Holly Gallagher

Happy Valentines Day from Moldova!
I love Valentines Day! I mean how can a day focused on love be anything but good! I have such fond memories of Valentine’s Day as a kid, making special Valentines for my friends and making a valentine box. Valentines day was also Mom’s birthday. I sure thought of her a lot today. I miss her.
We started our day at the Beginning of Life Psychological Art Studio. It is an amazing center that combines art with psychological care. Victims of sex trafficking and domestic violence find a safe haven here. I can’t begin to do this place justice in writing. It is one of those places that you just have to experience!
The hearts in the picture were made by some of the girls at the center. My mom loved to do arts and crafts. She made hearts very similar to the ones in the picture. She also loved girls having four daughters! She would have such a heart for the sweet Moldovan girls who have endured so much! As I remembered mom today, my heart went out to these precious girls. Not only have they endured the horrors of human trafficking, many of them are orphans and are without family support. However, they are so blessed to have the staff of beginning of life ministries. The staff here loves these girls with the love of Christ. They love them like they are their own daughters. It is such a blessing to see.

This afternoon we did home visits. Our group broke into teams. Our team consisted of myself, Rolando, Olga (a social worker) and Serge, one of the staff members at Beginning of Life. We stopped at the grocery store and picked up some groceries to take on the home visit. We traveled to one of the villages which was a 90 minute drive from the city. The woman we visited has a horrific story. She is a victim of human trafficking. She grew up in an orphanage and was sexually abused as a child. When she was old enough to leave the orphanage she was an ideal target for human trafficking. She was trafficked in at least three different countries. Two years ago she was in Turkey and discovered that she was both pregnant and had HIV. Turkey deported her because of the HIV and so she returned to Moldova. Beginning of life ministries worked with the church in her village and helped her find a place to live. She lives in a very, very, very small home with her two-year-old daughter. The people in the village learned that she has HIV and want nothing to do with her. She is completely isolated. The only visitor she has is Olga. Olga is a precious woman of God. She loves with the love of Jesus unconditionally. During the time that she has been visiting her she has come to know Jesus as her Lord and Savior. Praise God! Even though she's completely isolated, she is never alone!

On the drive back to the city, I was feeling very overwhelmed by everything that we had seen and experienced. On one hand I have never visited anyone with such a horrific story. On the other hand, I have never seen the love of Jesus Christ so clearly demonstrated as I witnessed through Olga. The Holy Spirit is so evident in every staff member at Beginning of Life ministries.
Tonight we went to a birthday party for one of the girls at the House of Change, which is the house where the girls live who are victims of human trafficking. What a beautiful celebration they had for this 18-year-old girl! Moldovans do know how to celebrate! Food, dancing, gifts! They presented her with a bracelet and each of us was able to present her with a charm and give her a blessing. They presented her with a beautiful tiara and declared her a princess of the Most High King! The horrors this precious daughter has endured are unthinkable…but for tonight…You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise you forever. /em> Psalm 30:11-12