Summer Journal 2026 | Grief & Joy

Summer 2026 | Volume 28 | Grief & Joy

childfreedom JOURNAL

THE COLORs SHE CHOSE When asked to draw something that brings her joy, Sara focused less on what she drew and more on what the colors held.

“Some colors remind me of difficult times, while other colors remind me of happy memories, friends, school, and hope.”

Rescued from slavery in 2021, Sara came into our care with deep trauma. Now, she still carries pieces of that grief, but joy overflows in her life.

She loves reading novels, drawing and painting, playing volleyball, and spending time with her friends.

Throughout this Journal, you’ll find artwork created by many of the rescued children in our care in response to the same simple prompt: “paint what joy looks like.”

FREEDOM LOOKS LIKE RESCU IN 20 ED 21

“Children carrying school bags and walking to school with smiles on their faces.”

JOYFULNESS LOOKS LIKE “BEING RESCUED

CHANGED MY SITUATION, BUT BEING CARED FOR HAS CHANGED MY LIFE.” - SARA

“Friends studying together, playing together, and encouraging each other.”

MY FUTURE LOOKS LIKE “Me wearing a doctor’s coat and helping children who need hope and healing.”

A NOTE FROM THE TEAM For better or worse, there are moments in life that divide everything into before and after.

Whether filled with grief or joy, these experiences alter every moment that follows. They shape us whether we know it or not.

The rescued children in our care always share two of these: The day they went into slavery and the day they got out.

Between those two moments and the life that follows lives a grief we can never fully understand: childhood interrupted, years stolen, and wounds that linger.

Yet somehow, in safety, joy takes root alongside the sorrow. It does not ask them to forget.

It does not ask them to tamp down the pain. It simply grows beside it.

And as it does, these two wholly different things begin to shape one another. Joy shines life-giving light into grief while grief deepens gratitude for good.

A child who has known hunger understands the beauty of having a favorite meal. A girl who has lived in fear feels the miracle of sleeping safely.

A birthday, a favorite snack, laughter with friends, passing an exam are all ordinary things that become extraordinary when they were once out of reach.

This is the beauty of restoration.

It is childhood reclaimed. Trust rebuilt. Hope returned. It is life redeemed by the light of a Savior who’s humanity allows him to understand suffering and joy more than anyone else possibly could.

This is the kind of freedom that changes absolutely everything for a child. It is the life your generosity makes possible.

2 | CHILD FREEDOM JOURNAL | Summer 2026

LE ARNING HEN N A

WIND-BLOWN HAIR

O R A N G E MARIGOLDS

L I F E IS A STACK O F PHOTOGRAPHS. THE KIND WITH BENT CORNERS AND FINGERPRINTS PRESSED INTO THE EDGES. ONE BY ONE THEY PILE UP. DO YOU THINK THEY KNOW IN THE MOMENT THEY ARE SNAPPED THAT THEY ARE BECOMING MEMORIES?

CLEAN CLOTHE S

THAT ONE DAY SOMEONE WILL HOLD THEM FOR A LITTLE LONGER THAN THEY MEANT TO AND REMEMBER HOW THAT MOMENT FELT?

S C H O O L SUPPLIES

THAT ONE DAY THEY WILL CARRY WHAT WAS LOST AND FOUND IN THE SAME IMAGE? MAYBE GRIEF AND JOY HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THAT WAY. TWO OLD FRIENDS SHARING THE SAME FRAME. ONE REMINDING US WHAT MATTERED. THE OTHER GIVING COURAGE TO KEEP FILLING THE STACK. WE ASKED T H E R E S C U E D K I D S T O SHARE WH A T B R I N G S T H E M J O Y .

DI NNER SECON D S

HERE’S W H A T T H E Y S A I D :

C U T E COWS

FRESH FOOD

SURPRISES

M Y O W N C UBBY SPACE

C LEAN WATER

GARDENING

L E A R N I N G A TRADE

READING & WRITING

F RE E D O M C HA N G E S EVERYTHING

BR AIDING MY H A I R

OR C H AONNG E SH I GEH LV E R Y T H I N G .

FREEDOM

CHANGES

EVERYTHING.

