esperanza

it has been too long since i updated last...too long!

i have some really cool news i've been holding on to for a while :) God has set some crazy opportunities before me in the past months since i have been back in the states. when i left the DR, my heart stayed there, and i've been thinking about what it might look like to live and do ministry there ever since. my good friend heather who i worked with in the dominican this summer has been given a vision of hope for women and children in the DR who are trapped in either sex-trafficking, prostitution, or abusive situations. all summer we talked and dreamed about a safe-house for women in the tourist areas of the DR, but didn't really think it would become a reality for at least another few years. we found out that God's plan was better than ours :) since i left the DR, everything has been falling into place for us to start working on this dream now.

so long story short, ever since we felt God pushing us to start doing something, things have fallen into place relatively quickly. already He has put people in our path who are willing to devote themselves to this ministry with us! we are working on a lot of ways to raise funds and raise awareness, and we are even figuring out how to start our own nonprofit called esperanza vision (esperanza is "hope" in spanish). if you know heather and i, we are definitely not naturals at this, but i've just been seeing more and more how beautiful it is the things God calls us to do; things we would never think of on our own, and things that we could never do on our own - not without Him :) God is so faithful and things are moving along in his perfect timing. even when i doubt that i can be of any help to this project, God shows himself in crazy ways :)

the plan right now is to move to the DR sometime after i graduate! then we will go from there. this will most likely be a long process but i am nothing less than pumped to see what God does!

i will post more on this as time goes on, but for now if you want to know more, click here. heather's blog has tons of info :)

"O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago." -isaiah 25:1