I’m sitting on the wooden floors of a rooftop/tree house. All I hear is rain on the tin roof above and when I look around, everywhere, it’s GREEN. Magical lushness!! Life is exploding in this place.
In awe.
I stop myself all of the time, just to slow down and thank God for all that my eyes are taking in.
Gotta make this clear: These words are not sensitive enough or tender enough or passionate enough to do all of what’s going on on Hope Mountain justice.
Been here four days.
“Here” is the Dominican Republic, on Hope Mountain. Ruben and Vicki (along with their eight children) built and run a foundation called Hope for the DR and they asked that Adventures in Missions would send a whole squad of World Racers to help partner with them for at least a month. Every day each team gets a different job (excpet for day one we got to know everyone/the land/the culture/this ministry).
Day two I was on outreach, so we walked the streets outside the red gates and as we walked, we covered the streets in prayer. Ruben and Vicki wanted us to welcome God into their streets, into their community, and into the lives of the men, women, and children that this mountain holds. That night we began preparing for an event we’re throwing on a basketball court about a mile up the road- we’ve been planning crafts and games and dances and two skits for the kids- excited for craziness and laughter and some no language barrier kinda love!!
Day three we were assigned hospitality which looked like me and the seven other beauties on my team sweeping and mopping and scrubbing every inch of this campus and handwashing anyone’s clothes that needed washing and serving meals. Felt like the maid version of Cinderella. Weirdly empowering, womanly stuff.
Day four, today, we were assigned administration. An organization fighting slavery internationally reached out to Vicki to see if they could hold women and children that have been rescued out of sex slavery here in the DR…just a place to call a safe haven, a place of healing, a place of rescue. What we did was go through all of the research that she had another team do the day before and create a presentation. I was physically
exhausted
drained
heavy
disgusted
after reading all of the REAL, ACTUAL facts about what’s going on in the shadows of our world to REAL, ACTUAL living, human beings. I’d almost cry, but tears were stopped with shock and anger. Don’t know how I didn’t throw up.
45+ million people are enslaved right now, in THIS. moment.
The Dominican Republic is the most visited Carribbean nation because of sextourism, making it the third largest trafficking nation.
800 Haitian children are trafficked over the border to the DR every. single. month.
Traffickers ask for only $80 dollars per head to sell these children to brothels.
Eighty freaking dollars. For a child.
That’s real. It’s happening right n o w !
After our squad leaves this month, Vicki is heading back to the States for October to begin fundraising for two homes that she wants to build on her
land- one for women, one for children. She’ll also begin training on how to go into cities throughout the island to rescue these women and children. This
presentation that we put together is for her to use as she travels to raise support.
The reality of all of this slavery destroyed me. MY HEART IS BROKEN. Screaming to God all day.
I’m sad enough and mad enough to channel my grief into action. I feel something big- no, not even “big”- ENORMOUS rising. I’ve seen the stats before, I’ve broken down and drowned in the darkness and sickness of slavery before. But. Today, for the first time in my life, I felt REAL, ACTUAL hope.
On Hope Mountain, I found hope.
Read Romans 12 over and over and over again today, couldn’t be more inspired. MY ANTHEM!!!! Here it is in the Message version:
“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. I’m speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him. In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we’re talking about is Christ’s body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn’t amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t. If you preach, just preach God’s Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don’t take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don’t get bossy; if you’re put in charge, don’t manipulate; if you’re called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don’t let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face. Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle. Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality. Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down. Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody. Don’t hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you’ve got it in you, get along with everybody. Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. “I’ll do the judging,” says God. “I’ll take care of it.” Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he’s thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.”
I’m terrified. It’s only been since about 9 o’clock this morning since the Lord has softened my heart to what breaks His. Terrified of what’s happening in the world and in my heart…mmmm. In kindness, God is leading me into a radical life change. Been on my knees processing and fighting through the reality of this Hell on earth and praying hand in hand to hear the Lord’s voice in how to creatively love people through this with some of the girls on my squad. We don’t know what’s going to happen, but we’re feeling empowered. There’s something divine happening here. Gosh I’m so, incredibly thankful for the women in my life. It’s insane. So insane.
Sending love to all of the eyes that read this<3 hoping that you get inspired<3 if you wanna know more about all of this and do something about it, please please PLEASE check www.ijm.org out. They’ve got facts, free, downloadable resources and tools to get informed, host events, or start a movement on college campuses/work places/youth groups/churches, a place to donate, and/or become one of their prayer partners<3 <3
Can’t believe it’s only day four. MIND BLOWN.
