Our team and our regional partner in Southeast Asia recently had a counseling breakthrough with a teen we will call “Abi.” During an initial counseling session, Abi was shown a lot of pictures and asked to pick the drawings that represented her.
Abi chose images of poop, a broom and a trash can.
When asked to elaborate on those choices, Abi explained:
“I am like poop, human waste with no value. I am like the dust a broom sweeps away. I am like the trash can, filled with used, empty drink bottles and dirty clothes people throw away.”
Imagine how disheartening it was to hear a young girl with so much promise believing these things about herself.
But there is light at the end of this tunnel. One day, a member of our team arrived and picked up those dirty clothes and washed them, restoring someone else’s refuse into something beautiful and valuable. Those clothes were then cared for, loved and restored.
During counseling, Abi then picked up an image of a flower:
“Now I feel like a flower because ATP cares for me, nourishes and waters me, and protects me from the animals.”
Abi says she is ready to testify against her assailants, but she is afraid to see the perpetrators’ faces.
Recently, the young victim met with a supportive group of survivors and our partner in the region to ask if perhaps she was praying incorrectly, because she kept having nightmares every night. Other girls who were also victims of abuse spoke up, telling Abi that having nightmares is normal at first, and that she should not ever think her prayers were wrong. They told her to keep turning her fears over to God, and in time, things will get better.
Abi continues to heal from the horrors of her abuse. Our regional partner in Southeast Asia asks that our readers please keep Abi and the other victims in our safe house in your prayers.
To become a part of the effort to help Abi and other victims like her, please consider making a donation. Prayer is free. If you are not in a position to donate right now, we still ask for continued prayers for this important mission.
