If you head over to the "About" tab on this blog, you'll read at the very top, "Being a voice for the voiceless and bringing healing to the broken and abused are those heart-tugs that keep me awake at night. They are what God uses to refuse to allow me to live a mediocre life or do anything that is void of purpose or meaning."
If you've been following along with our journey, you know that last year I put my involvement in full-time anti-trafficking ministry on hold for at least a year, knowing that it was time to take a step back from the intensity of what my life had become to be able to fully focus on investing the necessary time and attention to beginning our lives together as a married couple. Even before we got married, our desire and dream was to work in ministry together, in some way or form, and when God opened the doors last year for me to take a part-time administrative position with FCA DR it was a huge answer to prayer that allowed both of those things to happen.
When we made this change, it was difficult for a lot of people to comprehend. Everyone who had known me before getting married had no doubt of what I was most passionate about - and sports was never mentioned! It was a big change. We even moved a month after getting married so that we could plug into a good church and start in a new place where neither of us had any history and thus no prior expectations from other people around us would interfer in being able to walk in obedience to the steps God directed us to take.
At the bottom of the same "About" tab mentioned above, you'll read, "There are so many details that come along with carrying out the call of Christ to go and make disciples of all nations. This blog is our way of sharing stories of what God does in our own lives and the crazy twists and turns He takes us on."
I wrote everything currently on that tab last year, knowing that the decision to come on board with FCA DR was the decision God had for us - for now. Knowing that He does not change, even when He takes us down those unknown roads. Knowing that sports may be out of my league (I am learning a little!) but discipleship isn't, ministry isn't, and administration definitely isn't.
But another factor that has played a part in the background of all this is something I wasn't very public in writing about. I was exhausted last year - emotionally, spiritually, and even physically. Without taking that step back, our marriage would have been strained before it even had a chance to start. Without making a move in location and focus, we would have had a very difficult start to marriage and ministry together.
Along the way, a healing process took place. The first three months after our move, I found myself sleeping a lot without knowing why. I loved having time on my hands to organize our home and settle into a new part-time job, working from home, and most days I holed myself up at home with my own work and didn't venture out much. It got to the point that Miguel was worried that I kept to myself too much and wasn't making friends, but I told him I preferred it that way for now! The thought of being around people more than several times a week exhausted me. Don't get me wrong, I love people, but I also love alone time and was getting it for the first time in way too long. Having this time also allowed me to better process my brother's death, which had a habit of getting pushed to the side prior to making these changes.
God knows just what we need when we need it. After about 3 months, I started getting restless and went through a period of time of not feeling useful. The drastic change of being on call almost 24/7 to only working part-time, and by myself no less, caught up to me. Miguel, wonderful husband that he is, started pushing me to connect more with people from church and we started opening our home in various ways. It was a slow process, but everything happened at the right time when it needed to happen. Spiritually, I was getting strengthened again (our church playing an important role in that), emotionally I was much stronger, and physically my energy started coming back. As time went on I started taking on more, such as Mission Trips Coordinating, and becoming more personally involved with ministry and church.
Sometimes it's hard to believe it's already been a year since these pictures were taken! Yet, looking back over this past year, it seems difficult to grasp that so much has happened in only 12 months.
We headed into this year knowing that changes would be coming ahead. Miguel is set to graduate university at the end of this year. Miguel's ministry here in Higuey is growing, the church is growing with more opportunity of involvement, more teams are coming to the DR through FCA, there are general shifts in the minstry as a whole taking place, and Miguel and I began having random conversations of the possiblility of me becoming involved in anti-trafficking ministry again this year, if the right opportunity came along.
In January the girls' home I worked at previously shut down, due to various reasons. They talked about moving it and there would have been opportunity for me to get more involved, again, but we don't know if that will ever happen.
My former bosses, with who I had moved to the DR in 2015, had resigned before I got married and have been going through a similar healing process. At the same time, they have been influential in registering the Anti Trafficking Bureau, a Christ-centered training model to combat trafficking and develop victim care, here in the DR. I helped with translating the paperwork and was offered a position on the board last year, but turned it down because of the above reasons.
Last week marked one year since we legally got married (yes, we have two anniversaries!). And that same week, my former bosses came for a visit to catch up with what has been happening with ATB and to offer me a part-time position as their lead planning and development strategist for an assessment center for victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. It would begin as a part-time position, meaning I can continue with FCA without making changes at least this year. However, in the long run, there is potential of becoming more involved, creating a team, yet having the flexibility to set my hours as best for our family. If this happens, it means we'd need to look for a new Mission Trips Coordinator for FCA next year and possibly even someone to take on my admin responsibilities. It really all depends on how involved we want to become. Down the road, the trainig model will include community outreach through sports, churches, schools, and other avenues to create awareness and teach Christian values specifically pertaining to lowering exploitation risks. It seems like the perfect fit for our long term vision, but we are still praying about what the right decision is. We don't want to say "yes" when God says "not yet."
