Girls who were rescued from sex trafficking in Moldova, a country that borders Ukraine, are now actively helping Ukrainian refugees in a dramatic turnaround fueled by life-changing faith in Jesus Christ.
These Moldovan survivors are supplying food and other necessities daily to frightened Ukrainian women and children at the border in a coordinated effort to spread God’s love, compassion and mercy, which they experienced themselves when The Orphan’s Hands, a Christian ministry, liberated them from human slavery and personal destruction.
“Our kids are going out there on this conveyor belt of hope,” says Philip Cameron, founder of The Orphan’s Hands. “The orphans demanded we do something to help the Ukrainian refugees. You talk about a miracle of God.”
The girls who live in Vatra Village—the community the ministry established as the residence for girls coming out of human slavery—are sleeping on cement floors at the border of Ukraine and Moldova.
“They have been up at the front line, having these shell-shocked people come off of these buses with no idea where they even are,” Cameron adds. “They don’t know when they come off the bus if they are in Moldova or Poland. These Ukrainian refugees just know that they are on the run, and they got on a bus, and they’re brokenhearted, but our kids are there for them. We love them and care for them, and we talk to them about the Lord Jesus.”
The Orphan’s Hands was started over 30 years ago with a mission to care for children who were tossed aside, abused and dehumanized. Cameron saw the evil of human trafficking in Moldova as well as the neglect of children, and he decided to do something about it through the power of the Holy Spirit. Little did he know that he would deliver rescued girls who are now taking bold and courageous action to help the refugees flooding out of Ukraine.
“We intercept these kids [from human trafficking] and take them to our homes, put them in school and tell them, ‘God has a plan for your life,'” Cameron says.. “The first thing we do with these kids— and I’ve been doing it for years before Ukraine—is we’d take them out, and they would give food to widows. They would cook food and chop wood and fix gardens and paint houses.”
This demonstration of serving others out of a heart of love inspired by the Holy Spirit shifted the girls’ mindset from self-survival from their former lives to new life, being Christlike in selfless acts of compassionate giving.
“I had no idea I was training a wee army of kids that are absolutely up to the minute now, so when things started to happen in Ukraine, they called me and said, ‘What are we going to do to help the refugees?'” Cameron explains.
It didn’t take long for the girls to figure out how to help the victims of Russia’s military aggression. As they shine a light amid the darkness, the heart of God is on display at the border of Ukraine and Moldova.
For more information about The Orphan’s Hands or to support their ministry, go to theorphanshands.org. {eoa}
Anthony Hart is a freelance writer.
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