Faith
Today was the funeral of Faith Bontrager, who was born here over 53 years ago. During her entire lifetime she functioned much like an infant, and was totally dependent on others for care. Nevertheless a great deal of drama centered on her life, and her story sounds stranger than fiction. Ultimately, her story is a powerful tale of redemption, and for whatever encouragement that can be, I'll sketch it out here. I hope I can do so while conveying the care and respect I feel for all who were impacted by the events of Faith's life.
Faith was the middle child of three severely handicapped children born to her parents. Five bright and healthy children also were interspersed with the handicapped children. During the years of grueling and unrelenting child care, when things could no longer be managed at home, Faith and her handicapped older sister were placed in a state institution in Winfield, about two hours distant. This was a heart-wrenching decision, but in most ways things seemed to be working out well whenever her parents visited.
Until one day. . . A small group of officials from the institution showed up at the Bontrager home to deliver devastating news. Faith was pregnant by an institution employee. What an unthinkable horror for Faith and for her family, to say nothing of representatives of the institution. Never was a rape victim more innocent than Faith. The crime was reported in our local newspaper, without names, except for the perpetrator, and many of us read the news account initially without realizing that the victim was one of our own.
The employee was reported to law enforcement and was subsequently prosecuted and sentenced to a prison term.
Terminating the pregnancy was recommended. Instead of allowing that to happen, members of Faith's family immediately made known their desire to care for and claim the expected child as their own. In due time, the baby arrived, perfectly normal, and became part of the family of Faith's brother. Today that baby is almost 24, a man of God with a powerful testimony to the goodness of God in his life. He tells his story readily when invited to do so.
Within the last year or two, birth father and son have met. I don't know many details of their meeting except that I know the son felt that God blessed, in answer to many prayers.
Faith lived and died, apparently with no cognition of how her life fit in with God's purposes. We don't claim to know all those purposes either. but in a tall handsome Christian young man who's making good choices, redemption has begun. For Faith, ultimate redemption came this week, when she passed from this life to the next.
********************
Faith lived long enough to transition to a much-improved setting for care. At the state's direction, large institutions such as Winfield were dismantled, and smaller community-based facilities were promoted. Unfortunately, no such facility was ready in this area, so Faith's parents teamed up with parents of other residents at Winfield and arranged something satisfactory in El Dorado, a town between here and Winfield. A group of female residents were cared for there by a female staff. A number of staff members attended Faith's funeral today. I don't know all the details about who funded the care-giving, but private pay and state aid were both involved, as I recall. Faith lived there for about 20 years.
********************
Sorting out who is responsible for caring for people like Faith isn't easy. In her case, it was the family and the state who did so, with the church relatively uninvolved. I think the church should probably have been involved, but I don't have a clear sense for how it should or could have happened. In any case, the state's role looks both noble (for helping lift the family caregiving burden) and reprehensible (for the abuse that occurred on their watch). Gratitude and diligent watchfulness both seem like part of a sensible stance where the state is involved in the care of the innocent.
Faith was the middle child of three severely handicapped children born to her parents. Five bright and healthy children also were interspersed with the handicapped children. During the years of grueling and unrelenting child care, when things could no longer be managed at home, Faith and her handicapped older sister were placed in a state institution in Winfield, about two hours distant. This was a heart-wrenching decision, but in most ways things seemed to be working out well whenever her parents visited.
Until one day. . . A small group of officials from the institution showed up at the Bontrager home to deliver devastating news. Faith was pregnant by an institution employee. What an unthinkable horror for Faith and for her family, to say nothing of representatives of the institution. Never was a rape victim more innocent than Faith. The crime was reported in our local newspaper, without names, except for the perpetrator, and many of us read the news account initially without realizing that the victim was one of our own.
The employee was reported to law enforcement and was subsequently prosecuted and sentenced to a prison term.
Terminating the pregnancy was recommended. Instead of allowing that to happen, members of Faith's family immediately made known their desire to care for and claim the expected child as their own. In due time, the baby arrived, perfectly normal, and became part of the family of Faith's brother. Today that baby is almost 24, a man of God with a powerful testimony to the goodness of God in his life. He tells his story readily when invited to do so.
Within the last year or two, birth father and son have met. I don't know many details of their meeting except that I know the son felt that God blessed, in answer to many prayers.
Faith lived and died, apparently with no cognition of how her life fit in with God's purposes. We don't claim to know all those purposes either. but in a tall handsome Christian young man who's making good choices, redemption has begun. For Faith, ultimate redemption came this week, when she passed from this life to the next.
********************
Faith lived long enough to transition to a much-improved setting for care. At the state's direction, large institutions such as Winfield were dismantled, and smaller community-based facilities were promoted. Unfortunately, no such facility was ready in this area, so Faith's parents teamed up with parents of other residents at Winfield and arranged something satisfactory in El Dorado, a town between here and Winfield. A group of female residents were cared for there by a female staff. A number of staff members attended Faith's funeral today. I don't know all the details about who funded the care-giving, but private pay and state aid were both involved, as I recall. Faith lived there for about 20 years.
********************
Sorting out who is responsible for caring for people like Faith isn't easy. In her case, it was the family and the state who did so, with the church relatively uninvolved. I think the church should probably have been involved, but I don't have a clear sense for how it should or could have happened. In any case, the state's role looks both noble (for helping lift the family caregiving burden) and reprehensible (for the abuse that occurred on their watch). Gratitude and diligent watchfulness both seem like part of a sensible stance where the state is involved in the care of the innocent.
posted by Mrs. I (Miriam Iwashige) at
9:13 PM
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