There are some things in this life that you are not supposed to survive but you do. Some stories are so horrific that they beg not be told but they must be. Other stories are so beautiful that they transcend human understanding and embody a redemption rarely seen this side of heaven. These stories, too, must be shared. These stories - these realities - are lived out loud, by children who have survived war and slavery and by courageous men and women who have names - names that have been changed in this book to protect their identities.
Through this journey of stories, the Lord has revealed to me the deep places of the soul and helped me find answers to my greatest questions. I have found His glory in the reflection of my own tears, as I washed the feet of a recently rescued boy soldier, as I held the hands of young girls who had been raped as a weapon of war, and as I feared the death of children I love as my own who were hiding from bombs on the other side of the world. In these pages you will find wonderment, evil, survival, dancing, torture, redemption, adventure, and grace. In these pages you will find miracles.
By telling stories and what we have learned, we step into the stories of others and give them hope for what the other side of pain can look like. In addition to the stories of the loved ones across the sea, I also tell a portion of my own story. Though it was difficult to revel my own ugly past, if even one person’s life may be altered as a result, it will be worth it. I believe that when we are courageous enough to be vulnerable we encourage others to find the intimacy and freedom that come only through being known and loved.