“M” at her refugee camp
Looking Forward Now
Rebuilding the life of a former slave who has endured unimaginable pain
Dear Family,
“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.
Separated from her mother when they were taken to jail, M later recognized her mother’s clothes and possessions in a mass grave.
Sold at a slave market in Raqqa, Syria, M was purchased by a man named Abu Obeida who took her home, tied her to the bed and raped her until she lost consciousness. Abu Obeida laughed, saying, “Now I will attain the highest place in heaven by raping a Yazidi virgin.”
Abu Obeida’s wife enlisted her as a slave by day, and she was raped and tortured by night. Five times she fought to resist rape. Five times she was beaten until half-dead when she tried to escape.
After five long years, Abu Obeida died and M was finally permitted to initiate contact with her only surviving brother. He died of a heart attack before they were able to meet. Her entire family was gone—cousins, parents, siblings.
M now lives in a refugee camp in Iraq where she—along with other victimized women—is finding healing and hope through a sewing program you’re helping to fund through Heaven’s Family’s Human Trafficking & Slavery Ministry.
“I love coming to Sewing Hope,” she said. “If I stay home, I focus on the dead and become depressed. I am looking at life with a new vision and hope. I am learning to sew, beginning to enjoy color and desire to teach others what I’m learning. My dream is to open a sewing shop.”
Please pray that the hope of Christ will permeate M and the many women whose lives have been an absolute nightmare. Thank you, on behalf of those who have suffered much!
Burt and Patty Forney
Directors, Human Trafficking & Slavery Ministry
