A Small Miracle

As we prepare for our annual visit to our Bakhita family in South Africa, we have filled several suitcases with 150 lbs. of gifts so generously provided by wonderful donors. This year, an unexpected gift will also be traveling with us.

A wonderful young artist, Mary Elizabeth Huber, who paints religious icons for a children’s magazine in Georgia, was doing research on St. Josephine Bakhita before painting her icon. She came upon Bakhita Charities and began an email conversation with us.

During our correspondence, we explained how we came to name the original home for girls Bakhita Village in January of 2002 because Josephine Bakhita is the first black, female African saint. She represented survival to our orphaned and vulnerable girls, but she also was a beacon of kindness and strong spirituality. Each year, during our visit, we celebrate St. Josephine Bakhita Feast Day with our girls.

One day, Mary asked if we would be so kind as to accept the St. Josephine Bakhita icon that she painted and take it to South Africa with us. She would feel great joy in knowing that our Bakhita girls could experience the presence of peace and love in her icon.

The icon arrived in the mail and she is beautiful. She'll be traveling to South Africa next week.  We wish we could show it to you in person so that you too could feel the love and peace of this blessed saint -- and the great artist who painted her and then gave her away.