spot_img
29 C
Philippines
Thursday, March 28, 2024

When a Good God Allows Rape

- Advertisement -

Rape. It’s so hard to talk about it. How does one begin? Do you start with the pain? During? After? It’s so hard to comprehend the extent of what the victim had to go through, during and (worse) after. Each victim’s story may be different, but the pain and suffering thereafter is the same. According to the Philippine National Police’s Women and Children Protection Center (WCPC), the statistics of rape victims grows every year (2004-2013). Imagine the number of women who had to go through Rape Trauma Syndrome which roughly parallels Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. 

“How could a loving God allow me to be raped? What happened to His promise to watch over His children? Was God present when the nightmare was happening and if He was, then why didn’t He stop it?” These were the questions Joy Tan-Chi Mendoza echoed continuously in her mind after being a victim of rape as a teenager. She is one of the many women who experienced rape, but her ending is not as bleak as one would imagine, rather, her story should serve as an inspiration to every woman abused and oppressed. 

Last September, Joy launched her first book with OMF Literature publishing entitled, When A Good God Allows Rape. The book is an autobiography detailing her journey from pain, remarkable healing, and wholeness – serving as a reminder for everyone that your happiness is yours and you may choose to linger in the past or look ahead to a brighter future.

Joy is the daughter of Peter Tan-Chi, senior Pastor of the Christian mega-church, Christ’s Commission Fellowship. She grew up in a Christian family and served in the church all through out her youth and her faith was tested the night of February 7, 1995, while her parents were at a Bible study session. Joy was left at home with her younger siblings and two friends. Several armed men broke into their house, tied them up, looted their belongings, and the men took their turns raping 15-year-old Joy including her two friends. 

- Advertisement -

“I tried not to scream because I feared they would kill my brother and sisters,” recalls Joy. The incident seemed like the end of a young girl’s life. She was left with so many doubts and questions. “Why did God allow this? How can He redeem this tragedy now?” 

“At this point, I was standing at an important crossroad in my life. Would I allow this tragedy to define my faith? Or, would I allow my faith to define this tragedy?” says Joy. “I came to God in desperation. I knew it could not have been an accident that He would allow something so terrible to happen to me. So my only option was to trust Him,” she adds.

Joy is happily married to news anchor Edric Mendoza and is a parent to five wonderful children.

Rape is one of the worst things that can happen to a young girl, and this is a heavy ordeal for the family that loves her. But heavy as it may be, her family was there to support her and even turned a deeper connection with God. “We made a faith-decision to believe there was a purpose and a reason for allowing something so horrifying.  Though, we couldn’t see it back then,” says Joy. "Though I didn’t understand why things happened the way they did, my comfort was that God is loving, faithful, in control. I prayed, ‘God, you are sovereign. You love me. You are good. I don’t need to understand everything now, but I will hope in who You are’.” 

All throughout her journey and through her process of healing, she knew and understood that her faith and God never left her. Her horrible experience served as “a testimony of hope and restoration.” Twenty years have passed and she inspired and touched thousands by sharing her story, on television, in articles, speaking engagements, and women’s counseling groups. Instead of moping, she turned her bad experience as an instrument to help others. 

“We all understand human tragedy. We all know what it is like to feel sorrow, loss, disappointment, and pain. And while bad things may happen to good people, it shouldn’t define who we become. We can still choose to believe that God has a divine plan. We can still choose to love and forgive,” she explains. Today, Joy is happily married to news anchor Edric Mendoza and blessed with five children. Joy currently maintains a blog entitled “Teach with Joy” where she writes about her life as a wife, a mother, and a homeschooling parent. 

When A Good God Allows Rape, Joy Tan-Chi Mendoza's autobiography

“When I look back on my life, I have been the recipient of much good. God has been good to me! I am happily married to a wonderful, Godly man. I am enjoying my children and the joys of parenting. I am now a stronger person.”  

An inspiration and beacon of strength, her book serves as a testament to mending a broken past. “When we heard about Joy’s moving and compelling story of pain and restoration, we knew it had to be in a book to be able to touch more lives. OMF Literature is extremely honored to be a part in the making of this milestone,” says OMF Literature CEO Aleks Tan.

“Like me, many of you have gone through personal tragedy. But I want to encourage you by saying that God purposes to write each person’s life story. The question is, will we let Him hold the pen? It is His authorship that makes a life beautiful,” Joys shares.   

When a Good God Allows Rape is available at all OMF Literature bookstores, National Bookstore, and Philippine Christian Bookstore. To know more about the many inspirational book of OMF Literature visit www.omflit.com.

- Advertisement -

LATEST NEWS

Popular Articles