We are going to keep on saying yes – in spite of our circumstances!
“We interviewed a new girl today. Her mother ran away when she was a baby and her father recently remarried. She has 2 sisters and 1 brother. Her sisters are married. When her father remarried he left her and her brother alone to care for themselves! She was sold in the village just so she could eat. She has no relatives that wanted to help her. There was a rape case that actually went to court. Her school teacher brought her to Courage’s staff thinking she may find a home with us… she is 11 years old. We are full at Courage House but after interviewing her our staff wants to accept her. Can we?”
— Courage House Tanzania Home Administrator
“Yes!”
“Last month we let you know about a sister of one of our girls at Courage House. She has had a really good month with us and the sisters are so happy together. When they went home for their family visit they realized their youngest sister was also being trafficked and exploited in the same way they were. Again, we don’t have any space at Courage House but the sisters are begging for her to come “home”. She is 8 years old. Can we bring her home? We’ll figure out the space issue.”
— Courage House Tanzania Home Administrator
“Yes!”
We have a pattern at Courage Worldwide: we say yes to girls BEFORE we have beds, clothes, food, space, staff or resources! Some call this faith and some call it crazy… it is probably a little of both. At least there are others who have done the same. Abraham and Indiana Jones. If you are my age, you may remember the Indiana Jones movies. There is one where Indy is following a treasure map where he encounters a dead end where the map shows a bridge. He is standing on the ledge of a high mountain, looking at the map and contemplating his circumstances. His circumstances show no hope – just a cliff and certain death. The map shows a way across. Indy trusts what he cannot see. He takes a step into the unknown and when he does, the bridge appears beneath his feet. Abraham’s story is published in the Bible. God promised him a son from his own body and as he approached 100 years old, he had not gotten his wife pregnant.
“Against all hope, Abraham believed … without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead – since he was about a hundred years old and Sarah’s womb was dead. YET he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, BUT was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being FULLY persuaded that God had the power to do what was promised.” (Romans 4:18-22)
Abraham looked at his circumstances through the lens of hope; believing in something he could not see but was promised.
It is difficult to believe for much of anything these days if we only look at our circumstances or listen to the news media. Pandemic. Racial tensions. High unemployment. Divided parties. Unprovoked killings. The circumstances are very real. Our world seems unrecognizable right now and experiencing an enormous lack of hope.
We at Courage Worldwide are not immune to this struggle. For us, our “circumstances” look like, a lack of funding to cover monthly expenses of the 43 girls and young women (plus their children) we educate and care for 24 hours a day – 7 days a week, a shortage of space for new girls, a need to hire additional staff and teachers and the most difficult of all; more young victims of this hideous crime than we have room for.
We don’t deny the reality of these circumstances. However, we do refuse to let them steal our faith or our hope. We refuse to give them the power to paralyze or discourage us. Like Abraham in the verse from above, we look at our circumstances through the lens of hope. While we acknowledge them, we don’t let the facts cause us to waiver in our faith. Because our faith is not in ourselves and our hope is not based upon changing circumstances. We believe we have a divine calling to build homes around the world for young victims of sex trafficking and to call them family. We believe this call is from God and we are fully persuaded that He has the power to do what He has promised, in spite of our circumstances and the world right now. Like Indiana Jones, we step forward in faith when we don’t see the way. That is why we keep on saying “yes” to a child who has experienced rape, torture, abuse, hunger and sexual exploitation… in spite of our circumstances.
We are going to keep saying yes. Will you join us? Today is World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. One of the ways you can join in this movement is giving support to victims and raising awareness in your own communities. Thank you for your prayerful consideration and for all you have done in helping us change the world one individual at a time.
Sincerely,
Jenny Williamson, Founder/CEO
P.S. We also take checks! You can mail your donation to 3031 Stanford Ranch Rd., Suite 2, #339, Rocklin, CA 95765
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