Throughout the past month, our team spent countless hours at the Sandra Jones Center in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. We lived at the Center, worked at the Center, ate at the Center, and became family, even if it was just for a short time, with the incredible women and children at the Center. These were some of the hardest goodbyes we’ve had to say on the Race, but we were able to leave a few small bits of ourselves behind.
These are our sisters. These are their stories.
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This is my sweet friend, holding a Bible that’s been in my family since May of 1996. She has had an unimaginably hard life; after both of her parents died, she went to live with her uncle, who pimped her out as a way to make money off of her. She has lived true heartbreak, yet she never fails to greet me with a hug and a smile.
At the beginning of the Race, the Lord told me to give this Bible away to someone who didn’t yet have one. I’m happy to say that my Bible has officially passed into her loving care. I not only know that she’ll treasure it, but that the Lord will blow her socks off.
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These beautiful girls quickly became two of our dearest friends. Four years ago, this momma had a daughter who she couldn’t bear to look at because she reminded her mother of a close family member who took complete advantage of her for years, resulting in her unplanned pregnancy. She dropped her daughter at the Center, but found herself there again a few years later with another infant.
We had the sweet privilege of giving away dresses made by an incredible woman back in the States, and at momma’s suggestion, we gave the two our one pair of matching dresses. Jesus, thank you for using something as simple as a dress as a tool of sweet redemption.
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This sweet girl is in my 3rd/4th grade class, and she’s incredibly smart and kind. She comes from a past so traumatic that she’s never been able to open up and talk about her life before the Sandra Jones Center. One day, while we were doing independent reading in the hall, I asked her if anyone has ever told her that she was smart. She thought for a second, shrugged her shoulders, and shook her head.
I made her pinky promise me right then and there that she would never forget that she was smart, beautiful, and dearly loved, and that she would continue to try her hardest in school. She promised. Thank you, Jesus, for allowing me the precious privilege of speaking Truth over one of you sweet daughters.
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This precious little one has experienced more terror in the first five years of her life than anyone should experience in an entire lifetime. This sweet girl came to the Center as a 3-year-old with trauma-induced autism due to the extent of the rape and abuse she underwent as an infant and toddler. Today, she’s 5 years old, screams when she’s happy, and always wants to be held.
When we brought the dresses out for the girls to choose from, her eyes latched onto an orange dress that was just her size. She patted her tummy as if to say, “For me! For me!” and proceeded to run around twirling and dancing. Jesus, your heart is for this little one, and I have full confidence that you hold her close and sing sweet melodies to her each day.
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This girl was my first and fiercest friend this past month. Nine months ago, my sweet friend Lauren sent me out into the big wide world with a stuffed monkey to give to someone who needed some love and happiness. After months of searching the globe (literally), Mr. Monkey finally has a loving home with a girl whose effervescence far precedes her.
Because she felt so loved having received a new stuffed friend, this beautiful girl also sent me on my way with a darling bear to give to away in the next 60 days, in hopes of making someone else feel just as special as she did upon meeting Mr. Monkey.
