Princess for a Day

Today, August 14th, is the last official day of ministry for the Mariners Peru team. We went to the Nancy Cole Home for the abused women. Though it is a home for women, many of the women there are under 20. Most women have been abused in the hands of their fathers or uncles. Some girls are raped by their fathers and when they get pregnant, the father performs an abortion with a coat hanger only to rape them again. The atrocity and the horrific nature of their suffering is beyond what my mind is able to comprehend. Statistics given to us by local missionaries here say 1 in 6 boys are abused by the time they are 12 and more than 60% of the girls are sexually abused.

Here is an exerpt of a diary entry by Marie Fitch who is 15 years old. She is the one who wanted to come on this missions trip and her father "tagged" along. She has been an indespensable team member with her wit, humor and innocence.

"Today we will be going to the Nancy Cole Home. We have stopped at the moment because we are picking up the cakes for the party. We are going to have stations at the home. One will be the teddy bear station with devotions where they will explain that we love them. Then we're going to have a Mariners store, where they can pick out an outfit they like. Then a doctor station, where Robin will be and a feet washing station where they will get a brand new pair of shoes. We will also be serving lunch and we brought dessert. For lunch, we're bringing chicken because they only get protein 1 time a month, so we´re treating them. We had a good time. I got to work the store and play with one of the girl´s baby. The girls were treated like princesses for a day. All the men escorted the girls into their seats for lunch where we had a gift bag prepared for them, filled with makeups, brush, hair clips and so much more. After, we did all the dishes we said our goodbye to the girls and left." - Marie Fitch

All in all, we didn´t fix their lives, but we were able to love on them and make them feel special. Many of their hearts are hard so please pray for God´s love to penetrate and soften their hearts.

I will give them one heart and I will put a new spirit within them; I will remove the hearts of stone from their bodies and I will give them tender hearts.
Ezekiel 11:19