I’ll Be Back

     I’ve been in Georgia for almost 3 months now.  I go to class, go to work, do my homework, sleep and repeat.  I will be coming home to Illinois soon for a 2-week Christmas break, am not fully funded yet, and so could easily evaluate my time here and decide whether or not to come back for the second half of CGA. 

    After considering it all, I know that my time here in Georgia is not done.  God is really establishing me and preparing me for the ministry roll I have ahead.  I have had some great opportunities this semester, like doing outreach to women caught in trafficking by giving them a rose, a hotline number to get out, and praying for them.  I have also been doing lots of work on my own relationship with the Lord through our classes, chipping away the parts of me that are not of Christ and placing more of my identity in him. 

     I am also very excited for the ministry opportunities I will have next semester.  I will be volunteering with Out of Darkness (a sex trafficking ministry in Atlanta).  I will be on their rescue team, which means when a girl calls their hotline number and wants to get out, a male volunteer and I would go and pick her up.  I will also do jail ministry, which means I will meet with women weekly and if we find that trafficking is a part of their history we will offer them to come to Out of Darkness after they get out.  I am also excited to be going to the Philippines in April to get experience doing trafficking ministry there.

     I hope to go to grad school after CGA for art therapy, or possibly just counseling, to be able to work with women coming out of trafficking as they all deal with complex trauma.  I am building relationships and making lots of connections here in Georgia and hope this gets my foot in the door to start working towards this long term goal.  I’m really enjoying my time here and I might stay here longer than just until the end of CGA in May, we’ll see.

     I have been so incredibly grateful for the overwhelming amount of support from all of you these last 3 years of me taking continuous, new steps of faith.  I hope you’ll stick with me as I finish out this current step called CGA!