The children and women in the Village of Hope programs have been deeply traumatized; have suffered some of the most atrocious violence and darkness any human can face. One of the most important things that they are taught in the counseling provided at Village of Hope is that they are not what they were forced to do. That their identity is found in Christ; in the value that He places on them to have adopted them as His own.
Let's face it. Whether we are first world people or third, have suffered the trauma of war, or the traumas that are more common in our part of the world; abuse, abandonment, shame; we ALL struggle with the lies that plague our hearts. "God can never use you because of what you did." "No one will ever want you because...." "You are never going to succeed, so don't even try." See? We have more in common with the women and children of Uganda and all around the world when you bring it down to the matters of the heart. Don't compare your hurt with someone else's, because your mountain and her mountain are both but a grain of sand to our God. Look to God, who has overcome it all, and find your healing there.
What we can learn from the women and children of the Village of Hope is this; if renewal of identity, confidence, peace, and joy can be found through the healing of God for those who have suffered as these have, then it can be found for you, too. As Corrie Ten Boom said, "There is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still."
God never wastes our pain. We are always able to come alongside others and help them with the experiences that life has given to us. The women of the Tabitha project teach one another new skills, share ideas, lift one another up. When we visit them in Uganda, we share photographs of their items being sold here in the USA and it brings them much hope and encouragement THANK YOU. Thank you for blessing them that way.
You are making a difference in the lives of these women whose hearts are more like yours than you know. The economic difference between us, however, is tremendous. In the United States, we can go to Starbucks and buy a coffee for about $5 (if you are cheap like I am). In Uganda, that $5 is enough to feed a family of four for whole day. So, any purchase you make here, even our inexpensive and sweet Grace bead bracelet is a blessing and it matters. God bless you!
Colossians 3:14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.