Healing Wounded Hearts
By her own admission, Judith* was “drowning in depression.” Though her marriage to her military-man husband was fine, she hid her depression from him. But this Chilean mother of two could not escape from the memories of her past.
She remembered every beating she received from her father, an alcoholic. Her mother and six siblings were also abused, and as a preteen, Judith was sexually abused by an uncle. Afraid of what people would think of her, she didn’t have any friends. Her brothers and sisters, also suffering, offered no comfort.
Judith desperately needed someone who would talk with her, and understand. She discovered Women of Hope and began listening to the programs on the radio and Internet (proyectoana). Encouraged, she wrote in response to what she heard, and producer Sonia Larrosa began a correspondence with Judith.
As the next months passed, her depression eased and she felt more content. “I thank the Lord for the time you took to give me words of comfort and encouragement,” Judith says now. “Each day I trust God more. Thanks to your program, I realize that He is my best friend. He will never leave me.” She also told Sonia that her family was doing well, and that she was no longer angered when she thought about her past. “God is healing my wounds and He is making me live full of joy,” she adds. “Even if I have to go through many difficulties, He is there to strengthen me.”
Sadly, depression, domestic violence, alcoholism and drug addiction all are common problems for South American families like Judith’s. But God is proclaiming His light into this darkness through TWR’s Spanish programming, including Women of Hope (WoH). Airing since 2000, the broadcast is instilling hope in countless women across the Spanish-speaking world. Sonia says her passion for PH’s ministry increases each day as she sees through listener response that the program is meeting their needs. She adds that she has seen that God’s power can work in each person devoted to Him. “You can’t see the people, but God sees them,” she says. “He knows the needs of each one and He works out the prayers of each one of you.”
*name changed for privacy