We just had a young woman leave the Mission. She stopped by the office, trembling, bruised, looking for help. She needed some place to stay until she could go to work because she was afraid to go home. Then a place to stay tonight for the same reason.
Fortunately, the timing worked out so that she could spend an hour filling out an intake form at the women and children's shelter. But it makes you think of those other women where the timing isn't so fortunate. Sitting in the cars. Waiting in fast food restaurants. Hiding out in the library. Thinking. Frightened. Wondering.
That's why Maplewood can't be finished soon enough. A place of safety and shelter for women and children during the day. Please continue to pray for this project and the new opportunities it will bring to meet physical and spiritual needs to the most vulnerable.