Posts tagged Girls Ranch

Here’s a story from one of our Refuge team members.

As the car pulled up to Hope Ranch (Chacara Esperanza) in Campinas, Brazil, I wondered if the girls would remember me. Last August, I had the privilege of spending a week with them as part of a mission trip from Princeton Alliance Church. My trip to Hope Ranch and the City of Youth changed my life and I had been counting down the days until I could see the children again. Here I was, moments away, and the anticipation was making my hands sweaty. Suddenly, the large wooden gates swung open and immediately I realized that the girls had not forgotten me. As I stepped out of the car, girls wrapped their arms around me, squeezed me from all sides, and welcomed me back. My heart skipped a beat and tears formed in the corner of my eyes. I felt as though I had never left, that I belonged, and that I was loved.
The afternoon was spent giggling, painting nails, braiding hair, and experimenting with make-up. The girls took turns giving me beauty treatments and pampering me. After make-up, hair, and nails were complete, it was time to choose my outfit for that evening’s church service. I found myself at the center of a fashion show and I was the star. We laughed, danced, and laughed some more, but I couldn’t help wondering… How could anyone ever hurt these girls? How could anyone not love them? How could these girls ever overcome pasts full of abuse, poverty, neglect, and abandonment?
As the girls and I walked hand-in-hand to board the bus headed to church, I remembered that it’s because of our God broken hearts are mended.