Watch a video on the Mahima home here: http://vimeo.com/65013201
God loves and underdog. When the world has written off someone as used up, worthless and ready to be discarded, God's eyes of mercy are upon them. When others cast their judgment of worthlessness, the Lord unveils true worth. Noah, Abraham, David, Ruth, Peter, the woman at the well and many others are all people the world has written off, and God was using to write His story.
Today we had the privilege of visiting the Mahima home, an aftercare home for girls rescued from sex trafficking. Stolen or deceived from their homes and sold into a world of slavery with no hope of redemption, these young women are regarded as things, not people. Through the work of IJM and others, there is a glimmer of hope for some girls.
Yet rescuing is just the beginning. At the moment of first trauma, many people stop developing. There are deep wounds in these young women's hearts, and their image of God has been deeply marred.
Ministries like IJM can only expand as far as there are proper places to put the women after they are rescued. Otherwise they end up in a government warehouse, 150 where the suicide rate is over 50%. Given no education, no training and left to stew until they are 18, many girls go back into the sex trade and become part of the problem.
Yet the love of Christ is greater than the powers of this world.
Mahima home is a place where girls are brought and through counseling, skills training, education and a great deal of love are restored. They are invited into a family that loves them and gives them hope for the future.
Today we were a part of that story. Through pastor Angela's devotional about no matter how the people in the world value you, God's value in us never changes we conveyed purpose. Through the hours spent planning, filming and laughing about a faux Bollywood movie with acted out with the girls, we conveyed love and acceptance. Through training that Pamela and Merry undertook with the therapists of the Mahima we equipped the home for the future. This is partnership.
Many of the girls have been in the home for a few years now. Outside of our knowledge of their past, you would not suspect anything was amiss. They smile, and laugh with meaning and true joy. They are studying grade school to learn and have a future. They have hope and dreams and purpose in their lives. They blessed us with their joy.
Yet there is great need. One of the young women had only been at the home for 2 months, and there was a marked difference. She kept her eyes downcast, and stayed back from the group more. She didn't engage on the same level as the other girls and her guard was always up.
This is the beauty of the Mahima home. The other girls were clearly around her, pouring into her life with an empathy that no one else could express. She was now home, with family. Even with her being fairly new, there were times today she was laughing, smiling and being the young girl that she is.
There is hope.
Through the ministries of Mahima home and IJM, many of these girls are pursuing justice against their traffickers, entering into a court system that is not kind to victims and speaking boldly and clearly against the evils of this world.
This is the gospel lived out on earth. This is the Kingdom of God redeeming our fallen planet.
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
Today we participated with the Spirit of God and found freedom not only with these young women, but we were blessed to find freedom ourselves. There are many terrible things happening in the world, but Partners like the Mahima home give hope to the hopeless and proclaim the gospel amidst the darkest principalities on the planet. Because the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness shall not overcome it.
Amen?
God loves and underdog. When the world has written off someone as used up, worthless and ready to be discarded, God's eyes of mercy are upon them. When others cast their judgment of worthlessness, the Lord unveils true worth. Noah, Abraham, David, Ruth, Peter, the woman at the well and many others are all people the world has written off, and God was using to write His story.
Today we had the privilege of visiting the Mahima home, an aftercare home for girls rescued from sex trafficking. Stolen or deceived from their homes and sold into a world of slavery with no hope of redemption, these young women are regarded as things, not people. Through the work of IJM and others, there is a glimmer of hope for some girls.
Yet rescuing is just the beginning. At the moment of first trauma, many people stop developing. There are deep wounds in these young women's hearts, and their image of God has been deeply marred.
Ministries like IJM can only expand as far as there are proper places to put the women after they are rescued. Otherwise they end up in a government warehouse, 150 where the suicide rate is over 50%. Given no education, no training and left to stew until they are 18, many girls go back into the sex trade and become part of the problem.
Yet the love of Christ is greater than the powers of this world.
Mahima home is a place where girls are brought and through counseling, skills training, education and a great deal of love are restored. They are invited into a family that loves them and gives them hope for the future.
Today we were a part of that story. Through pastor Angela's devotional about no matter how the people in the world value you, God's value in us never changes we conveyed purpose. Through the hours spent planning, filming and laughing about a faux Bollywood movie with acted out with the girls, we conveyed love and acceptance. Through training that Pamela and Merry undertook with the therapists of the Mahima we equipped the home for the future. This is partnership.
Many of the girls have been in the home for a few years now. Outside of our knowledge of their past, you would not suspect anything was amiss. They smile, and laugh with meaning and true joy. They are studying grade school to learn and have a future. They have hope and dreams and purpose in their lives. They blessed us with their joy.
Yet there is great need. One of the young women had only been at the home for 2 months, and there was a marked difference. She kept her eyes downcast, and stayed back from the group more. She didn't engage on the same level as the other girls and her guard was always up.
This is the beauty of the Mahima home. The other girls were clearly around her, pouring into her life with an empathy that no one else could express. She was now home, with family. Even with her being fairly new, there were times today she was laughing, smiling and being the young girl that she is.
There is hope.
Through the ministries of Mahima home and IJM, many of these girls are pursuing justice against their traffickers, entering into a court system that is not kind to victims and speaking boldly and clearly against the evils of this world.
This is the gospel lived out on earth. This is the Kingdom of God redeeming our fallen planet.
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
Today we participated with the Spirit of God and found freedom not only with these young women, but we were blessed to find freedom ourselves. There are many terrible things happening in the world, but Partners like the Mahima home give hope to the hopeless and proclaim the gospel amidst the darkest principalities on the planet. Because the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness shall not overcome it.
Amen?
No comments :
Post a Comment