As the year comes to an end, we want to take an opportunity to simply glorify the Lord for all He has done. While we cannot give every detail, we do want to share with you some of the beautiful moments of His great faithfulness! He has always awed us, but this year, He has especially blown us away with all He has done.
For one of our sweet ladies, we saw years of addiction and struggle come to an end as she welcomed a beautiful little boy and entered into long-term programming. The Lord brought together every part of her journey with such precision and attention to detail. He led her to a very specific place through a very specific set of circumstances, He showered her with grace as she found her way, and He set her among a community of women that uplift, encourage, and love her so well! She is experiencing His perfect peace and is at the very center of His will. It has been a beautiful thing to behold!
Another of our precious ladies came off the street after six years of homelessness. She has taken steps toward permanent stability. We have watched as He has shown her His faithfulness and drawn her heart to His. His love and His steadfastness is renewing her perspective of Him and teaching her to trust that not only is He good, but He is for her.
We have seen three of our teen girls come to Christ in the last couple of months! So many of them have experienced heartache and pain, and it is incredible how He meets them in the midst of it to set them free. One of our girls, in particular, shares about the beauty of freedom and of being part of His family. Months ago, she refused to come to Bible study, sure that she wanted nothing to do with Him and even more sure that He would want nothing to do with her. Very soon, we will have the honor of baptising her! Watching her journey to Him has been one of the most beautiful joys of our lives.
In another instance, we saw Him bring restoration in an instant! One of our sweet girls expressed broken promises made by her exploiters, and quite literally within moments, the promises they had broken were fulfilled by His faithfulness to provide for her.
Again and again, He shows Himself faithful! He leads and guides and directs in a way that only He can. Each life, the ones mentioned here and the ones unspoken, have been touched by Him. Every answered prayer, every breakthrough is Him seeing, loving, and providing!
As a ministry, He has led us through an incredible season of manifesting the promises He made to us long ago. As we have shared before, He placed a desire in our hearts from the very beginning to provide a refuge for women who have been sexually exploited, a place where they can find healing and wholeness in Him. We cried out to the Lord that there was no place for her here, and He answered that lament in ways that have exceeded every natural expectation with a supernatural outpouring.
Three months ago, we received a phone call from a dear friend of the ministry. She called asking for advice. She had met a woman whose situation was dire, who was walking in her neighborhood. Knowing the work that He has called us to, our friend reached out to us for help.
The goal was to get the woman to immediate safety and help her take her next step, which took place over the course of a couple of days. However, the Lord’s intent was to not only provide for that particular girl, but to also provide for many girls after her.
In the days that followed, that same friend contacted us with an urgency in her heart to help ensure that women like the dear one she met would have a place to find healing. Her words: “Consider the house done. What else do you need?”
This journey, much like that of our women and girls, was not without its moments in the valley. Like them, there have been times of disappointment and of delay.
“Yet, I still dare to hope…”
Hope is walking through the valley, holding fast to His Word as yes and amen despite the hardship.
Just as He promised, there will be a place for her here.
In a way that can only be described as miraculous, the Lord met every need for the Hope House to undergo a full and lavish renovation. Because of her ‘yes’ and the ‘yes’ of each person who has contributed in prayer, time, and giving along the way, we will soon open the doors to the Hope House, a transitional shelter for women who have experienced sexual exploitation.
We would not be here without the generosity He has prompted within your hearts. It enables us to serve the women and girls in our community, and it has helped to open the doors to a place that will foster healing and wholeness in their lives. We thank you!
If you would like to sow into the work being done through year-end giving or become a monthly partner, please visit our website at www.daretohope.net/give.
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