Stigma

Stigma. It is a short word with a lot of meaning. Every former prostitute feels it. Every trafficked woman knows what it is. When people know who these women are and what they have been, they suddenly have an invisible scarlet "A" covering them.

We'd like to think that as Christians we are above it, but the truth is, we are not really sure if we can love some people, their ideas or positions. We put a stigma on them.

So it is in the Home of Hope. Staff come in excited to minister for God, but that stigma exists. They are not sure if they can really love the women fully. Can they really deal with someone who has lived such an awful life even if it was not their choice?

And they in turn are stigmatized by other believers for working with such women. Shouldn't they just be left alone?

"Christ's love compels us" (2 Cor 5:14) Please pray for our staff at home of hope. As they are fighting through issues they thought they'd resolved. They are fighting through issues of stigma. They are fighting through issues of love.

Philippians 1:9 says, "This is my prayer for you, that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight."

I'm praying for the staff at the Home of Hope that their love may abound. That Christ's love would compel them and give them a love for the women and children that they can not have within themselves.

This is tough work and we thought all the first difficulties would be with the women entering the home, but we now realize there is a lot for the staff to overcome. The staff is made up of some amazing and called women. God will use them. Please pray that God continues to fill them with His love and compel them to his service.