Pray for Little Girls

Today was very eventful.  I headed back to Chorkor, a place that helped deliver food every month for nine months.  Today was a school day so there were not as many children running around as when I went on Saturdays.  As I got out of the car today and headed for the bathroom I caught a glimpse of Mary and she caught a glimpse of me and she came running.  It was so sweet to see her again.  Things have changed for her and she is needing our prayers as she struggles with the challenges of being a single mother of four children.  

We also visited Grandma Agnus, whom I had not met before.  She has just lost her husband and it was heart breaking to see the pain on her face.  As Robin reached out to her she began to sob and I could not hold back the tears.  Life is hard here and now it is even harder for her.  She is a precious mother and grandmother and I am so thankful for the people who are helping her through this difficult time.

We left Chorkor and headed for Toodoo  Market (not sure if that is spelled right) to pick up a sewing machine for Etronam.  She is a beautiful, joyful single mother living with the Beebe family temporarily until she can take care of herself and her beautiful son Elyon.  We ladies, five of us, were set loose in the fabric store and we were ooing and aahing at each other's selections for an hour or sew (get it... sew).  The idea is to have Etronam teach other single mothers how to sew to earn a sewing maching.  It is a beautiful program that I am sure we will hear more about from Feeding The Orphans.  

Later at the market, Reid and the other girls had gone to get the sewing machine, Robin and I stayed to watch the car and met these beautiful little girls.

Robin used the word "helpless" today when we were talking about how much we wanted to help them, which is the perfect word.  I just wanted desperately to pull them in the car and rescue them from this life. These girls will spend their entire day carrying food and other items for the shoppers in the market making very little money which they will turn over to the person in charge of them, better known as their master.  I spent quite a bit of time trying to help two young girls out of this situation last year when I was here, but their older sister who was also a carrier could not afford to let them go.  It's a viscous cycle that steals opportunity away from these young children to break away, go to school and make a better life for themselves.  Please pray for these girls that God will make a way for them.  I couldn't help but think, except for the grace of God this could be me, my children, my grandchildren.  Please pray.