The first fundraiser for Amor Real Ministries took place on Friday, October 21, 2016, at The Vine Community Church, on behalf of Pat’s Place, our home for abused women and their children. The event, promoted as “Dessert with Laura,” was a sweet time of fellowship with the director of Pat’s Place, Laura Ali. While she has worked closely with the home since its inception in 2006, she has been the director for the last eight years. She had her very first opportunity to visit the United States last month for two weeks, and we had the pleasure of hearing her heart on this special evening.
Alex Compton opened the evening with a brief overview of Amor Real Ministries and what we do, including the many mission trips we have planned for 2017. Then Tim Koenning gave a testimony of his various travels in Peru and his commitment to serving with ARM in any way he can. After a short break including bidding on Silent Auction items, we continued with hearing directly from Laura via Tim as our translator.
Many were moved to tears time and again as Laura began sharing the stories of the women that have come through or are currently residing at Pat’s Place. She explained that she gets phone calls from different pastors or other homes who have women that need a place to go, some who have nowhere else willing to take them. Some come with open hearts willing to find healing and a new life, while others have been hardened by abuse and take longer to open up. Laura develops a program with each of them individually, as well as a staff social worker, psychologist and lawyer if necessary. No program is the same for everyone, and the length of time they live at the house is always different.
Together with the ladies, Laura now uses “PAT” as an acronym that stands for “Paz (peace), Amor (love), and Transformacion (transformation) en Jesus (in Jesus).” The women seek a refuge that can provide all three of those things, along with hope for a new life. Some have started college, while others are learning a new trade as part of their program. It was very obvious how passionate Laura is for the work she does with these women; they are a very important part of her life and family as well. She has “adopted daughters” over the years, and her own daughters consider them family as well.
The evening ran long, but the passion of Laura’s heart was clearly communicated in every spoken—and every unspoken—word. What a blessing to have such an opportunity with this woman of God! Thank you to all those who came out to join us that night. We are so grateful for your love and support of this important work of the Lord in San Juan de Lurigancho.
