”

“Why don’t we pray for that? Let’s

pray God will release you for Christmas

so you can celebrate with your family.”

Anita paused, realizing what she had

just said. Her faith spoke before her

mind could conceive the impossibility.

Oh Jesus, that’s possible, isn’t it? I know you can do

all things. Can you give her this wish for Christmas?

Anita prayed.

As the days passed, Anita began to notice Flor

had started to comb Dany’s hair and hug her

daughter goodbye, instead of just whispering

a shameful “adios” as she left. Two days before

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her faith spoke before her mind

could conceive the impossibility.

Dany’s release, Flor kissed her baby girl, who

could still not move a muscle on her own.

Anita’s heart warmed as she noted the

change, and realized she was witnessing

a different kind of miracle. God

answered a prayer no one had prayed.

He had done it again. Jesus showed

up where no one thought He would

be. Once it was in a manger; today it’s in

a Mexican hospital in the heart of a once

abandoned child.

Isn’t that a part of Christmas? God made us

family on that Bethlehem day. The grafted-in

branches make up a family tree, and He has

been about the forming of family long before

He moved in the hearts of Flor and Dany.

They realized they were

witnessing a different kind of

miracle.

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On December 20, 2013, Dany was

released from the hospital. Although

the cold air stiffened her muscles as she

was rolled through the glass doors, she

broke into a grin and Anita’s last view of

the hospital was a mother pushing her

daughter’s wheelchair.

That Christmas, Dany spent the day

with her mother. Dany continued to

undergo intense physical therapy for

the following five months, and on a

July morning, she walked into

church and danced her way to the

front row.

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she danced her way to the front row.

Merry ChristmasIn this holiday season, we here at Back2Back

Ministries find ourselves grateful for you, our

extended family. Thank you for listening to the

stories of some of the 163 million orphaned children

and praying for their needs. Thank you for engaging

deeply in their lives and covering medical bills and

school tuitions. Thank you entering storylines as

staff supporters and capital campaign contributors.

Thank you for praying, advocating and coming to

the front lines. Whatever you have to offer, keep

offering it! If you have been praying, keep lifting

up the children and their individual needs. If you

have been giving your time, keep coming and keep

volunteering - your time counts! If you have been

advocating, keep sharing these stories. This is how

we engage the community. If you have been giving,

continue sharing your resources, and we commit

to stewarding them as best we know how. Share

with us your commitment, tell us your stories. It is

encouraging in this year-end season to trust God

together for His direction into 2015.

In this year end season, we invite you to join us

as we trust God together for his direction in 2015.

God absolu tely

writes the best stories

and we are

looking forward

to reading them

together

with you.

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merrychristmas

P.O. Box 70, Mason, OH 45040 | 513-754-0300www.back2back.org

A Nigerian boy, who for the first time, will read the Christmas story in a home aptly named Destiny.

An Indian child, feeling like never before because she has a home she considers her own and a caregiver who knows her name.

A Mexican boy, finding a present under the tree for the first time in his brand new foster placement.

A Haitian child, playing on a new swing set a church gifted recently in love.

A Mexican girl, receiving specialized medical care, feeling hopeful for her own next developmental steps.

A Hope Education student, finishing her exams and celebrating her holiday in community.

An American teenager, learning what it means to live missionally, serving others this season.

Christmas is God’s best story, told this year around the world through the thousands of prayers,

gifts, hugs and words you shared.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours

christmas is...

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