Mary Troya was a motherly sort who sadly could not bear children of her own. Within her community both she and her husband, Eli, were of some standing and reputation for helping others with their problems. An Amish man, Joseph Augsburger, who had left the community a few years back to teach in the local town's high school had visited the community to visit his family and former friends. Mary bumped into him, and they talked of his work teaching, which Mary believed to be a noble, God-serving vocation. He talked about the challenges he saw in young people of the town and the challenges faced by one family who had a son with severe autism, and they were at their wits' end. The 12-year-old son was aloof, nearly nonverbal, and had outbursts of frustration and screaming that had brought the family to their knees.

Joseph so wanted to support the family but did not know how.

Mary, without thinking of the consequences or approval of her community said that she would help the family, and the following days were spent in heated discussions with the elders as they suggested that spending time outside the village may not serve Mary best.

Mary prayed on the subject and decided to help anyway, and a meeting was set up.

Despite initial reservations on both sides, Mary soon managed to gain some small connection with the family's son, John, and the family were over the moon. Mary soon learned, after a few challenges, that she was able to calm John down with calm spoken words of faith. The family were not sure about this at first but let it go due to the impact it had. Would her will and faith help John, and would she win back the favor of her family?