The bus terminal was crowded with people arriving and leaving. I walked slowly, searching for a lone young woman and her baby. It had been two years since I had last seen her. Would I recognize her? It was then that I saw her, one arm raised tentatively in greeting, a six month baby on her hip, a couple of smaller bags at her feet. Although she is now just 22 years old, her face was thinner and older, a face that told the story of abuse and abandonment. Believing the lies of a man who "promised her the world," she walked away one Christmas Eve, leaving a haven of love and safety, and a hopeful future. Two years later, at a point of desperation, she remembered the love she had experienced in Casa Adalia and began to search for a way to come back "home." Yet God. He never stopped pursuing her with His unfailing love, wooing her back to Himself and to choosing new life for her and her child.
This is not a unique story for the precious young women we minister to. The manipulative lies of "You are so beautiful, let me take care of you," are far too common and easily believed by a teen girl who her entire young life only experienced abuse.
It is a joy and privilege to catch glimpses of growth and transformation of the young women and children we are honored to journey with. Last week another one of our young women spontaneously asked to share her testimony with a small team. She ended by saying, "I am finally learning what pure love is. The love of God is pure, it is unconditional."
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