Greetings from Guatemala! After visiting with our second ministry partner in this country, we were overjoyed to see firsthand the quality of love and care shown to children who have suffered unspeakable pain. Below is Maria's story, as told by our partner:

Hua Lin used to live in a small, cramped apartment in Vietnam, where she worked at a factory job. But one morning, she found the factory padlocked when she showed up for work. One thousand workers were laid off with no advance notice and left to fend for themselves because of COVID-19.

"M" was at home when ISIS invaded her village and kidnapped her and her family. Her father and four of her brothers were all shot in front of her eyes for refusing to convert to Islam.

Thandar Oo's belly lurched with hunger as she held the feet of her children in place. One foot at a time, her fingers coiled rope around little ankles to secure them to the bamboo floor of her tiny hut. It was her only way to make sure her three children didn't run off while she "worked."

A widow with four children, Hnin Nu was completely alone. She had no family, no job, and a pile of debt. Her oldest child was only three years old when a "friend" tricked her into prostitution, where she was trapped and enslaved for two years.