Woman seeks local support for nonprofit missionwork in Honduras

Many of the pregnant girls Gracie Murphree helps are in the 10-14 age range. They are victims of rape and incest.

There are also young victims of violence, such as the boy who watched his father attack his mother with a machete.

Since 2005, she and her husband, the Rev. Lee Murphree, have operated Heart of Christ, a spiritual ministry in Honduras. She is currently in the United States seeking financial support for the nonprofit, nondenominational mission.

Murphree is visiting four states in 19 days to make her pitch.

She stopped this week in Columbus, where she has friends and from where volunteers have visited her compound.

"Some people here have fallen in love with this ministry," Murphree said.

The couple's work at Heart of Christ is multifaceted.

Bibles and Christian literature are provided to the people. There is the training of community leaders and pastors to strengthen existing churches and to start new ones.

The ministry provides uniforms and school supplies for children whose families can't afford them.

The ministry works with local doctors and clinics to provide better health care, has a clothing program for victims of violence, and sponsors a Christmas program that gave gifts to more than 4,000 children last year.

She said the ministry's biggest focus is providing a safe haven for women and children in a place declared by the United Nations as the most violent country in the world not suffering from an armed conflict.

She said God has called the couple into a battle with violence and aggressive evil that they can't win without specific intervention with God.

Heart of Christ furnishes shelter for rape victims and for women escaping violent situations who can't go home during the processing of their cases.

There is a transition house where authorities drop off abused children who will eventually go to foster homes.

The children's home is the only refuge for pregnant children in Honduras. Also residing there are disabled children not accepted at other facilities.

"The children learn about a God who loves them," she said.

Wearing a bulletproof vest, Murphree goes on police raids to rescue children from homes.

A school is currently being built.

The inspiration for Heart of Christ goes back to a 2004 mission trip to Honduras in which the Murphrees participated.

At the time, they lived in Hartselle, Ala. The reverend, an Auburn University graduate, operated a screen printing business and was pastor at two small churches. Murphree, a graduate of the University of North Alabama, was a copy editor at the local newspaper.

Murphree said as they were leaving Honduras she had a strange feeling. "I felt like I was leaving home, not returning," she said.

Her husband felt likewise. They sold their house, cars and other belongings and traveled back to Honduras.

"We felt called to go back, but God never told us what we were going for," she said.

Shortly after they arrived, the couple met with authorities and created the first victims program in the country.

Murphree feels her background makes her suited for the work being done in Honduras.

At 21, she was raped and got pregnant. She chose not to have an abortion and gave birth to a daughter. She said there was a marriage to a man who turned out to be addicted to drugs and alcohol. That union produced a son. She also was the victim of physical abuse by a boyfriend.

A Boston native, she ran a foster home there for special needs children.

She has written for magazines, television and the Boston Globe.

During 2013, the child welfare system in Honduras collapsed, leaving all children on their own. Murphree is on the board of the Honduras Children Alliance, which is working to set up a new system.

"We are making progress but need support to accomplish all of our goals and help the women and children," she said.

For more information or to learn how to make a donation, visit www.heartofchristhonduras.org.

This story was originally published October 30, 2015 at 9:52 PM with the headline "Woman seeks local support for nonprofit missionwork in Honduras ."