Last February I introduced our readers to Hope’s annual Valentine’s Project. We transform Brazil’s Day of Love to make it a special affirmation and learning time for our girls, and we inviting you to participating with us. Because many of you are new to “The Least of These,” I am reposting last year’s blog.
 
It is an appalling truth that many of the girls at Hope have been sexually abused and exploited. Thanks to the grace of God, that is forever in the past as soon as they reach our campus. Unfortunately, it’s a more difficult and much slower process to change their self-perception. These children have been taught since birth that they have value only as a sexual object.
 
But Hope Unlimited is about transformation. Our story is of a tragic beginning absolutely overwhelmed by a triumphant end.
 
Each February, churches and individuals across the U.S. add a little something to their Valentine’s preparations. As they make cards for friends and family, and maybe for that special loved one, they take the time to make a card for one of our girls. The cards are given to the girls during a party celebrating Brazil’s Day of Love in early summer.
 
As the valentines are passed out, godly women talk to them about the meaning of love, the importance of purity, and their value as the highest creations of the God that truly loves them. The smiles and squeals as the girls open their valentines are great rewards, but having the chance to change their self-perception means so much more.
 
We are heartbroken by the lives these girls were forced to lead before they came to Hope. But we rejoice to see their innocence restored, to know that our God is a God of new beginnings.
 
Help these girls celebrate their new beginning! Send your valentines to Hope Unlimited for Children, PO Box 100, Jefferson City, TN 37760