If you have ever been to Uganda, you know that the stories of the Lord transforming the broken and downcast are overwhelming. In Northern Uganda, it would be safe to say that every person has a story tell…a story that will both break your heart, and uplift your heart.

One such story is of a young woman named Prisca. I recently met Prisca while visiting the Irene Gleeson Foundation with a group from Birmingham, Alabama who have all gone through the 210 Project and have found the Lord calling them to invest in East Africa. When we met Prisca, we would never have begun to imagine the atrocities she has faced in her short 24 years.

Prisca was repeatedly beaten and abused starting from an incredibly young age. She was starved, raped, beaten…forced to believe she was worth nothing and would amount to nothing. And the man who repeatedly beat this innocent child was none other than her own father. Prisca decided as a preteen that in order to protect herself and have revenge for the abuse she endured, she would have to join the Lord’s Resistance Army. The LRA is the rebel army that is responsible for overwhelming horrors in Uganda, the Congo and the Sudan. Known for the abduction of young children to build up a child’s army, the LRA is responsible for more than 100,000 deaths in East Africa.

After many years as a child soldier with the LRA, Prisca escaped and was taken in by Irene Gleeson in Kitgum, Uganda. Irene loved this broken, terrorized girl and helped Prisca find her peace in the Lord. She discovered her calling to be a midwife because of her passion to help women, many of whom are from abusive situations. In Northern Uganda, 18 women die every day from child birth and Prisca is passionate about erasing that number. She is dedicated to loving women and their children, and delivers at least 4 healthy babies a day!

God uses the broken areas of our lives to call us to Himself, to lead us to discover where we are meant to serve, and to use our brokenness to love others in their seasons of heartache. Prisca is one example of the thousands who have found their passion through their heartache.

Prisca with two of The 210 Project team in Kitgum, Uganda