What would lure women from the lush mountains of Nepal to an arid, desolate Persian Gulf nation over 1,000 miles away? Money.

Having just returned from Goma, DR Congo, with my husband Bob, where we witnessed the graduation of many women from the Women of Wellness Center (WoW), their faces and stories still flood my mind. Ladies with horrific tales of sexual abuse who had been treated as castaways, believing themselves to be worthless and lacking the strength, self-esteem, and hope to care for themselves and their children, who are often the unwelcome fruit of the violations they've received.

In January, each of Heaven's Family's 21 Focused Ministry Directors gave a short, 10-minute presentation about their accomplishments in 2015 and their upcoming goals for 2016. We're excited about what the Lord has done, and what He has in store for the remainder of this year!

I first met Warda and her sisters one year ago during my visit to a place called Cindi's Hope in Nairobi, Kenya. I learned in the months prior about how these beautiful girls were rescued from horrific circumstances in the Eastleigh slums of Nairobi, and of how Warda had been violated such that she trusted no one, causing her to shy away from contact with any adult. My heart broke for them.

I have just received this wonderful report on the graduation celebration given for the most recent group of ladies who have finished one year of sewing training at the Women of Wellness (WoW) Center in Goma, DR Congo. In addition to vocational training, these women—all of whom have been raped or violently abused—have benefitted from biblical trauma counseling, the provision of food and clothing for themselves and their children, literacy classes, vocational training and medical care.

We could hear their cherub voices singing praises before we even laid eyes on them. They were the students at Cindi's Hope Academy in Naivasha, Kenya. Then came the rush to surround us, faces beaming with eagerness to greet their visitors, and then to lead us excitedly to the new highlight of their campus: bright, new playground equipment!