Eni loves coming to the Hope Center to play and learn with her friends. Some of her friends were new and others were good friends she knew well. She loves that she can be herself and share from her heart. Countless times the counselor said, “When we talk openly from our hearts and search together for truth from God’s Word, our hearts are healed. God’s Word tells us to “give all our worries and cares to God, for He cares for us.” (1 Peter 5:7)

Eni is the only believer in her family. Her parents have never been to church and have never been interested in knowing God. They love her but both have felt too busy with their work and marital problems. She has been praying for a long time for peace in her family.

This 10-year-old girl was very sad one particular day. Her dad left the house after fighting for some months with her mother.

“I will never come back!” her Dad shouted as the door slammed behind him.

Those frightening words would echo in Eni’s little head making her numb and unable to think. She tried hard to talk to both of her parents, remembering every rule of good communication she learned at the Hope Center. But today she felt alone, defeated, and abandoned.

On days like this one, the Hope Center is “her place of refuge,” the place where she feels safe, loved, and understood. The topic of the day was values and how we can build a God-pleasing character. Eni learned that good communication and love are important in family life as well as in developing friendships. We can lose people we love if we fail to communicate well with one another. Good communication builds relationships, and poor communication destroys them. We speak with words and we speak with silence as well.

As the group was sharing their thoughts, Eni said, “I want to develop excellent communication skills and talk again to my parents. Please pray that Jesus will heal my family and bring my father back home.”

This month Eni and her friends learned that the most important communication of all is our talk with God. They learned how to listen to God and how to develop healthy communication with Jesus by being completely honest. When our relationship with Jesus is right, we will be reflecting Christ in everything we do. The best message we can give to the world is to let God express His heart through our words and actions.

Our counseling ministry is committed to investing in the lives of pre-teens and teens like Eni through weekly events and activities. Our counselors work individually and in groups sharing information through play and art to help these precious young hearts to navigate these difficult years and get rooted in the Word of God.