For three days mid-May, my team lived and served at Heart of Christ Ministries, a safe house for teen girls who have been raped and are now raising their babies. Gracie and her husband Lee are missionaries from the states, but their work does not fit the normal missionary description. They counsel, support, feed, and protect these teens who have been forced into motherhood at an all too early age.
Michelle, impregnated at age 12 by her stepdad, is now 13 with a 7 month old chubby, raven-haired beauty named Katherine. Heydi, 17 years old, has an adorable little one year old boy Christopher. A 16 year old mom, Alicia, is a former gang member and drug addict who gave birth to a drug-addicted baby. And Milagros, raped by her grandfather, is now the mother to a 9 month old at only 15 years old.
Michelle and her baby Katherine
Heydi and me
These girls have a hard life. Their families have abandoned or disowned them. They are looked down upon in society, and in the eyes of the world have no futures. Abuse fills their pasts. But Gracie and Lee offer a home, education, skills training, and safety to these girls. They teach them about the God of the Bible, Jesus’ love, sacrifice, and resurrection.
Heart of Christ also takes care of three toddler boys who are essentially orphans. One, Moses, who was abandoned at the hospital as a baby because he was born with a tumor doubling his weight and his mother didn’t want to take care of such a “burden”. The other two boys’ mothers ran away from the ministry site wanting freedom from responsibility as teen moms.
Lee with Diego and Alejandro
"Helping" with the water delivery
The boys walking around together
In addition to the four teen moms, their babies, and the three toddler boys, Gracie also provides for three beautiful girls with cerebral palsy. These girls require full-time attention, so Gracie has three nannies helping alongside.
Shirley is blind and has cerebral palsy
Yvonna with her nanny
They are all a family. A father and mother and sisters and helpers together raising the babies.
Meeting the needs and caring for the teens and children is only part of Gracie’s work in Honduras. She also is a prosecutor and works to defend victims and bring justice in situations that are often filled with corruption and deceit. Her stories amazed me. She is a risk-taking, God-believing, courageous and obedient woman.
It was a privilege to be a part of this ministry and get a glimpse of what life is like for these girls, their babies, and the other children, and all that serve them. We helped take care of the babies, played with the toddlers, assisted the nannies, and enjoyed every moment of affection. Jo and Jochem, along with Carlos, helped build two picnic style tables for the toddlers boys and installed barbed wire along one wall of the property.
Christopher and me
Moses and Alexandria
Gracie giving Jo and Jochem instructions
The guys working on the barbed wire
Picnic table for the toddler boys!
On the last evening of our time at Heart of Christ, the teenage girls wanted to play hide and seek in the dark with some of us. It was about 8:00 pm, time for the babies to go to bed. I took baby Katherine from her mom Michelle and told Michelle to go have fun and play outside until her bedtime at 9:00pm. I was struck in a new way. I was holding this girl’s baby so that she, a 13 year old, could go play outside with her friends under the stars like kids should have the freedom to do. But this girl, she’s a mom. She has to feed her baby, bathe her baby, change her baby’s diaper, and put her baby to bed every night.
She doesn’t check her Facebook. She doesn’t eat ice cream with her parents and siblings before bed. She doesn’t watch The Voice and follow her favorite singer week by week. She isn’t dreaming of dating or driving a car or going to college.
This is her life. For life.
But thank God she is living in a safe place, with food and shelter, people who love her and help her and support her, and all the girls and children.
And despite their trauma and hardships, God has a plan for each one. His words are ancient, yet true. Never changing and always trustworthy.
“For I know the plans I have for you”, says the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” –Jeremiah 29:11
Some of the photos are courtesy of Amy Dillman.
Thanks to Beth Barron for her consulting on this blog's title.
