“A lot of times, we didn’t get to eat,” Sarai recalled crying. “So, whenever there was money in the house, my parents fought over it because they were both addicted to opium.”

Sarai’s parents were so addicted that one day, her mother sold her behind the house for 300 baht ($10) when she was only six years old.

INfire rescued her and gave her a home.

“I am grateful that I can come here,” Sarai shares happily. “When I came here, I was dirty, and they made me beautiful. [They] taught me how to be good-mannered and successful and brought me into a place where I was loved.”

Sarai’s story was one of the most profound God encounters I ever had and is a classic example of how God wants to meet you even through your giving and prayers. When this young girl broke down and cried in our arms after sharing the pain and the triumph of rescue, the Father encountered my heart in a profound way that stuck with me for life.

Sarai’s example is just one of the many ways you are helping us empower children at risk.

In Latin America, we have soccer programs (Saved by Soccer) that target children in armed conflict.

A lot of these kids are the drug carriers. They are the assassins for the cartel. They are the guards over the drug trade.

One of my favorite places that we opened up in, when the children would come to play soccer, they would all lay their guns down at the side of the field.

Over time, fewer and fewer kids would be bringing their guns to the soccer practice. And this is an area where we planted a church. It’s an area where the kids are all now going to school.

And this is the kind of transformative work that we get to participate and see—through your support—by using soccer as a tool to disciple children.

We also work with children in other areas, primarily in militant groups and human trafficking situations, and we’re empowering them through education and through the good news of Jesus.

Our work doesn’t stop at rescuing children.

We also empower them in the heart of darkness to be the changemakers of the next generation that bring the peace of the kingdom of God.

Thank you for opening up your hearts. Your support helps us lift more and more children out of darkness.