dunamis. our current ministry. a non profit organization for underage girls who have been rescued from sex trafficking and abuse.
the rescued girls stay in a house on the property called casa de zoe. there they are cared for by a caretaker, nurse and psycologist. the girls learn how to take care of themselves and prepare for life beyond casa de zoe while also recovering from past trauma. most importantly, these girls are learning how to meet the Lord through anything and everything. and its beautiful.
so what exactly does ministry look like at dunamis?
there’s a couple different parts to it.
each day, three girls from our squad have the opportunity to work in the safe house with the girls. they help prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner for all of us. during the day, they help out in any way they can. sometimes it looks like just sitting a being a presence in the house, sometimes it’s worshiping with them, other times running around outside just being kids with them.
these girls have been through so much but are so dang joyful. they want to be tickled and to tickle us, they want to be hugged, they want to jump on the trampoline, they want to learn english, and they want to teach us spanish.
girls half my age have been through more in their lives than i could ever imagine. we learned that because of the pandemia, many of the girls aren’t sold into brothels (prostitution is legal in ecuador), but instead are being abused in their own homes. which means that often, the parents of these young girls are selling them for sex in their own homes. their safe place.
oh Lord, you have broken my heart again.
the second part of ministry is being in the greenhouse. since dunamis is a nonprofit, they need funds in order to provide for the girls and keep the ministry running. apart from donations from supporters, which isn’t much, dunamis sells tomatoes. so we are tomato farmers!! the greenhouse at dunamis has around 8,000 tomato plants. over the last few days, you could say i have mastered the art of tending to tomatoes…(just kidding, i think i still have a lot to learn before starting my own tomato greenhouse). however, i have learned a lot about taking care of tomatoes.
we have spent time trimming the dead branches off of the plants, taking the bad bacteria that kills the plants off, we have harvested the tomatoes, and sorted them. it seems like really mundane and boring work, but i kinda love it. i can’t tell you how many times i stop and think, “how did a girl from wisconsin end up in a tomato greenhouse, harvesting and taking care of tomatoes, listening to the laughs of all the girls, in the mountains ecuador, in the middle of march?” the only answer i have for you, is God. thank you Father for meeting me literally everywhere, from the city to the mountains.
being back in the country has reminded me a lot of home. there’s no sirens or cars passing by, no street lamps or “hurry up”. instead the sound of birds and the sound of quiet. the stars & moon and a “relaxed” feeling. multitudes of trees and animals. i love it. we are currently at about 11,000 ft altitude in the mountains-so literally walking up and down the hill in the greenhouse is enough for a workout (lol). it’s kinda wild because we are living in a cloud. half of the day, i can see the rolling hills surrounding us and all the houses and farms. the other half of the day, a thick cloud comes in and i’m reminded that i’m not just in the country of wisconsin looking at the farms, but i’m in ecuador living on a mountain.
Abba, i pray protection over each of these girls. i pray that the love they have grown for each other can grow even more for you. cover each of them with a blanket of peace and happiness. thank you for the people who make dunamis the organization that it is. thank you for their dedication day after day, to the girls, the animals and the tomatoes. continue to soften my heart Lord, to the people who hurt these girls and for the frustration that creeps into my heart. soften my heart until those feelings have no place in my body.
the song “highlands” by hillsong has been running through my head constantly since being here. highly recommend listening to it!!
mucho amor,
julia
