Six month anniversary

Six months ago our area experienced something that you think wouldn't happen where you live nor to those it happened to.

On October 2, 2006, a gunman walked into an Amish one room schoolhouse taking hostages and eventually killing five girls and then himself.

The Amish had five little girls to bury. Several others had been hurt badly. They’ve forgiven Charlie Roberts. The Amish went to his funeral. The school has been torn down, and a new one has been built, just a few hundred feet away. The New Hope Amish School is opening its doors for its first day of school, today.

The Amish take this terrible occurrence and use it to reinforce their faith in God. They would say “this is a chance for us to learn something about how to be better people, to each other, and to the world around us.”

We have Amish neighbors. This is a picture of the Amish one room schoolhouse less than a mile from our house. These schools dot our landscape. Having been born and raised here, I’ve always rubbed elbows with the Amish. Last year, some girls from this school came to our door selling cleaning supplies for a school fundraiser. They have a strawberry stand at the end of the lane just across from our development. I’ve always seen them – we pass a dozen buggies on the way to church. I've always known of their strong faith, but "The Happening" as they refer to it, showed me, along with the world, how strong it truly is.

Five little girls died but five survived and for the Amish that is blessing enough.

Four of the five survivors are doing well. They’re back in school. They can run and jump. The fifth girl, who was shot in the head, is bedridden and remains on a feeding tube. While it's heartbreaking for the community to see the little girl in so much pain, the families try not to question it.

"It was God's plan, I don't know how, how to explain that," an amishman said.

They get comfort from the four girls who have exceeded doctor's expectations. They call them the "Miracle Girls". One of the girls, a fourth-grader, who was shot in the jaw and shoulder, still has two bullets in her arm, but was the first to return to school.

An eighth-grader who was shot in the hip and arm had extensive nerve damage and had to wear braces on her arm and leg. She was in a brace for a while, but she isn't anymore.

A sixth-grader, who doctors originally thought would lose her arm, not only avoided an amputation, but has gone beyond what doctors said would be possible.

The fifth girl, the 10-year-old who was shot in the head, spent the most time in the hospital -- three months. But her speech is back to 100 percent and she is amazing her family.

For a community that lost five precious lives, the Amish see that five lives were spared and for that, they're thankful. "It's God's healing power. He wants to show the world what he can do through prayers” said an Amish woman.

I just wish all the national news stations would come back and spend as much time here now, telling about these "miracle girls," as they did when it first happened.

Quotes and survivors' conditions were taken from wgal.com