August 25th, 2011
Today was another eventful day. It was
our last day at the House of Hope and there was still a lot to be
accomplished. The Men – Peter, Mike, Rick and I went down to the
dining area to finish off our tiling project. While we had made much
progress from our tiling on Tuesday we did have several tiles to
repair that had not set properly. Confidence was high that we could
finish the project by lunch. At this point in the week we have
established our pecking order. Pete actually has some useful handyman
skills and served as our foreman. Through his direction we were able
to finish by lunch.
The ladies led the house of hope staff
through a team building morning, playing games, teaching, and
focusing on effective team communication practices. The staff was
grateful for the training and benefitted from working on
strengthening their team as much of their time is poured into the
Women and girls in their ministry.
While the men began the shelves (which
we painted pink) and Aurora, Willow, and Mary played with the young
children, Kelly, Liz, Janet, and Marlene led a workshop for the
women. The workshop consisted of a game, a talk on the beauty and
worth of women, and an exercise which allowed the women to dream of
their future goals/hopes. It was fun to see them all laughing during
the game and having the chance to let loose and be kids, as the
majority of these women are between the ages of 10 and 14. Liz gave
a talk to the women challenging them to think about inner beauty as
opposed to physical beauty and what God thinks of them instead of
what definitions of beauty society places on them. More importantly
though is that these women understand their worth and begin to
realize their potential and capabilities as individuals. Janet led
“lectio divina” where she read Jeremiah 29:11 to the ladies
multiple times with emphasis on different words and parts of the
verse. They played a song and let the women sit with their eyes
closed and dream of the plans that God has for them after they leave
House of Hope. The ladies drew pictures of their dreams. This was
an empowering experience for the ladies of the House of Hope and for
the ladies of Antioch alike.
At lunch we had the privilege of
hearing from Oscar at the House of Hope, however his testimony will
be impossible to capture on this blog. It is amazing to see how God
has used the unbelievably difficult circumstances of his life to
prepare him for the work he is doing now. One of Oscar’s primary
responsibilities is to rescue young girls who are being exploited by
sexual commerce. He also preaches God’s word to women who feel like
they have no other option but prostitution to provide for their
families. It is always exciting to me to see someone living out there
God given calling knowing that through their work, faith, and passion
they are bringing glory to God.
As we left the House of Hope this
afternoon it struck me that this would be our last day here on this
trip. The memory of having smiling kids climbing on me and wanting
their picture taken will be with me a long time. It is
incomprehensible to consider the unspeakable evil that these young
girls have experienced. Please continue to pray for them as they
recover from their deep wounds.
Back at the house we enjoyed a relaxing
evening eating dinner, playing games, and strengthening relationships
within our team. Did you know Rick Gerhardt was on his High School
Cheerleading squad?
-Dave Morton