So we ask your prayers on our behalf. Please be praying for us and for God's perfect will to be done and His best to come about.
Come what may, we are here to be obedient to His calling and to further His kingdom!
Until next time.
If you've been following along with our journey, you know that last year I put my involvement in full-time anti-trafficking ministry on hold for at least a year, knowing that it was time to take a step back from the intensity of what my life had become to be able to fully focus on investing the necessary time and attention to beginning our lives together as a married couple. Even before we got married, our desire and dream was to work in ministry together, in some way or form, and when God opened the doors last year for me to take a part-time administrative position with FCA DR it was a huge answer to prayer that allowed both of those things to happen.
When we made this change, it was difficult for a lot of people to comprehend. Everyone who had known me before getting married had no doubt of what I was most passionate about - and sports was never mentioned! It was a big change. We even moved a month after getting married so that we could plug into a good church and start in a new place where neither of us had any history and thus no prior expectations from other people around us would interfer in being able to walk in obedience to the steps God directed us to take.
At the bottom of the same "About" tab mentioned above, you'll read, "There are so many details that come along with carrying out the call of Christ to go and make disciples of all nations. This blog is our way of sharing stories of what God does in our own lives and the crazy twists and turns He takes us on."
I wrote everything currently on that tab last year, knowing that the decision to come on board with FCA DR was the decision God had for us - for now. Knowing that He does not change, even when He takes us down those unknown roads. Knowing that sports may be out of my league (I am learning a little!) but discipleship isn't, ministry isn't, and administration definitely isn't. But another factor that has played a part in the background of all this is something I wasn't very public in writing about. I was exhausted last year - emotionally, spiritually, and even physically. Without taking that step back, our marriage would have been strained before it even had a chance to start. Without making a move in location and focus, we would have had a very difficult start to marriage and ministry together.
Along the way, a healing process took place. The first three months after our move, I found myself sleeping a lot without knowing why. I loved having time on my hands to organize our home and settle into a new part-time job, working from home, and most days I holed myself up at home with my own work and didn't venture out much. It got to the point that Miguel was worried that I kept to myself too much and wasn't making friends, but I told him I preferred it that way for now! The thought of being around people more than several times a week exhausted me. Don't get me wrong, I love people, but I also love alone time and was getting it for the first time in way too long. Having this time also allowed me to better process my brother's death, which had a habit of getting pushed to the side prior to making these changes.
God knows just what we need when we need it. After about 3 months, I started getting restless and went through a period of time of not feeling useful. The drastic change of being on call almost 24/7 to only working part-time, and by myself no less, caught up to me. Miguel, wonderful husband that he is, started pushing me to connect more with people from church and we started opening our home in various ways. It was a slow process, but everything happened at the right time when it needed to happen. Spiritually, I was getting strengthened again (our church playing an important role in that), emotionally I was much stronger, and physically my energy started coming back. As time went on I started taking on more, such as Mission Trips Coordinating, and becoming more personally involved with ministry and church. Sometimes it's hard to believe it's already been a year since these pictures were taken! Yet, looking back over this past year, it seems difficult to grasp that so much has happened in only 12 months.
We headed into this year knowing that changes would be coming ahead. Miguel is set to graduate university at the end of this year. Miguel's ministry here in Higuey is growing, the church is growing with more opportunity of involvement, more teams are coming to the DR through FCA, there are general shifts in the minstry as a whole taking place, and Miguel and I began having random conversations of the possiblility of me becoming involved in anti-trafficking ministry again this year, if the right opportunity came along.
In January the girls' home I worked at previously shut down, due to various reasons. They talked about moving it and there would have been opportunity for me to get more involved, again, but we don't know if that will ever happen. My former bosses, with who I had moved to the DR in 2015, had resigned before I got married and have been going through a similar healing process. At the same time, they have been influential in registering the Anti Trafficking Bureau, a Christ-centered training model to combat trafficking and develop victim care, here in the DR. I helped with translating the paperwork and was offered a position on the board last year, but turned it down because of the above reasons.
Last week marked one year since we legally got married (yes, we have two anniversaries!). And that same week, my former bosses came for a visit to catch up with what has been happening with ATB and to offer me a part-time position as their lead planning and development strategist for an assessment center for victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. It would begin as a part-time position, meaning I can continue with FCA without making changes at least this year. However, in the long run, there is potential of becoming more involved, creating a team, yet having the flexibility to set my hours as best for our family. If this happens, it means we'd need to look for a new Mission Trips Coordinator for FCA next year and possibly even someone to take on my admin responsibilities. It really all depends on how involved we want to become. Down the road, the trainig model will include community outreach through sports, churches, schools, and other avenues to create awareness and teach Christian values specifically pertaining to lowering exploitation risks. It seems like the perfect fit for our long term vision, but we are still praying about what the right decision is. We don't want to say "yes" when God says "not yet."
So we ask your prayers on our behalf. Please be praying for us and for God's perfect will to be done and His best to come about.
Come what may, we are here to be obedient to His calling and to further His kingdom!
Until next time.
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