FRIENDS AND FAMILY! Last Friday, I had a Beauty for Ashes retreat and it was absolutely mind-blowing. There were over 50 women there and I was only expecting about 10 to come. I was on the verge of tears the entire night. I was in awe of God.
For those of you that don’t know, Beauty for Ashes is the women’s ministry for Adventures in Missions. The goal is to empower women by bringing restoration, hope, and healing to suffering and victimized women through ministry and training. It’s incredible.
The night started off with God telling me not to rely on the schedule I had so precisely made. He told me the only thing I could rely on was His presence. You would think I would have just stopped in my tracks and had a panic attack, but God’s presence is all you need no matter if it’s a huge event or just in your everyday life.
With that said, God was spot on as usual. The night was supposed to start at 5pm and we didn’t get started until 8pm which is when it was supposed to end. It all worked out, though! We got to mingle longer and sing a few extra worship songs while we waited. My golden heart of a friend, Stella, stood at the front of the room just belting every worship song she knew to kill time. I’ll never forget it. Women were showing up left and right and I was freaking out. I was jumping up and down and had no idea how to contain my excitement, so I didn’t. I never questioned God’s provision, but I didn’t know it was going to be that good. Shame on me for that. I never want to stop being astonished by the amount of love God pours out.
Once the event started and we were about 10 minutes into everything. The dance performance was over, my intro speech was over, and it was time for the first activity. The moment I released the activity – the power went out. It was pitch black in this church. You could barely see the chairs right in front of you. I just laughed because Satan was trying to destroy this night because he KNEW something big was going to happen. It was firing me up instead of breaking me down and allowing it to frustrate me.
After the power went out we were GOOD. This night started to cruise and run smoothly. Just about 3 hours later than expected. I like God’s plan better anyway.
I so badly wish I could tell you every amazing thing that the Lord did, but out of respect for the women – I can’t go into detail. Just know that God MOVED. Women were opening up about things that haven’t been able to share in years or ever. There were a ton of tears, but more smiles and lots of freedom. I have full faith God will keep doing huge things in Mokhotlong, Lesotho. He is sprinting after these women. I’m also so so thankful for the women on my squad who helped me throw it all together. I want more nights like this one for the rest of my life.
xx Mace
