Mercy Ministries is an amazing charity that has set up homes all over the world.
Founded 26 years ago by Nancy Alcorn, a great friend of ours, it exists to bring hope and transformation to young women who find their world controlled by self-harming, eating disorders and all forms of abuse, leaving them broken and in desperate need.
Mercy seeks to rebuild these broken lives through a six-month residential programme, which deals with the root causes of the behaviour, rather than just the symptoms. This is accomplished through providing a safe, caring environment with teaching and life skills training such as fitness and nutrition, boundaries in relationships, money management, as well as aftercare and staff support – all completely free of charge!
Sophie is a Mercy Ministries UK graduate and she recently worked at Little Champions Daycare at the Abundant Life Church. These are her words:
‘I am alive today because of the time I spent at Mercy. Mercy Ministries has given me the tools to live a successful life. The staff loved me through my silence and dysfunctional ways and taught me how to trust again.’
Girls like Sophie are all around us – she could be your sister, your daughter or your friend – all with a destiny that we would love to help them reach.
So, help us to help them by being an Urban Angel
LATEST UPDATE
Sometimes chaos comes before order, sometimes things have to be torn down before they can be rebuilt. It’s a bit like that when God is rebuilding a person’s life- sometimes it looks as if things get worse before they get better. The pictures you see here show the beginning stages of the Mercy Ministries UK home being able to take more than twice the number of residents- from 10 beds to 22- and as we watch the work being done, the comparison of what God is doing in the girls’ lives is clear. Just like the builders had to dig deep to create space for new foundations, God digs deep in the hearts and lives of the Mercy girls and lays strong foundations that can carry the weight of a new future.
With over 60 girls applying for a place at Mercy Ministries UK, we want to do all we can to ensure they have that opportunity. The building work is due to finish in December 2010 and so we look forward to a time when more girls than ever before are able to find hope and freedom from life controlling issues through the Mercy programme. Despite the diggers, the noise and the scaffolding, the girls who are currently on the programme are doing great- this year every girl (bar one) who has come to Mercy has completed the whole programme and gone on to be supported by their local churches across the UK, fully equipped to start a new life.
Thank you Urban Angels for your prayers, your time and your fundraising efforts- you are making a life changing difference to many young women and many more yet to come…
Arianna Walker
Executive Director
