He works justice for those who are pressed down by the world, providing food for those who are hungry. He frees those who are imprisoned; He makes the blind see. He lifts up those whose backs are bent in labor; He cherishes those who do what is right. (Psalm 146:7-8) |
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| November 2 Corinthians 5, verses 6 through 8, say: "Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing when we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord--for we walk by faith, not by sight--we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord." One of our residents, Courtney, recently passed away after leaving the Ranch too soon. This newsletter is dedicated to her journey, and to her memory. |
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Courtney was incredibly loved here at the ranch. She was vibrant and full of life. She fought for her future and longed for freedom and true healing. Sometimes, as expressed in a letter written to her grandfather (that he gave us permission to share), that battle feels too big and unobtainable. Sometimes ladies choose to go back to numbing their feelings. Her struggles are so similar to the journey all of our residents must fight through on their way to healing. Below are two of her latest journal entries, one month apart, and then a passage of the letter she wrote to her grandfather. |
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August 27th Journal Entry "Through humility and grace I can say no to ungodly things. I can utilise my testimony for the greater good. Love and choose myself through the pain. Help me be set free to heal and feel, and not enslaved to trials and tribulations. God, please move in me Lord. Help me be soulful, strong, resilient and courageous." |
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| September 28th Journal Entry "God, I'm filled with so much pain right now. I need your guidance on how to live and not give up on myself. How to love who I am and not feel guilty about enjoying life. Please help my heart be where it needs to be and experience life the way it needs to be. I wanna be happy and whole." |
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Letter to Her Grandfather “In writing this, I want you to know my struggles. I am struggling with everything that has happened to me. Almost in denial that I’ve been tortured for so long. I don’t want to believe it, because it makes it real and too true of a story. I am just now finding my way and I still want to be numb, because the pain I’ve endured, things I’ve seen and I’ve fought are beyond what any human has suffered. However, I want to be whole again, but I can’t do that unless I go back into that pain.” |
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Courtney was vivacious and loved by the other residents. My oldest daughter, Jordyn, had formed a close bond with her. We were heartbroken when she decided to leave the ranch and devastated when we learned that a drug overdose had killed her. Courtney's grandmother shared this with us after her death: "She was tormented with anger and latching on to dangerous people most of her life. It was so sweet to talk with her when she was with you [at the Ranch]. That was the [most] joyous we had seen her in years. She's not tormented, angry or latching on to dangerous people now. I really can go to bed at night (like I did when she was at Blazing Hope) grateful she's in a very safe place." |
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Ultimately, Courtney's wish for healing and freedom came true but not in the way we expected. We choose to remember her jumping and running with the baby goats, walking around the ranch with a laugh bigger than life, dancing outside the van waiting for the rest of us, and caring and supporting the journey of those around her. We are better because of her. She will be missed. |
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| Fulfill A Christmas Wish We have Amazon Christmas gift lists for our ladies. If your small group would like to adopt a resident and give her a gift of encouragement please reply to this email and we will send you a link with a gift list for one of our residents. If you choose to adopt a resident's list, please commit to having all items arrive at the ranch by no later than December 15th! |
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Answered Prayer: Thank the Lord for the many volunteers that have been doing work on the ranch, including in particular three women who have been showing up consistently to help with the horse mentoring. (More about them in a future issue!) |
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Please pray for Jordyn and my other children as they deal with the death of a beloved resident. Please pray for our ladies during the Holiday season. This is an especially hard time for them, as they were close to Courtney, too. Pray that they can begin to form new, happier memories around the holidays, and pray that they will choose to stay the course. Please also pray that someone would be led to help us meet a recent expense. We were generously gifted a dryer, but it died and we were forced to purchase a new one. People can donate by clicking on this link or on the "Donate" button below. |
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Help us in our mission! Would you be willing to give up one or more coffees each month to support us? Join our "Freedom Wranglers" by clicking on the Donate button to support the important work we do to restore wholeness to female survivors of human trafficking, and to weaken the sex trade through the power of Christ. Your monthly donation of as little as $10 per month can help a resident begin a new life. Do you have a friend (or friends) who would also be willing to pray for us? If so, please forward this email to them or post this email on your social media account. Want to read a past newsletter? You can find them all here. Finally, let us know what you think (and please feel free to unsubscribe using the link below if you don't want future newsletters). We'll look forward to hearing from you! |
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Sex-trafficking victims seek improvements to court defense |
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