Though Loyosi’s story reads like a horror novel, the words are not fictitious. Her marriage to a Muslim man came to an abrupt end when she became a believer in Jesus. In a fit of rage, the man to whom she had committed her life abandoned her and their three young children.

I’ve just returned from another trip to Africa to visit the women and children you’ve been helping so faithfully through the Victims of Sexual Violence Ministry. During trips like this, I usually have difficulty putting my camera down. Unforgettable scenes of hardship and poverty reach through my lens to claw at my heart. I often marvel at how the women can expertly balance burdens—some large and heavy—on their heads and backs, while traversing long distances by foot. The struggle to survive is etched on faces, evidence of inner heartache.

Anastasia wasn’t like many of the girls living at Cindi’s Hope in Kenya. She hadn’t been abused or neglected. Instead, she’d been sent by her mom to receive the excellent education and care that Cindi’s Hope provides for many who are less fortunate.

Perhaps you heard about a woman named Bible from Sudan, and the extraordinary way in which the Lord provided for her. Here's the rest of her story.

Questions about her father’s identity dominated Gael's mind as she grew up in DR Congo. The desire to know him rose as she grew, but her mother insisted on keeping this a secret forever. Gael's heart yearned with the most basic of human longings: to be loved by her daddy.

Last summer I sat in a somber meeting and listened as young women shared the nightmares that had brought them to Women of Wellness Center in DR Congo.

The bright colors and smiling faces of these young women in DR Congo exude contagious joy! Though they have endured pain and shame at the deepest level, they have made the choice to rise up and believe that they can have a future and a hope, despite the toughest odds a woman in Africa can face.

Life is full of contrast. In my travels to various places, I’ve found this reality to be stark and resonant, yet bursting with color and wealth far beyond material riches.