A HOPELESS BEGINNING

Sophia is the youngest of 13 children and her mother died when she was just 3 months old. Her oldest sister was barely 13 and was thrust into the role of caregiver for the younger children while working in the cotton fields of rural Mississippi and attending school whenever she could. Sophia’s father was a gambler and when he was unable to pay his gambling debts, he used his own daughters as payment.

MOTHERLESS

After her mother’s death, her father sent her, an older sister, and brother to live with his sister. Sophia was molested by her aunt’s husband as a regular way of life from kindergarten to the age of 13. Deep in her spirit she knew it wasn’t right, “but I didn’t trust my intuition. I believed my uncle when he would tell me it was okay. He convinced me to trust him. He started by having me ride with him to take my aunt to work and after dropping her off he would molest me and take me to the store for candy. That was my life. To me it was normal.”

ABANDONED

Ultimately the truth of the molestation was revealed. The court process decreed that either the children or the child molester leave the home. The aunt kept her man, (the predator who loved having sex with children) and she abandoned the molested child sending 13-year-old Sophia, and her siblings to live with her father’s brother and his wife. Shortly afterwards Sophia’s 18-year-old sister got married and she took in 13-year-old Sophia and two other siblings. This became too much for the newly married couple, and Sophia went to live with yet another sister in Chicago.

THE ONLY CONSTANT

Sophia recalls, “I was a sheep being led to the slaughter. I was as green and gullible as all out doors. From Mississippi to the projects of Chicago, I was a target. Shortly after arriving in Chicago, I was sent to spend the summer with an adult cousin and was molested again. This is all I ever knew. Being molested was the only thing that was constant in my young life. Everything else changed but men having sex with me as a child was always there. Every decision I ever made was shaped by these experiences. When I was taken out of the home, there were no counselors, no one said this was wrong. I just moved on to the next house.”

SITTING DUCK FOR SEX TRAFFICKING

Just prior to her 14th birthday, Sophia was sent to Indiana to live with the sister who took care of her as a toddler. She enrolled in High School. It was the worst experience of her life. She was the new kid, the boys wanted her and told stories about her that were not true. The girls hated her, they jumped her and beat on her because of the lies the boys told. She skipped school rather than endure this ridicule. She started smoking pot and shoplifting.

Before age 15 she had been in juvenile detention 3 times for skipping school and stealing. The second time she got released from juvenile she was placed in a group home for girls. “There was a church across the street. The home has been torn down, but the Church is still there. I remember the pastor and his wife. They were kind to me. Going to church was my escape.”

Whenever things went wrong in the group home, she was usually accused of it. She remembers one Sunday morning, “One of the girls was missing a pair of hose. She was ranting and raving and everyone was afraid, because she was a spoiled brat and a bully.” Sophia went to church that morning and when she returned, she was accused of stealing the pantyhose.

She was tired of being lied about. She was not surprised by the other girls as they were afraid of being bullied. But she was painfully disappointed that the houseparent, someone that she respected dearly, did not believe her. “The hurt and disappointment in my houseparent’s eyes were unbearable and I ran away.”

After several months of homelessness, Sophia returned to juvenile detention. Upon her third discharge from juvenile detention, she was placed in Pleasant Run Children’s Home where she stayed from age 15-18. This saved Sophia’s life.

GOODNESS POURED IN

Pleasant Run was her salvation. For the first time she had stability and for three years she was not molested. Her house-mother helped her with a book report and her teacher spoke powerful prophetic words to Sophia in praise. “Sophia, this is an excellent report. I will not be surprised when you grow up to be a famous author.”

Sophia can count on one hand the people who poured into her and encouraged her. She recalls two positive outpourings from her youth. In Mississippi, she spent her days at her cousins’ house reading books. Their mother gave them books of every kind to read. She was praised once in high school by her English teacher for writing an outstanding book report.

Although she struggled in high school, she is a published author of three books and her command of the written word is excellent. She was mentored and truly felt cared about by the staff at Pleasant Run Children’s Home. Sophia dedicated her first book to her English teacher and her housemother, even though she had no idea where they were or even if they were still living, but their impact was felt for a lifetime. Never underestimate the power of sowing into the life of a young person. One small act of interest and inspiration can make a significant positive difference. Sophia is a living example.

For three years Sophia was sheltered and protected from sexual predators. She had structure and with hard work and encouragement graduated from High School. Despite the success of the prior three years, she was approaching emancipation. She was not prepared for independence. She lacked emotional maturity, social skills, financial education, and more importantly self-esteem, confidence, and a realistic outlook on life. “I enrolled in college believing that I could live off student loans and work study. That lasted for about two semesters, and I found myself homeless again.”

Sophia contacted a former staff at Pleasant Run Children’s Home asking for his help to get back to Chicago. He was driving to Gary to visit his son and he agreed to take her to Chicago. “I arrived in Chicago in March. By June I was married at age 19. My husband turned out to be a pimp. He forced me into sex trafficking.”

BUT GOD

Later in life Sophia returned to school and earned a bachelor’s in organizational leadership. She is a living, breathing example of the life-changing results that come from God’s power and love. She is a minister, best-selling author, and certified life coach. She is happily married to the man of her dreams and is living a life she absolutely loves.

WHAT IF?

• What if we pour into young people who find themselves in juvenile?
• What if we speak words of encouragement and plant the seeds of greatness in a young person’s mind?
• What if we see a Sophia in the eyes of every troubled youth we encounter?
• What would happen if we started building hope in young women who have been abused, abandoned, and neglected.
• What if we invested in a child and kept them from being exploited and victimized by sex trafficking?