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The Unseen Seen

Wrestling with the now and the not yet...

Kim Orellana

9/7/20263 min read

Standing in the Gap and Making the Unseen Seen

Summer 2026 has come and gone, and I am still wondering how we got here. Nearly every day, one of the Orellana clan verbalizes what we are all thinking: “I never thought we’d be here doing this.”

Since leaving Ecuador in January 2023, we have continually tried to surrender our well-thought-out plans, our great ideas, and even our deepest longings to God, trusting that His plans are far greater than anything we could hope or imagine. Some days, we stubbornly wrestle with Him, asking why we are still here. Other days, it is glaringly obvious that He still has a great deal of healing to do—in us, in our marriage, in our family, and in our own hearts.

We are living in the now and the not yet in each of those places.

And because He knows me and loves me so personally, He continues to allow me to partner with the ministry in Ecuador. For that, I am deeply grateful.

In June, we took a team of teenagers and moms to Cuenca. We served in the Hope Seed summer school program, spent time with children while their parents participated in trauma-training programs, and led a retreat for our La Roca team of 18 professionals.

It was just good.

Good to support. Good to serve. Good to lead. Good to stand in the gap. And good to simply be present where God is doing such an incredible work.

Then, in July, Isabel—who turns 23 this month—and I led a medical team back to the orphanage on the edge of the jungle, partnering once again with the Ecuadorian government.

This may have been one of the hardest things I have ever done.

The home was designed and equipped for 23 children, yet 60 children now live there—from three months old to 17 years old. The physical needs were significant, but the emotional needs were overwhelming.

As we drove away when our time was over, my heart was shattered by my inability to make any of it better. I wrestled with everything the last few years have brought my way.

Why am I here?

Why am I seeing so much brokenness only to drive away?

What difference can I possibly make?

I carried those questions with me well into my next trip in August, which took me to Sacramento to raise support and meet with our mission organization. I was tired—tired of the questions, tired of the wrestling, and tired of feeling like I should somehow be able to do more.

One afternoon, exhausted by it all, I sat on a patio in the Stanislaus National Forest and surrendered once again—not just my plans and my expectations, but my need to understand it all.

As I sat there, the light broke through the trees.

And in that quiet moment, I sensed God saying:

Just make the unseen seen.

Let Me do the healing work.

Just make the unseen seen.

Maybe that is what standing in the gap looks like.

Maybe it isn't always about fixing what is broken, finding the answers, or seeing the outcome. Maybe sometimes it is simply being willing to stand in the places where others cannot—or will not—stand. To see what is easy to overlook. To tell the stories that might otherwise remain hidden. To bring light to places that feel forgotten.

To make the unseen seen.

I don't know what the next season will hold. I still don't understand all the whys. But I am learning that I don't have to.

I can show up.

I can love.

I can serve.

I can stand in the gap.

And I can make the unseen seen—trusting the One who sees it all to do the healing work.

Will You Stand in the Gap With Me?