HT IG

O

H

R

DONOR

Light Wins

A FIRSTHAND GLIMPSE OF JOY AFTER RESCUE.

EVERYTHING.

HL

IGHT DO

Years of leading thousands of people taught Michael Fee what it takes to do important work well. As an executive at a large manufacturing company, he traveled internationally, worked with people from all walks of life, and saw a great deal of the world.

CHANGES

H HIG LIGHT

IG

D

FREEDOM

EDOM

When he traveled to South Asia in March 2026 to see Child Freedom Coalition’s work firsthand, it would make sense for him to talk first about the scale of the rescue or the enormity of the need. But he doesn’t. He talks about the children.

FREEDOM

“The biggest thing for me was seeing the joy in their eyes in spite of the horrific experiences they had been through,” Michael shared. “It was miraculous.”

CHANGES

When Michael arrived in South Asia, he expected heartbreak, and there was plenty of it in the children’s stories. What stayed with him, however, was their resilience. They were laughing, studying, playing, and embracing the opportunities in front of them despite the pain he knew they must still carry.

He saw that light again in the way the children embraced the simple gifts of everyday life. “All those little things are small to us, but to them, they’re enormous,” Michael said.

“They’re evidence of restoration at work. Through the power of Jesus and prayer, CFC is making a difference in these kids’ lives,” he said. “They’re getting their joy and hope back.”

Their courage brought Michael back to Joshua 1:9: “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

This is the promise taking shape in lives of the rescued kids. Not grief erased, but joy returning.

5 | CHILD FREEDOM JOURNAL | Summer 2026

CHANGES

“No matter how big the darkness, it can never stop the light,” Michael told us.

FREEDOM

One moment in particular stayed with him. As the children gathered for morning prayer, a beam of sunlight broke through the room and fell across them. To Michael it was a picture of how the darkness they had endured had not extinguished the light returning to their lives.

EVERYTHING.

Michael and his wife, Melanie, began supporting CFC when they first heard the stories of rescued children at an event, but after the rescue of nearly 5,000 children last summer, they felt compelled to become more deeply involved.

N

Vocational training is where restoration begins to multiply. Here, students gain practical skills, launch into meaningful work, and eventually turn back to help other children f ind the same opportunity.

SUMMER 2026 NUMBERS

3,600

graduates of our vocational training programs are now giving back to support other rescued children.

Already in 2026, our graduates have given back

$330,000 to help more children receive the same care, training, and opportunity they were given.

Since 2013, graduates have given back

$4,243,771

I made a discovery today: two strawberries growing side by side from the same stem. One was bright red and beautiful. The other was completely withered.

I stood there noticing how the plant held two starkly different outcomes sharing the same roots, the same sunlight, and the same season.

The longer I live, the more I realize life is full of things that don’t seem to fit together, growing side by side. Joy and grief, for example.

After losing my little brother, I learned firsthand that grief can sharpen your perspective. I’m not saying that grief is good, but it has a way of stripping away what is trivial and drawing your attention to what is good, beautiful, and worth holding onto.

The rescued children have endured more than I could ever imagine, yet they have become some of the most grateful and joyful people I’ve ever met. They are experts at embracing all that freedom has to offer them.

Their lives have been forever changed by the freedom, restoration, and opportunity your generosity has made possible.

731

Now, I encourage you to recieve the gift they unknowingly offer us in return: a poingant reminder to treasure what is good, celebrate it while it’s here, and hold tightly to the joy growing right in front of us.

Vocational training scholarships are one of the most powerful pictures of restoration at work.

They turn waiting into opportunity and invite the next student into a story that can keep multiplying for years to come.

AUDREY LOVETRO CHILD FREEDOM COALITION CO-FOUNDER | COMMUNICATIONS AUDREY@CHILDFREEDOM.ORG

students are currently awaiting a $2,000 scholarship to begin vocational training.

childfreedom.org/giving

ABOUT THE ARTWORK This Child Freedom Journal features a collaborative collage created by rescued children at the original Children’s Home. Each piece was inspired by the prompt, “paint what joy looks like.”

ChildFreedom.org

P.O. Box 26625, Greenville, SC 29616

March

2

rtis 026 A

833.703.7333

ts at

work

info@childf reedom.org