Flexibility is the Word

It has been a week since I have arrived in Sand Spring to work at the domestic violence women's shelter. Since my arrival, I have mostly been in the kitchen doing odds and ends like cutting vegetables, serving the meal, and putting the food away. When I am not in the kitchen, I am in training in the many policies and procedures of the shelter.

Enough about that kind of stuff, I am ready to tell some of what I have been learning with the women that reside here and what God has been teaching me.

Okay, maybe I am not done talking about my training. As part of my training, I have been reading about the women and the backgrounds they come from. It is truly heartbreaking to read about them being abused. A lady I call Marleigh, has been a victim of human trafficking since she was a young child.Another lady, Kennedy, has children here with her and has such an upbeat personality, but I can't figure out if it is a defensive mechanism or if it is real happiness. (I was taught in training that things may not be as they seem.) Some of these women are so inspiring because they have a child-like faith and are asking a lot of questions so they can further understand who God is. Something I find interesting about these women is they rarely pray for themselves. They will either pray for the staff, their families, and/or their abuser. It is wonderful seeing them going through the process of forgiveness.

As I have been learning about the women and the policies of where I am serving, I have also been developing relationships with the other girls who are serving with me this summer. They too are inspiring. We have been learning where the other struggles in their walk with Christ and how to pray for each other. Because of our transparency, we have become a family and look forward to spending time with everybody in the living room once our duties are complete.

To continue my learning process, I have learned that flexibility is the word of a missionary. I knew this as I was going in, but never realized how important it is. Being a person who doesn't handle change well or follows a schedule for her every move, it's been a challenge to be flexible. Slowly but surely I have seen the benefits of being flexible. Flexibility has allowed me to sleep late on the evenings that I do not sleep well. Like I said, flexibility is great!

Now to go read more policies but before I do, I would like to ask for you to pray for a few things.

• A teammate from GA has a friend who just lost her mother to cancer. 
• Our team as we continue to grow closer together and figuring out how to best serve the guest. 
• And finally, the women that are here and the women that cannot find a way out from their abuse and that they one day might find freedom. 

amgfinding_freedom