amycourts

I'm a singer-songwriter. I've been doing this for a while, and figured it'd be a satisfying life to lead. And it is. More-so than I would've imagined. A few years ago, a friend came back from Africa and told me a story about a little 5 year old girl he met who rarely spoke or smiled. He asked what was wrong with her, and was told she'd likely been raped and molested dozens, if not hundreds of times. Often multiple times per day. "That's just the culture here," they told him. He spent a week earning her trust and loving her the right way, the Jesus way, and at the end of the week she told him her name.... Mercy. Not long after that, I learned that one of my best childhood friends, a girl who lived right down the street from me and with whom I played every day, shared a similar history with Mercy. Only, in her case, her father was her abuser. I only recently learned that when she mysteriously disappeared from school in 7th grade, it was because she was pregnant with his child. Since then, I've become somewhat of a magnet for the hurting, broken, grieving, lost, disenfranchised and marginalized. Somewhere along the way, splinters found their way into my own life and story, giving me an even deeper, truer connection with them...one my own experience echos. I used to sing and write songs about my sad, depressed life. About life, and love, and loss. About internal, spiritual battles with lies and hate and theological discrepancies between the bible and reality. About things I thought mattered most. Surely, I'll continue writing songs like that. But my reason for singing has changed, and I hope the content will keep changing too. Because Mercy and my neighbors deserve a community, a fellowship...they deserve a voice. I just hope mine will do. Join Mocha Club for $7/month (the cost of two mochas) and help rescue little girls like Mercy who swarm the villages of Africa. She's not alone, and you can do something. www.themochaclub.org Or, if you can't do that, find someone who needs love. They're worth whatever investment you make. I promise.