Wounded Warriors

When people ask about what motivated us to start Nueva Esperanza-New Hope Girls Inc. There are many faces that come to mind. Broken eyes, lips, and backs. Broken hearts and lives. Their stories broke our hearts and stirred us to fight on their behalf.

  “Who can listen to a story of loneliness and despair without taking the risk of experiencing similar pains in his own heart and even losing his precious peace of mind? In short: “Who can take away suffering without entering it?”― Henri J.M. Nouwen, 

 

This week we had a case with an eight year old, a heartbreaker.   As we finished the first of countless days in an arduous process I was feeling exhausted. But as I walked out of the courthouse, I saw one of those faces from the past. Her face covered in scares from those days long ago.  She was the first girl I went to court for. She was one I would have said the system failed and made me doubt the entire process. I had so many regrets… But, today seeing her there broke my heart in all the right ways.

Her face lit up as our eyes connected and we hugged a significant hug. She had come to be sure someone was advocating for this girl. Tears streamed down her face as she imagined, better than anyone could, the pain of this little one. She wanted to see justice served and her hope inspired me to press on.

"But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." -- I Corinthians 15:57-58