Dear Friends,

Imagine being sexually abused as a child…

Imagine being physically assaulted by your husband, repeatedly, and living in fear for your life…

Imagine having a young child you’re also trying to protect from this abuse…

For many, it won’t take much to imagine this because it is an experience that many women, and even men, have had in their lives.

Now, compound that abuse by living in Romania where there are so few resources to provide help and support to victims of abuse of any kind, and where the mindset about abuse, in general, is many years behind the times. Imagine having to keep the abuse a secret; having no one believe you; having people tell you to “suck it up and take it,” that “it’s not that bad,” or worse, having others blame you for the abuse you’re enduring.

How does one escape the abuse? How does one heal from it? How does one raise awareness about it and bring about a change in the community consciousness?

This is where The Hope of Survivors steps in. Having a nonprofit organization in Romania, we have worked to change the mindsets and to bring about awareness of the issue of abuse since 2009. We have taught pastors and church leaders at their worker’s meetings. We have held seminars in congregations, shared sermons about abuse cases from the Bible and shared our personal testimony. We have met with victims, shared their burdens, given them hope…all by God’s power and grace!

Now, we are asking for YOUR help. The scenario above is not just from our imagination–it is a real case in Romania. This precious young woman has left her abusive husband and is trying her best to provide for herself and her child, all on her own, which is no small feat anywhere, but especially so in a country like Romania.

We want to help. In fact, we want to offer her a job with The Hope of Survivors’ Romania Division (THOS-RO). We can do this if we can raise $6,000 by September 1. That’s right, for $6,000, we can provide a fulltime salary for this woman who will then be able to carry the work of THOS-RO forward and reach many more victims who are in desperate need of hope and healing. Can you help us help her? Will you please help us help her? If so, please donate online or mail your check to The Hope of Survivors, 843 Broadway, Sonoma, CA 95476. This could be the greatest and most far-reaching mission project you’ve ever supported. Thank you so much!

God bless you,
Samantha Nelson
CEO