Last week, I got back from World Race Training Camp, and as I am lying in my bed reflecting on the past few weeks, I realize that it is going to take a few blog posts to accurately reflect everything that went on during those ten days. It was simultaneously the most difficult 10 days of my life and the most rewarding.
Today, I am going to talk to you about a small but pivotal part of my Training Camp experience. It was day 8 of training camp. It had been a long and exhausting day and I was getting ready to turn in for the night. I was in my tent, fidgeting around on my sleeping pad trying to find a position that was both comfortable and warm, not an easy feat.
I decided to check my phone before I fell asleep, just to let my family know I was still alive and that all was well. I opened Facebook and on the top of my News Feed was a post from my mom. She was talking about a prophetic conference my church has every new year, and how a recent event in her life was a prophecy fulfilled from that conference.
At the end of that conference, our church prints a card with all the prophetic words for the year on the card, so we can remember and watch as they are fulfilled throughout the year. My mom posted a picture of the card, and the first prophecy on the card was “Beauty for Ashes.”
Wait a minute. WHAT?
You see, I had almost completely forgotten about this prophecy. When I had heard it in January, it seemed arbitrary and completely unrelated to anything I was going through, so I thought it wasn’t for me.
But hearing it again this time, it resonated for me, because there is a women’s ministry at Adventures in Missions called….wait for it….BEAUTY FOR ASHES.
It is a women’s ministry that focuses on restoring value to women all over the world, particularly in relation to women trapped in sex trafficking. All year, God had given me a passion and a fervor for this ministry, but I didn’t know its name until Training Camp.
I told my mom about the Beauty for Ashes ministry, and how the reminder of this prophecy couldn’t be an accident.
The next morning, we had a Beauty for Ashes session at Training Camp, and we could sign up if we were interested in serving in the ministry. I could feel God speaking, “Your time is now.”
Long story short, a couple hours later, I was chosen as a Beauty for Ashes coordinator for my squad. With myself and two other amazing people on my squad, we will be pioneering this ministry on the Race.
We will be bringing hope to the hopeless, and reminding women everywhere that their stories matter.
God knew what He was doing when He spoke to my pastor in January about Beauty for Ashes, and His timing was perfect when He reminded me of it at Training Camp.
I have such a heart for this ministry, and I cannot wait to see this develop on the race.
However, to go on the Race in January, I must raise an addition $4500 by December 18. I need your help! Please consider donating so I can bring hope to women all over the world!
I love you all and I thank you for your consistent generosity and prayers!
Get ready for an awesome year!!! 🙂
