New Faith Family provides several services and ministry opportunities for the community. Between feeding programs, a children’s home, prayer walks, and worship services, you would wonder how any of the workers could find the time to invest themselves in any other services. Josie at New Faith Family has done that to say the least. Her ministry for abused girls, Josie’s Angels, has a stirring story and the promise of hope for its members. Her explanation of the organization’s beginnings and her plans for its future made for a story that I couldn’t keep to myself.
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| Josie Long - founder of Josie's Angels |
Josie: The first year I was in the Philippines and working with New Faith Family, a few local girls just attacked me with love and attachment. Unfortunately, I pushed them away for the most part and distanced my heart from them.
The more I was around the girls the following year, the more God began to break my heart for them. I began to embrace them and learn their stories. Most of the girls with me now are ages 8 – 15, two are 17. I realized that how I had treated them and related to them previously was wrong, and I wanted to really begin investing in these girls.
The group initially consisted of nine girls that I began to disciple, but that number quickly grew to twenty-three. We met for bible study three times a week. As I got to know the girls better, I decided to visit their homes. That’s when my eyes were really opened to their needs. Being in some of the girls’ homes honestly made me spiritually uncomfortable. Later hearing some of their some of their stories of abuse explained these feelings. I began to think more about their situations and realized how much time they spent hanging around our buildings. It clicked that our times together were their escape from the horrors of home. I knew a bible study three times a week was not enough for these girls – God could help me do more.
The saddest part of these girls’ life is that it is a cycle. In the community where they live, most girls don’t complete more than an elementary education. They are usually pregnant by thirteen or fourteen, and they spend their lives raising their children, doing whatever they can to get by. Then the process repeats with their children. Unlike American children, these girls are not taught to dream. They live exactly how their parents lived, and their children will too. I knew I had to focus on keeping them in school if they were to have any hope of escaping their own circumstances.
I wanted to keep these girls out of their homes and keep them in school, but I was faced with a dilemma: where would they stay and how do I get them there? I found some condos they could stay in, but I had to be creative in getting them away from their families. I visited all of the homes of the girls with a mission in mind. I would assess their situations (finances and abusers) for myself, and I would begin to build relationships and trust with their families. I held a three-day conference for their families: days one and two were group meetings; day three consisted of meetings with each of the families individually. I stressed the benefits of allowing their daughters to come with me to the families. I told them about school opportunities for their child and also the increased safety I could provide by protecting them from some of the negative influences in the community, such as drug dealers. One factor I had to include was that the families would still get to see the girls. The girls who were allowed to come must go home Saturday afternoons and return on Sunday – for now.
Once the girls were under my care, or supervision rather, I had to find a way to fund their stay at the condos and tuition for their schooling. I spoke at conferences, put information online, and raised as much awareness as I could to gather support. My experience as a nanny for some MLB baseball players also gave me some excellent connections to generous donations. One great thing about the MLB that helped is that whatever their players donate to non-profit organizations, they match. I also made t-shirts to raise funds, and each t-shirt sold pays for a week of school for one of the girls. Enough funds have been raised that I was able to renovate a house for the Angels to live in instead of the condos. Because 33 of the 54 current Angels came from abusive homes, I wanted to create a place where they could live permanently, not even going back on Saturday nights. Unfortunately, having a 24-hour residence means I now have to involve my organization with the government, but it is worth the hassle to ensure the safety of these girls. Some of the girls are daughters of friends or staff, and they just attend the bible studies and fellowship times with the other girls. I am happy to say that 27 of the Angels now have sponsors for the home or their school.
The girls amaze me and encourage me. One of the most uplifting things to see is the older girls beginning to disciple the younger ones. They are like a family now, and I couldn’t imagine being in this place without them.
Shelby: Josie’s Angels is a major part of New Faith Family. The girls are here often, and one of the opportunities to serve here is to help paint the house that the Angels will soon move in to. I have spent time with them, built relationships, and love what Josie has accomplished with them. The most eye-opening and heartbreaking experience I had with them came during a worship service we held with them. There was a question and answer time that we held for the girls after the service. Most of the questions asked were typical teenage girl questions about relationships but one question shot through me – straight to the heart.
Question: “What do you feel if you have good family?”
This was the question of a 13-year-old girl. This is the question that broke my heart. She’s thirteen years old and has no idea what it feels like to have a family. It hit me like a ton of bricks. Some of you are probably thinking well, hello Shelby, you’re just now figuring this out and you have had the heart for the orphans for how long now? I know it sounds like I should have known this, and while I did- I believe I just fully grasped it this past Saturday morning with Josie’s Angels. Just like the children at the orphanage, these girls captured my heart immediately. To be so hurt, they love so much. Every moment I get to spend with them they open my eyes to so much, and while I'm the one that is supposed to be there for them, they have already taught me more than I could ever hope to teach them. They have taught me that life is not about what happens to you, but who you cling to during those difficult times. My goal is to assure them that no matter what happens in life, that they can always count on Christ to be right there to catch them and hold them in His arms and comfort them in a way that only He can.
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| Heather in the arms of an Angel |