“Mum passed away three years ago from colon cancer. Dad has been in prison since I was three years old and my grandma died just before my mum,” Maria tells us. She now lives with one of her older brothers in a small rented room.
Maria’s mum used to help at the Compassion project’s kitchen until she became so ill that she had to be taken to a hospital. Just before her mother passed away, Maria visited her there. “My aunt took me to the hospital to visit my mum and I noticed that she had become so thin. She embraced me and told me the Lord will be always with me and please become a good lady.”
Maria had been praying for her mother´s recovery for a long time and was horrified when, instead of getting better, she died. “I just said to the Lord, ‘Why did you take her away from me’?” Maria became really angry as she felt it was so unfair.
She started to become angry and violent with her friends and family. When she went to the Compassion project she got into fights. The project staff had to work hard to keep the peace and encourage Maria to think through her anger. They prayed with and listened to her, loving her even when she didn’t respond to them.
“I enjoy my time talking with the project ladies who are my good friends,” says Maria. She now feels less angry about her mum dying and has managed to move forward in her life. She talks about how her sponsor helped her too: “They are like a real family to me, someday I would like to meet them.”
Maria has also become a Christian. She looks at the future with hope and says, “I am a new girl and have a new life, thanks to Jesus and the project staff who care about me.”