Belki

We have had a girl in and out of our lives and ministry for about six years now whom we affectionately called "Belki". Her mother is a drunk and a drug-addict who resorts to prostitution to meet the demands of her addictions. Needless to say, Belki and her younger brother, Richard, were prime targets for our love and intervention.

We have had both of them in our care at different times during our ministry here in Puerto Lempira. Sometimes it was just helping to buy uniforms and supplies for school. Sometimes it was the whole nine yards. They both lived with us for a length of time when the mother was sexually assaulted in a very violent way.

Well, Belki decided she wanted to follow in her mothers footsteps, so to speak, and left House of Hope. She said the rules were too strict and since she was not court ordered to stay, we let her go. She has been "raped" several times, (according to her stories), and recently we saw a few different episodes that proved to us that her life was in danger. She received an oral death threat in the hospital while my wife, Katrina, stood by and witnessed.

We have been fortunate with Belki, in that the seeds we have been planting in her heart are beginning to take root now. Hopefully, there was enough "fertilizer" for the seeds to grow, and not too much of the same, which would burn the roots and kill the tree.

"She is such a smart girl!", Katrina continually marvels to all who ask about her. And it's true, she learned more English in the year she lived at House of Hope than most of our House of Hope kids will learn in their lives. She is not in the predicament she's in for lack of intelligence. She just had more negative influence than positive, until now.

Recently, seeing the state of Belki's life, Katrina began to look for a way to rehabilitate her and get her out of Puerto Lempira, at the same time. Thanks to Lauren Keck, who heads a ministry called Doors of Hope in Tocoa, Colon, we found what we hope will be the right fit.

Lauren runs a tight ship of a ministry at Doors of Hope. The girls who go there are being rehabilitated in much the same way we experienced in Teen Challenge. That is to say that it is a Word-Based ministry for the centering of lives on putting the Word of God into action in the lives of those who go there. We believe that is just what Belki needs.

Pray for her as you say your prayers today. We will.