A LETTER FROM THE AUTHOR

Greetings from Congo… where UN helicopters are flying overhead, hot water and electricity are scarce, and joy abounds! I have some exciting news! For the past year, I have been working on a book, The Color of Grace. It is almost hard to believe that it’s now complete and available to order! Writing this book required pouring heart and soul onto its pages. It meant being vulnerable, very vulnerable, about my own mistakes, trauma and giving up on life only to see the Lord use my heartaches to bring healing to others, and ultimately, learning about true forgiveness and hope from child survivors of war.

Since 2008, words like war zone, child slaves, rebel armies and warlords have become part of my every day language. It was as if God took my hand and led me into the most broken parts of the world and revealed profound wisdom from suffering. Hearing detailed, firsthand stories of slavery and brutality from children, I was forced to look evil in the eye (or at least the results of many evils), and the Lord gently asked me what I would do with this knowledge.

What did I want to do? Look away. Pretend this wasn’t real. Yet… just because these were not my biological children and this wasn’t happening in my own home did not mean it was not real. It was real. With knowledge comes responsibility. There was now a responsibility to do something, to use whatever means or skills I had to help, and to share these children’s stories with the world.

I pray that God uses this book, and those who read it, to play a part in bringing justice and healing to rescued child soldiers and children orphaned by war. Together, we can shine light on the hundreds of thousands of young boys and girls who are currently captive to rebel militias and armed forces even as I write this. Because on the other side of this darkness, we have begun to see a hope and light not of this world.

At Exile International, we are seeing former child soldiers healing their wounds of trauma and becoming young peacemakers. We are seeing child slaves forgiving rebels, former captives return to their villages to teach others about peace and reconciliation, and teaching village elders about forgiveness.

The Color of Grace is a story of redemption – my own redemption and the redemption of children who have survived war. It is God’s story of redemption and the transformation of brokenness into new life.

With excitement and humility, I invite you into a story of many colors. I simply cannot wait for you to read it! Not because I wrote it, but because it’s pages are colored with by what God is doing in the lives of many, and by learning from these strong survivors — the world can be changed.

His,
Bethany