On July 1, we transitioned into the new safehouse. The safehouses rotate every month to keep the location a secret for the safety of the women. We tried out a new model with house PARENTS instead of a house mom only, and it has succeeded tremendously! The house is beautiful, and the women have loved it so far. We have had our share of transitional struggles, but it has been a success; praise the Lord!
Up until this weekend, we had room for 6 women at a time at Solomon House. All of our overflow women went to another house in Atlanta. It fits 12 women.
On Friday, our doors exploded with rescues. During the day, we had around 8 calls for women wanting to come out of the life of trafficking and into a life of freedom! Praise the Lord! However, we only had 2 beds open. So we made some calls, found host homes for the women with children, and filled our beds. There were still 2 girls left at the end of the day, so we scheduled rescues for them on Saturday morning and spent the evening setting up new beds in a spare room downstairs.
We are now over capacity with 8 girls in the Solomon House! Praise the Lord for this!
...but it gets better!
I spent the evening that night (Friday) with a team from Out of Darkness in one of the worst parts of the city of Atlanta. We started out with 4 dozen roses and drove around the area praying. When we saw a woman on the streets, we got out of the van, handed her a rose and a handwritten card (with our rescue hotline strategically placed inside), prayed with her, and continued on our way. We talked to a few women and prayed for several hours.
It was a special time for me to see a place in our own country where trafficking is actually happening. Instead of leaving depressed with the conditions of that area, I left with the hope that these women have seen the light of Jesus through our outreach. The Out of Darkness vans cruise that area every Friday night of the year.
I spent time with the women at Solomon House all weekend. For the first time in my two months here, I truly felt connected with all eight women here.
It was a time of chaos with the fullness of the house, but many laughs and tears were shared. We had sweet prayer time, and many of the women rededicated their lives to Christ. Two women were saved for the first time, and last night, I had the privilege of witnessing 5 of them die to their new lives and proclaim their faith in baptism.
Around 4 AM this morning, I started on a journey with a woman from Fort Mill. She is living proof that yes, trafficking does happen even in our own towns.
This beautiful woman gave her life to Jesus, and I had the privilege of seeing her baptized last night!
She has been accepted to a long-term program in Kentucky. She has three beautiful kids, and she will be at her new program for the next several months. She has asked for me to be her mentor when she returns to Fort Mill.
This woman is still on the road to recovery from addiction and trauma, but she is motivated by her new relationship with Christ to go through her recovery and return home to be a Godly woman for her kids. I am so excited to be a part of her journey!
We left for the city early this morning and prayed and worshipped together until her bus left the station around 7:30. She is now safely at her new program!
Thank you for your prayers!
I can't believe that I am now in the single digits of days I have left in Atlanta. This summer has been a journey I will never forget. It has been trying and hard, but God has been victorious.
Please pray for:
--Our Fort Mill sister as she starts her recovery!
--Continued safety for me while driving.
--The Atlanta Dream Center and Out of Darkness as we battle discouragement from many outside sources. Pray for doors to open in long term programs for our girls. We have had several difficult cases in the last week!
--My personal health as I have had a virus for the last week.
