Shared Hope International Travel Blog

We had a significant flight mix up with Delta Airlines and we missed our flight. They showed the date of our flight on our tickets as a day after the flight actual left Nepal. The flights go out every other day. We had to leave the airport, find a hotel and spend a day straightening it all out. When it was done we then had to fly to Hong Kong and spend nearly a day there losing two precious days in Suva Fiji with our ministry partner and ladies we love.

Our attitude adjusted thought as we soon saw a news paper with a headline “Qantas Air Flight emergency landing’’ and a picture showing the plane with baggage coming out through a large hole in the side of the plane. The pilot dropped the plane to a safe altitude and miraculously landed the plane in Manila but the passengers were stranded and some of the luggage lost. The explosion was being investigated. We might not have gotten to Fiji at all if we had been on the plane as planned. We likely would not have our luggage either with it being a part of an investigation.

There are times that you can see the hand of God on your life and this was one of those times for me.

It is taking me a bit of time to quiet my spirit tonight. Everyone has gone to bed. As I listen in the quiet of the Village tonight I hear soft voices and an occasional baby cry as their young mothers are settling them for the night. There are nearly as many children as young women and girls here. My mind is traveling from person to person tonight going over the day. I spent time with several girls today who wanted to share about their lives. Many I know, a couple had just arrived. Several wanted to tell me they were now praying for a husband. That is a miracle in itself with what men have done to these girls. Nalini shared with me the healing she experienced now that she has forgiven the man who bought her as a child. One young lady is now working in the outside world. Another is leaving soon to work in a shelter for battered women. There are so many signs of healing expressed in their lives.

One of the new girls is within a couple of weeks of having her baby. She was molested from the time she was 5 until she fled. A girl here can not manage outside a family without being abused by the society and this is just what happened to her. A man pretended to want to help her but instead used this girl. As a result of what happened to her she thought she had no value. When she found out she was pregnant she decided to live to love her baby. She wants to stay here and I think that is a good idea for her. She can finish her education and start building her life in safety where no one can take advantage or hurt her as she finishes growing up. As we set together she kept saying ‘it is so quiet here’ and she expressed feeling safe. She is safe tonight because of so many in our Shared Hope family who make a safe place for her. As I think of her in her bed in the building right above me I am happy.

The new school buildings are coming up and will be open by the new school year. Both the pre school and primary school will be taking tuition paying students from the village making this one of the businesses operating on the village that are moving both the ladies and ministry to greater financial independence. Shared Hope pays the salaries of the women working in these business and the women use the money to care for the personal needs of themselves and their children and save to buy their own home on the village. Several women have moved to the small homes and are learning independent living. When they are ready to go out into the world they will have a skill as well as are able to recover the equity from their homes and have a start on a home in the village.

Lynnie and Mark Roche amaze me in all that they continue to do here. They manage one of the most innovative restoration projects that we have helped create where we have both moms and babies together.

The lives of the girls are living proof that our work here is giving hope and healing.