When Angel first visited the club, she could often be found crying and hiding her face. You see, this teenage girl didn’t just carry the trauma of violence in her heart. She wore it across her cheek.

When Angel’s parents and siblings were attacked and killed, Angel survived, but she still bears painful scars from machete cuts across her face.

Angel often sobbed as the other children made fun of her. But as the week in the Healing Hearts Bible-based Trauma Healing Club progressed, she began to open up and share her story.

Throughout the week, her confidence grew, and she stopped covering her face with her hands. She even shared her testimony and publicly forgave her tormentors for the heinous acts they committed.

Angel’s story is horrifying, but not uncommon. Our world is a battlefield. Warfare, genocide, abuse, and crises are rampant, and as a result, millions of traumatized children have witnessed and endured the unspeakable.

That’s why American Bible Society developed the Healing Hearts camp. Bible-based Trauma Healing allows these children to understand that they are special to God—they are not forgotten. During these camps, the children are given a chance to express their pain and share their stories. They memorize promises from the Bible and then bring their pain to Christ and ask him to heal their hearts.

Because Angel was able to share her story through a Bible-based Trauma Healing program, she began to feel less ashamed of her scars. And she began to experience the joy and hope made possible only through the loving God of the Bible.

People who once lived in despair are finding hope and peace through Bible-based trauma healing programs that are made possible by the generous gifts of our financial partners.

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