Day 58: for Samantha

One of my favorite John Mayer Songs, Daughters:
Fathers, be good to your daughter.
Daughters will love like you do.
Girls become lovers who turn into mothers,
So mothers, be good to your daughters too.

I've noticed that for just about every girl I've run for, the problems started at home.  Long before boyfriends and partners and pimps and clients, there was one man that failed them, one man that set the bar really low for every relationship to follow.

Samantha knows how that goes.  She's been spending her whole life in darkness, not realizing that there is better out there for her.  But how can we expect anything else of her?  It's all she's ever known.

Samantha was born in Feira de Santana [Brazil] and grew up in poverty and with little education. At 15, she ran away from home to live on the streets after being sexually and physically abused by her father. A woman she met offered Samantha a job as a maid in another city in the state. Samantha accepted, excited by the opportunity to both earn money and move further away from home. But the destination house turned out to be a brothel, and Samantha was forced into prostitution and drug abuse. She was stripped of freedom and overcome by fear and sadness. After cycling through various assistance programs, government agencies, and shelters, Samantha went back to Feira de Santana, where she lives with a partner and his brother and sister. Her partner beats her and she still occasionally has sex with men for money.  source.

Through Christ, every girl can have a loving Father who will never fail.  Through Christ, every father can have the Holy Spirit to give the strength and the courage to be a real, responsible family leader.  Through Christ, we find the healing that we are all so desperately aching for.

I love how this song phrases it: Courageous, Casting Crowns

6.4 miles for Samantha
307.77 miles to date.

Ruby
Sandra
Berchewkan
Mani
Sophea
Janna
Syowai
Ka
Stephanie
Alex
Mai
Khamta
Adaze
Jayati
Boloztuya
Prettygirl
Theresa
Esperanza
Xuan
Geeta
Debbie
G.Q., N.H., and S.O.
Anuradha
Veronica
Martina
Shauna
Rosa
Jaycee
Charlotte Awino
Kikka Cerpa
Jana
Lannie
Samira
Mari
Sarah
Mao Mao
Keisha
Brittany
Gabriella
Akemi
Olga
Alissa
Karina
Maira
Amita
Josephine
Sabine
Mylee
Samantha

Because He first loved me,
Stephanie