While I could talk for hours about the incredible ways God showed up this summer in Knoxville, there was one day in particular that had a great impact on me. Let me tell you about Tuesday, August 3.
First, let me backup a bit. Katie and Will, the founders of Raising a Voice, closed the sale on the building that would become their daytime drop-in center, the weekend before we arrived in Knoxville. They had been told by similar organizations around the country that it takes about 6 months before you can build trusting relationships with these women. Once you have established those relationships, maybe they would feel comfortable coming to the center. With this knowledge, we set our expectations accordingly and spent our time on outreach trying to build that trust.
As the summer went on, there were a few women that I began pursuing pretty intently. For privacy and safety, I’ll use the initials R, W & M. R needed help getting sober and getting prepared for an upcoming court date. We believed W was pregnant and in desperate need of resources. M had completed rehab, but was still living in the same complex, surrounded by so many who were using drugs. I kept thinking that if we could only get them into the drop in center, we could help them in such tangible ways! But day after day, nothing.
In late July, we received the news that we would be finishing our final semester of G42 in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Honestly, I was thrilled! Pigeon Forge is only 40 minutes from Knoxville, which meant I could pop down regularly to continue doing outreach and pouring into the women. The following week, I woke up with a sore throat. I was pretty confident it was allergies, but as a precaution, I headed to the local health department to get tested for Covid-19. At that time tests were taking 7 to 10 days for results. I was hit with the harsh reality that I couldn’t go to the drop in center or do outreach for over a week while I waited for my test results. When I returned home, my roommate Rachel let me know that our location for our final semester had been moved again from Tennessee to Georgia. I was DEVASTATED. Not only was I homebound for a full week, I would no longer be nearby to continue doing outreach in the Fall. It felt like the rug had been pulled out from under me. I called my boyfriend James and just sobbed. I talked about every woman that needed our help and questioned what would happen if I couldn’t be out there pursuing them. James listened patiently and then asked me, “Do you believe that God loves them more than you do? Do you trust that even if you aren’t out there, He will still show up for them?” I knew in my heart this was true, but my brain couldn’t get past the what if’s. I spent the next week pretty salty, but praying over the women constantly and hoping for some divine intervention.
Fast forward to Tuesday, August 3. I was covid negative and literally could not wait to get back to the drop-in center. Katie beat me there and when I walked in, my jaw dropped. She was sitting on the couch with R. Tears welled up in my eyes and I was absolutely beside myself. After weeks of pursuit, she finally felt like it was time to come in. She had had enough and was reaching out for help. One of our biggest prayers had been that women would just start walking and God would lead them to the center. Well, R had lost the card with our address, started walking and ended up on our porch. YES LORD!! Not even 10 minutes later, M walked through the door. Again, my eyes filled with tears and I welcomed her in! We helped her choose some new clothes from the clothing closet, snacks and hygiene products, and began discussing other available resources, new housing being first and foremost. I drove her home and made plans to pick her up for the next drop-in day. Once I’m back at the drop-in center we noticed a woman walking down the street. [Note: our drop-in center isn’t on the main street where the women work, it’s two blocks back in a residential neighborhood. It’s not a common foot path for the women unless they are specifically coming to see us.] We knew immediately something was wrong, so Rachel and I went after her. We caught up to her and said hello. It was W. Her boyfriend had become abusive, so she grabbed everything she owned and abruptly left. She agreed to come back to the drop-in with us, and we were able to provide her with resources, hear more of her story and talk through next steps.
After two months without a single woman coming through our doors, everything changed. He brought us all three of the women I’d been praying for in one day. God showed me a few things that day:
- He showed me a new level of his faithfulness and brought me into a deeper level of trust and dependence on Him. When it felt like the rug had been pulled out from under me, instead of giving it over to God, I was consumed by the things I felt I couldn’t control. It had me riddled with stress and anxiety instead of the peace and comfort He offers so freely. At the end of the day, I was stressed for nothing! Ugh.
- He showed me that even when I don’t or can’t show up, He will. He always does because that’s who He is. He just gives us the opportunity to partner with Him in those things. Wow.
- God loves those women so much more than I ever could or imagine. They are His daughters. He is their provision, their safety and their comfort, not me.
After that Tuesday, we had over 30 visits to the drop-in center throughout the month of August. Hallelujah! In the last few months, the drop-in has continued to thrive and women are coming in consistently! Leaving Knoxville and the women was one of the hardest goodbyes, but God continues to remind me that He has them in His hands. It was a privilege to partner with Him and the work He is doing through Raising a Voice in Knoxville. I have two more weeks of G42 and am soaking up every last second. What’s next? I’ll be sharing in the next week or two, stay tuned!!
Love from Cleveland Georgia,
Sara
