There will be another Monica
While on a recent ministry trip to the Central African Republic, Cyrus, the Julie’s Heart Cry staff, and Julie visited the orphanage where children age out at just 5 years old. After that visit, so much about sweet Monica, whom we shared about in a previous blog, began to make sense.
Imagine being dropped off at an institution as a baby and, five years later, having never been on an outing—not around the corner, not to a park, not even for a simple ride in a vehicle.
For those first five years, Monica lived inside a decent-sized compound with virtually no interaction with the outside world. When she first came to us, everything seemed new to her. She would stand a few feet away from Julie and stare intently, sometimes for what seemed like 20 seconds, without blinking.
When she finally began to warm up to Julie, she repeatedly asked, “Are you my mother?”
Just imagine what must have been going through her little mind.
She craved physical touch. She wanted to be held. She longed for the love and security that every child deserves.
THE NEED
For too many reasons to address here, Monica was unable to form the normal bonds children need with the adults around them during those critical first five years. We are certainly no experts in child development, but it was clear that years of isolation had left a profound emotional and developmental impact on her.
And Monica is not the only child.
Every year, other little boys and girls reach the age of 5 and suddenly need somewhere to go. They have spent their earliest years in an institution, and then, almost overnight, they are expected to leave the only home they have ever known.
What happens to them next?
We want to be ready to answer that question.
THE ANSWER
Our desire is for Julie’s Heart Cry to partner with this institution in some capacity—providing much-needed services while also being prepared to receive children on short notice.
But to do that, we need more room.
Our current building must be expanded so we can accommodate more children when the need arises.
We are asking you to pray with us for this expansion and for the resources necessary to make it possible.
Because this isn't simply about adding rooms to a building.
It’s about making room for a child.
A child who needs a bed.
A child who needs a safe place.
A child who needs someone to hold her when she is afraid.
A child who needs to know she is loved.
THE PROOF
Monica is the reason this matters.
The little girl who once stood a few feet away, silently staring, eventually came close enough to ask Julie again and again, “Are you my mother?”
She wanted to be held.
She wanted to be loved.
She wanted to feel safe.
She wanted a place to belong.
And because someone said yes to Monica, her story is different now.
But there will be another Monica.
And when that little girl reaches 5 years old and needs somewhere to go, we want to be ready.
Actually, we want to be ready before she ever reaches 5.
We want to be ready to welcome these little ones into a place where they can experience something they should never have had to live without: love. A mother's arms. A safe bed. A family. A place to belong.
Please help us be ready.
