On November 22, 2017, ten women from three different churches, The Journey Church in Siler City, NC and The Refuge in Conway, SC, The Rock Worship Center in Monroe, NC, with the leadership of Carolyn Burd, National M25 Director woke after a short night of sleep at the Royal Home Ministries (RHM) to prepare a meal fit for a Queen. RHM is a home of hope, love and support for young ladies that are carrying a child with no family or friend support. It is a home dedicated to the tireless effort and vision of Rev/Mrs Marvin Whitfield, built across the road from Falcon Children’s Home in Falcon, NC, hosted by North Carolina Conference of the IPHC.
The young ladies were totally dependent on the Holy Spirit to make this a breakfast so special, bathed in love, that a Queen would have been blessed to be there. The passion and drive exemplified by these ladies could do nothing but lift up the young ladies in the home. There were glass plates, real silverware, long stemmed glasses, cloth napkins and table clothes. There was even a warm wash cloth for each young lady to wash with before partaking of the meal.
This meal was intended to elevate their self-esteem, many of whom could not even be in the picture due to their identity being concealed for safety sake. Anyone who has experienced giving birth or witnessed the trauma of bringing a child into this world, knows how painful it already is without all of the negativity of having no family or friend support. There was a desire to bring a good ole healthy dose of elevating love through service.
One of the young ladies (a mere child of 13 years of age) grabbed a plate and chose to eat alone. When inquiring the situation, Carolyn learned this young lady was ‘sold’ by her mother to a man. (There is no point of reference for most of us. Can you imagine being so desperate that you ‘sold’ your daughter to survive? We read of these type things in foreign countries, we read of this level of desperation in Biblical times, but here in the most prosperous nation in the world, not here… but it did happen). The man chose when faced with his purchase bringing extra baggage of financial and emotional support, dropped her off at the curb, so to speak. This young child had experienced abandonment, abuse and rejection at levels will never know (so thankful this is a rarity and not the norm in our country. May we pray it never becomes the norm.)
As the day ended and the young ladies went on with life in the RHM housing, as the eleven women returned to their families, we can only pray there was a positive lift in the young ladies in the home and the ladies who served will be impacted to a point they make this bigger and better next year.
-Gary Burd
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