7-Year-Old Refugee Girl Sings to Her Lost Mother — The Judge Slams the GOLDEN Button

Dear God above, can you hear my prayer tonight? I'm just a little... My name is Anya. I am 7 years old. I come from a small city in Ukraine that I cannot say the name very well because it is hard for me to speak sometimes when I think about home. Before the bad things happened, I lived with my mama in a little house with blue shutters. My papa, he had to go fight in the war to protect our country. He kissed my forehead and told me to take care of mama, and that was the last time I saw him. The bombs started falling on our city when I was still 6. I remember the sound. It was like thunder, but it never stopped. Mama would hold me under our kitchen table and sing to me so I would not be scared. She had the most beautiful voice. She would sing Ukrainian lullabies that her mama sang to her when she was little like me. One night, the windows in our house broke from the bombs. Mama packed our small bag with my favorite doll and some crackers. She said we had to leave with our neighbors, the Petrovs, who had a car. There were 8 of us in that car. I sat on mama's lap, and she held me so tight. She kept whispering in my ear that everything would be okay, that we would find papa after the war, and that we would have a new home. But something terrible happened at the border. There were so many people, thousands and thousands, all trying to get to safety. The soldiers were shouting, and there was pushing and crying everywhere. Mama told me to hold her hand very tight, but there were too many people. Someone pushed between us, and suddenly I could not see her anymore. I screamed her name, but there was too much noise. The Petrovs found me crying by a fence. They looked for mama for two hours, but she was gone. They had to keep moving because it was dangerous to stay. They promised me they would help me find her later. That was 437 days ago. I count every day because mama told me that counting helps when you are scared. Now I live in a shelter for children in Pennsylvania. The people there are very kind to me, but at night when I close my eyes, I still hear mama singing. I still smell her perfume that smelled like flowers from our garden. I keep this picture of her with me always. This is my mama. Her name is Oksana. She is 28 years old, and she has the kindest eyes in the world. The other children at the shelter, they have different stories, but we all lost someone. There is Miguel who lost his grandmother, and there is Chin who cannot find his little brother. We help each other remember that we are not alone. But sometimes I wonder if mama is looking for me too, or if she thinks I am lost forever. I learned English by watching television and by talking to the volunteers. I wanted to learn so that if mama finds me, I can tell her about America and all the new words I know. But there is one thing I do not need to translate. Music sounds the same in every language. When I sing, I feel like mama can hear me no matter where she is. Three months ago, I started writing a song. Not with paper, because I cannot write all the words yet, but in my heart. I sing it every night before I sleep and every morning when I wake up. It is a song to God, asking Him to help mama find me. The volunteers at the shelter heard me singing it, and they said it was beautiful. They said maybe if I sing it on television, mama will see me and she will know where I am. So I am here today on this big stage because I believe in miracles. I believe that love is stronger than war, stronger than fear, stronger than being lost. This song is for my mama, wherever she is. And it is for God, who I know is listening. The song is called, Bring Her Home to Me, and I wrote it with all the love in my heart. Every word is true. Every note is a prayer. Before I sing, I want to say something to mama, in case she is watching. Mama, if you can see me, I want you to know that I am brave like you taught me. I brush my teeth every day and I say my prayers and I help the little kids at the shelter who are scared. I am waiting for you, and I will never stop believing that we will be together again. This song is my promise to you, mama, and it is my prayer to God. My mama's lost somewhere, beyond the clouds so gray. Please help her find me, show her the way. Bring her home to me, bring her home to me. Like the birds that fly across the endless sea. I know you're listening, I know you care. Bring her home to me, I'll be waiting here. I remember mama's voice, singing soft and low. Before the world got scary and we had to go. Her hands were warm, her heart was strong and true. Now I'm asking this one thing of you. Bring her home to me, bring her home to me. Like the birds that fly across the endless sea. I know you're listening, I know you care. Bring her home to me, I'll be waiting here. Every night the stars and make a wish. Every morning we'll kiss. To the wind that carries love across the sky. Please don't say goodbye. Bring her home to me, bring her home to me. Bring her home to me. Like the birds that fly across the endless sea. I know you're listening, I feel you there. Bring her home to me, I'll always care. Bring her home to me, I'll say a prayer.