Yesterday we took portraits of the women and girls who live at House of Hope. Some welcomed us with huge smiles, others shyly smiled at the camera, some glared, and one very sad, broken girl, Alma, with a heart breaking story wouldn't even look up.
Today, we were blessed to hand each girl and woman a beautiful portrait of herself. Their responses ranged from giggles of excitement and wonder, to silence and contemplation at seeing themselves. We had each one paste their photo to a piece of paper, and write words that described who they are. We encouraged them not to write things that others have told them-what men had said, or what the madams at the brothels said, but rather what they believed, what they felt, who they thought they were.
Afraid, Broken, Joyful, Saved, Sad, Beautiful, Angry, Confused, Betrayed, Hopeful, Ashamed, Healing
Then we encouraged them to describe what "God's love is..."
Healing, Trustworthy, Rescuing, Powerful, Real, Strong, Precious, Forgiving, Perfect, Father, Merciful, Peaceful
Some women proudly displayed their work, some didn't write anything at all, some wept. But at the end of the day, each woman and girl had been reminded, or perhaps told for the first time, that she was precious, worthy of love, and beautiful.
It is humbling and beautiful to have witnessed this day. I'm amazed and thankful to have been a few moments in these women and girls' lives. There is a lifetime of healing and battles to fight ahead of these beloved daughters of the King. But we serve the only God who can change lives and mend the broken hearts. Praise God He is not finished with any of us.
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| Me and Valorie, one of the many precious girls who stole my heart. |
Beautiful pictures that motivate me to pray for each and every woman and girl. However, from my own work int he area of anti-trafficking, I can't help but wonder whether posting these girls' pictures could pose a risk to any of their safety? A similar situation happened with project I worked with in Mozambique and certain girls were put in significant risk of being found due to the fact that a short term team had come in, taken pictures and then posted them along with the name of the home where they had found safe harbor. Please pray about this, talk to the director of the program in Nic, and consider your impact on these girls.
ReplyDeleteThat aside, I give thanks to God that you are engaging in working with such beautiful young girls. You are living the love of Christ. Blessings.