S. is a changed woman, not through a self-help program, an intervention by friends and family, or through a recovery center. S. is changed because of Jesus’ love demonstrated by redeemed but faithful sinners like you and me. At twelve she was raped by her mother’s significant other. Her mother then threw her out on the streets where she survived by rumaging for food in the trash. A lady befriended her and took her to her own favela where a dozen men raped her. She returned to her favela, presented herself to the drug lord and asked to be taught to kill. After training she went back to kill the men who raped her and thus began a life as a hit-woman for the drug traffickers. Her story continues with horrendous events that led her to drug dependence, murder, prostitution, neglecting her resulting children and worse. How could anyone with that history be changed? There aren’t enough twelve-step programs in the world that could address even a fraction of her pain. Yet God didn’t abandon her and he put her in the path of a church family in Caju that led her to Christ and helped her return to a productive life. Today S. is not only living in a small apartment on her own, she lives and works in the same favela that nearly destroyed her. And she is taking the message of true healing to as many people as she can.
But in real life, there really never is a “happily ever after”. S. needs your prayer. And the ministry of missions needs your support. Are you willing to be a conduit for transformed lives? You don’t have to be a theologian, a pastor or have a fancy degree. Remember that most of Jesus’ disciples were hardly what one would call educated or professional. We have three clear ways to respond:
Pray – place a comment here to be added to our prayer letter
Give – help support missions in Latin America
Go – place a comment here to begin a dialogue about how God could use you in missions.
TeamDuggan 
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