Beginning Conversations

I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.

1 Corinthians 1:10.

When Eshe listened to her first RiverCross audio drama, the voices she heard echoed the stories of her hometown. Instances of heartbreak, extortion, abandonment. Eshe knew as she listened that without intervention, stories like these in her hometown would never cease.
 
After completing her training, Eshe brought the audio dramas back to her village, gathering every community leader that would come from social workers to pastors to tribal chiefs. Eshe hit play, and the village leaders listened to the story of a young girl being sexually abused and exploited by her uncle. When the recording ended, one participant spoke out in defense of the uncle, remarking that the girl in the story was likely dressed immodestly and therefore deserved the exploitation.
 
The room erupted, everyone defending their position of whether abuse is ever deserved. After the training once everyone’s opinions had quieted down, one participant said to Eshe, “This workshop has helped us have a discussion that needed to take place. And it opened my eyes to wrong beliefs in our village. The girl was not abused because of what she was wearing. She was abused because her uncle was an abuser.”
 
Praise be to God that the conversations in Eshe’s village are only just beginning as they take their first steps in building a bridge to hope.

*Although the stories we share are true, identifying details have been changed.