More physical or sexual abuse, maybe a tongue-lashing? Who knows.

Caught in a web of violence at home, instead of heading to school young Renya headed to work to provide the means to survive, and tragically was absorbed by the world of trafficking. This insidious turn resulted in years of more horrific abuse and two children. But darkness has its light. Rescued by Mary Queen of Heaven Missionaries in 2018, she entered their Home of Love in Cebu, Philippines, determined to offer her own children the decent life denied her.

After much therapy, education, love, and untold resilience, she graduated high school in 2023 with honors and multiple skills to provide for her two beautiful girls. She is currently continuing her education at a higher level. Her eldest daughter recently received an honorable academic award from her middle school, and the youngest is a well-adjusted, sweet child who is said to be a role model for her peers.

Three lives were lost and then found. What better example of personal courage and missionary dedication can there be?

The focused mission of Mary Queen of Heaven Missionaries has always been two-fold:

1. To rescue victims of sex trafficking, then sheltering and providing rehabilitation in their Homes of Love. These rescue centers in Cebu, PI, and Los Angeles, CA, provide immediate shelter, health care, food, medical assistance, psychological therapy, educational assistance, and spiritual formation to set a path for a better life. Countless lives have been changed.

2. Offering educational assistance to children in the rural areas of the Philippines, where trafficking is prevalent. Due to the overwhelming poverty in remote mountain villages, the country is ranked 4th in the world in harboring the most significant number of prostituted children. Providing basic school supplies is impossible for many parents, so children remain away from school, leaving them susceptible to traffickers. Young girls are preyed upon by handlers who roam the villages promising parents they will be given "good jobs" in the city and money will be sent back to their families. The atrocities perpetrated on these victims are heinous, and the Regina Coeli Education Program was developed by the missionaries to significantly combat this scourge.

The Mary Queen of Heaven Missionaries, assisted by their many religious and lay mission partners, travel into the mountains offering school supplies and encouragement to families to send their children to school. Since 2007, the program has enabled over 41,000 children to be educated.

Your prayers and support in any amount are truly welcomed to continue this all-important work. Please donate at MQHM.org. It's easy and it does make a difference.