An adventure where dreams come true

It has been a very exciting week here at Beautiful Dream Society! I found out that two of our residents who are moving into our transition program got accepted into the National University of Lesotho; it is a HUGE deal, as admission is really competitive. This is a particularly redemptive event because these two girls were trafficked to Lesotho from another African country on the premise that their trafficker (who was a friend of the family) was going to put them through college. However, when they arrived here, they were locked up without food or money for weeks on end. When they came to the crisis care shelter, I did a lot of art therapy with the girls in order to help them heal from the trauma and move forward with their lives. Every time the topic of hopes, dreams, and goals came up, all the girls could talk about was wanting to go to college and have careers. This past week I got the privilege of telling the girls that one of their dreams had come true and that they were well on their way to achieving their goals. I believe in these girls and I am so incredibly proud of them and excited for their bright futures! 

One obstacle that we face is the cost of education for these girls- it costs about $4,000 per girl per year in tuition with about $2,000 a year per girl for room and board. If you are at all interested in helping fund their education, please contact our director, Sonya Martinez, at sonya.martinez@beautifuldream.tv :o) 

As far as my life here in Lesotho, another one of my dreams has been realized this week aswell. I have found a riding stable! I have made friends with an English family who I trail ride with on some Saturday mornings just across the Lesotho border in South Africa, but last weekend they introduced me to the owner of a nearby riding school. I went out and took a lesson with her this past Friday, and she was quite impressed with my skill level and has asked me to come out once or twice a week and help her with some of her young horses. She has also asked me to consider going to a competition in October, as she thinks it will be good experience for me and then I could help her with some of her horses and students. I am thrilled to have found a place where I can do what I love, even on the other side of the world! 

It has been such a wonderful week. Please pray for our residents; pray for the funding to come in for the girls' education, pray for our transition residents who are seeking work, and pray for our future residents who will be entrusted into our care in the coming months. I am so incredibly blessed to be here, and I feel so lucky to be a part of these girls' lives. Please pray that God will use me and that I will walk daily in His will. 

'"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a HOPE and a FUTURE."'

~Jeremiah 29:11

Sometimes, adventures can be really hard.

Sometimes, living in a third world country can be tough. Other times, it's just really hard. Being here in Lesotho has stretched me, challenged me, and grown me more than I ever thought possible. I am not the same person that I was when I arrived here back in January. 

I have learned to love people who have been through extreme hurt and suffering. My heart breaks for their brokenness. I have learned to surrender the important stuff to God. He is the ultimate healer- of my residents, my friends, and myself. I have been hugely blessed to have been raised in a family that loves the Lord, with parents and a sister who tell me that they love me all the time and who pray for me daily. They have made me resilient, strong, and able to love. Many of the people that I love most here have not had that privilege. Throughout the past 7 months, I have learned how to love the broken, show grace to the wounded, and lean on the hope that I have in Christ more than I ever have before. The learning curve is huge, but God is faithful and His grace abounds in this place.

I have learned what it means to sacrifice. To lay down everything that I love to follow my calling to a place where luxuries are small, suffering is great, and familiar faces are few. There has been so much grace; I miss my friends and family more than I can put into words, but my team here is amazing, and they love, encourage and support me. Although there are sometimes national diet coke shortages, I do not go thirsty. And I get to see healing through the suffering; such awe-inspiring, beautiful healing. God never promises us that His plan will be easy, just that it will be GOOD. 

My journey is fulfilling. My path is straight. My hope is strong. My God is great. My life is good. It is hard sometimes, but it is good :o) 

"Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men, for He satisfies the thirsty and and fills the hungry with GOOD THINGS."

~Psalm 107: 8-9