Read:Luke 6:32-36 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Sometimes the few words of a child can cut right to the heart of the matter. Read this letter from Helen, one of our children, written to her father on her eleventh birthday:

Caro Carlos Roberto, espero que você …

Dear Carlos Roberto,

I hope you are doing well. I love you very much and I will never forget you. I hope that nothing bad ever happens to you, and that you can get out of drugs. I love you! Guess what? Today is my birthday!

Love, Helen

There are no words of retribution. She shows no anger towards a father who first abused and then abandoned her, and who certainly did not remember her birthday. Instead, she shares with him the transforming love she has experienced.