By Wayne Gates

“I want you to be my forever mommy.”

With those words to the teacher that saved her life, Faith has made clear how happy and safe she feels now.

In an exclusive interview with The News Democrat, the teacher talked about her role in one of the most shocking stories in Brown County in years.

Investigators say 11 year old Faith was kept isolated in a junk-filled trailer with no working bathroom and under video surveillance. She was wearing a diaper when she was found.

She was only being fed a plate of rice once a day and weighed just 47 pounds when she sat down to take an online test with her teacher.

“She said that she was hungry and hadn’t eaten. She didn’t react well to me suggesting that she take a break and get something to eat,” the teacher said.

“I was trying just to let her talk and not draw any conclusions. She shared with me her regimen of eating which was only once a day.”

After talking a little more, the teacher said goodbye to Faith for the day.

“I went to bed that night and I just kept waking up and thinking about her and I felt that the Lord was prompting me to do something,” the teacher said.

“The next day when she was not in class, I decided that I just had to report it. I called and let children services know about the conversation and I got a call a few days later letting me know that they had gotten her out of the home.”

When asked how that fateful conversation made her feel, the teacher said “What set off the alarm bells was that she told me she would get in trouble if she ate. It just kept nagging at me. She said she always just got fed at midnight and I just believed her by the way she talked.”

Then she found out just how bad her situation had been.

“I couldn’t believe it. I was floored because I had no idea it was that bad. I had been interacting with her and she seemed like a very sweet girl that participated in class. I would have never guessed it was that bad.”

The teacher said she could not get the situation out of her mind.

“My heart was just wrenching. All I could think about at night was her not eating. I have kids and grandkids and the thought of a child not eating was too much for me.”

So she decided to take a big step that would change Faith’s life forever.

“I felt very much that the Lord put me in this position for a reason. I talked with my husband about it and we prayed about it,” the teacher said.

After the couple made up their mind, the teacher called Brown County Child Protective Services and volunteered to take care of her.

“At this time, she had been in the hospital for about a week. We continued to work things out and the first time we visited her in the hospital was when we took her home,” the teacher said.

It turned out that Faith had already learned of the plan.

“They had shared with her that her teacher would be her new mommy. So when we came in, she said ‘Who’s my teacher?’ and I said ‘I am’ and she said ‘mommy!’ and ran up and hugged me. We went in and sat down and she ran over and sat in my husband’s lap and said ‘daddy’.”

That reaction brought it all home to the teacher.

“It was just confirmation that it was meant to be because she attached to us right away and she just felt like part of our family,” she said.

A couple of months later, Faith is finding her way in her new life.

“Every day she is learning new things and new experiences. She’s very happy and gets excited over everything. We have puppies and chickens, and she goes outside and gets eggs every day,” the teacher said.

“She is flourishing. Gaining more weight, doing well in school. It’s just been beyond my dreams of how well she could do.”

Sometimes, the bad memories do come back though.

“She seems comfortable sharing about what she’s been through. We just deal with it and go on. She’s just been a trooper,” the teacher said.

She added that she is positive that Faith is right where she needs to be.

“I feel like the Lord has called me, so it’s just all falling together. I’m sure there will be bumps in the road, but we are just taking it one day at a time and it’s great so far,” the teacher said.

She added that she is grateful for all the help she has received from everyone involved in the investigation.

“I’m grateful to children’s services for doing what they do. I have a great appreciation for them. I am also thankful that the Lord would not let me go to sleep and kept her on my mind,” the teacher said.

“I’m also thankful to Faith for showing unbelievable strength and unbelievable courage. She inspires me every day.”