"I think it might be Immanuel."
It was unbelievable to hear Mary Katherine utter those words. None of our children had seen the man she named (Brian David Mitchell, who had worked for a day around the Smarts' home in early 2002) for more than a few minutes. We are certain that Mary Katherine received divine inspiration. How on earth could she have come up with his name on her own?
As the only eyewitness to the crime, Mary Katherine had been unknowingly traumatized more than we can ever imagine. The police questioned her over and over again, but she never wavered from her story. She had held the secret of who took Elizabeth for a long time, but finally the missing piece had surfaced.
CHRISTMAS 2002
ED: Christmas was the hardest holiday. Going to the department stores and selecting games and toys didn't feel right. This year, we got back to the true meaning and spirit of the holiday – the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Instead of gifts, we decided to give each of the children Christmas Boxes. The idea came from a story Lois read when she was a child. It was the story of an empty box. When the child in the story opens the box, he wonders why it is empty. He is told that the box isn't empty. It is filled with a gift he can't see or taste but he can feel – it is love. We filled the boxes with items we thought were meaningful. Photos of each child as a baby, of them growing up, of the entire family, and of Elizabeth. As hard as it was for the children to not celebrate Christmas as we always had, they loved receiving their boxes. As a way of honoring their missing sister, each of the children wrote a short note to her as a Christmas wish.
Dear Elizabeth:
I miss you so much. I wish you were here to celebrate your birthday with us. Elizabeth, you're the best sister I could ever have in the whole world. I love you so much. I don't want you to get hurt at all. Elizabeth, I miss you playing games with me, the harp, reading to me, and sleeping with me.
Love,
Mary Katherine
