A Village Story


“Marley”

A Village Story

David’s 2nd Blog from Mexico

Dear Friends,

When you start asking missionaries Jason and Nicole Fitzpatrick about the many children who live at “The Village,” be prepared to be shocked by some of their stories. The abuse that some of them have suffered before coming to the Village is almost beyond imagination.

Take 8-year-old “Marley,” in the photo above, for example. She, along with her three siblings and mother, previously lived in a tiny wooden shack in the mountainous and primitive region where the Fitzpatricks serve. Marley’s father is long gone. When her mother was absent from home, Marley’s drunken grandfather would regularly tie her up, hang her from the rafters, and sexually abuse her. He similarly sodomized her 10-year-old older brother.

Thankfully, Marley, her three siblings and their mother have all recently been rescued from their victimization, and they are now living at the Village (which has recently changed locations due to mudslides…see my previous blog).

The three older children (which includes Marley) are receiving schooling for the first time in their lives. Before their rescue, none of the children had ever used a toilet or experienced a warm bath or shower. When Nicole took them for the first doctor’s visit of their lives, she was told that they are all years behind on the growth/weight chart.


Marley’s older brother (who was abused like Marley) and younger brother

Nicole will also tell you that emotional scars such children suffer take time to heal, but the love-filled and pure environment of the Village has proven to work wonders.

Of course, the Fitzpatricks work with governmental and legal professionals in order to accomplish such rescues. Perpetrators are prosecuted. It is risky in a country where criminals are organized and police sometimes work in conjunction with them, but Jesus’ love drives Jason and Nicole to take those risks.


Marley’s younger sister

Heaven’s Family is involved with the Village children via our Human Trafficking & Slavery Ministry and Orphan’s Tear Ministry, (and those are means for you to be involved as well).

We also partner with the Fitzpatricks by (1) supporting national missionaries whom they have trained and raised up (though our National Missionary Ministry), (2) providing food for all the Village children (through our Food Ministry), (3) providing Bibles for impoverished new believers (through our Strategic Bibles Ministry), (4) providing training for pastors (through the printing and distribution of The Disciple-Making Minister via our Books for Discipleship Ministry), and (6) through regularly meeting medical needs (through our Critical Medical Needs Ministry). I’ll tell you about one of those medical needs that we met years ago, and a little girl’s life who was changed because of it, in my next blog.

Every blessing,


David


Old friends: I have some photos on my laptop of Village children that I took in 2010. Little Evelyn is growing up! Her father, separated from her mother, was an alcoholic, but both came to the Lord through Jason and Nicole’s ministry. That was about ten years ago. Today, Evelyn’s mom helps care for the Village children, and her father is a full-time church-planting missionary, supported by Heaven’s Family. Evelyn wants to be a doctor some day.

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