raising support for my next adventure

As you all know, it has been a great year volunteering with the Beautiful Dream Society in Lesotho, Africa. Beautiful Dream Society is an anti-trafficking organization with four ‘arms’- Prevention (we do advocacy and awareness events with vulnerable populations, direct service professionals, and law enforcement, amongst others), Prosecution (we provide legal assistance and support, including preparing victims for the court process), Protection (we have a crisis care shelter and transition home where we provide comprehensive care for victims rescued out of human trafficking), and Partnerships (we network with the local government, Non-Governmental Organizations, Hospitals, etc. in order to provide optimal services for our residents).

During 2012, I have been the Program Director for BDS and I was responsible for overseeing and running the Protection arm of the organization. I get to work with the residents on a daily basis, oversee the staff and resident schedules, and mentor the house moms that staff the shelter 24/7. It has been an amazing opportunity and I have learned so much about managing people, social working, and overcoming challenges such as language barriers and cross-cultural issues in counseling. Here is a brief account of what I consider to be the top 5 things that I have been able to accomplish in the past year:

-I have had the privilege of counseling 8 victims of human trafficking on a weekly basis. I usually get to begin counseling them immediately after rescue through their time in our transition program- usually a 6-12 month process.

-I was blessed to be able to counsel several children who were victims of sexual assault or abuse through BDS as well as through the Child/Gender Protection Unit of the Lesotho police.

-I wrote and implemented an art therapy based Trauma Aftercare Curriculum to be used in our 12 week Crisis Care Program. I have also trained several of our house moms to administer the program in my absence, should I be called back to the U.S. at any point.

-I helped design the Hand of Hope Transformation Center Program and have overseen its execution.

-I have presented counseling techniques, case studies, and defined human trafficking to hundreds of direct service professionals here in Southern Africa. I have finally conquered my fear of public speaking!

It has been an amazing and productive year, but there are still several things that I hope to accomplish before my time with BDS is up. Therefore, I will be returning 10 January 2013 for another 6-12 months in order to complete the following goals:

-I hope to design and implement an Equine Assisted Psychotherapy program for our residents; I have had some training in this back in the States, and I completed an externship as well. It is one of the MOST effective treatment strategies for victims of trauma. I have found a nearby riding stable that is willing to donate ring space and horses for us to make this happen!

-We received a grant from Oral Roberts University to create a therapy space on both of our properties; we should receive the money in January 2013 and I hope to be here to design the space and see the project through to completion.

-I would like to create a more comprehensive outpatient program for victims of trafficking that chose to go directly home to their families rather than coming to the shelter, as well as for victims of sexual assault and abuse. It is our vision to open a ‘skills training facility’ in 2013 that offers counseling and life and work skills training on an outpatient basis.

-We want to expand our prevention and advocacy services regionally into South Africa, with the potential opening of an additional shelter in either Capetown or Durban in the next 1-3 years.

This next year I would especially appreciate prayer, but I also need financial support as I am here solely on a volunteer basis. Please prayerfully consider supporting me financially as I try to raise $16,000 in order to cover my living and travel expenses, health insurance, and student loans. I have listed specific support opportunities below. If you want to help support my trip financially you can contribute with a one time donation or monthly support via Beautiful Dream Society’s website (http://www.beautifuldream.tv/give) and be sure to indicate my name in the ‘notes’ section of the online donation form. You may send checks, with my name on the memo line, to:

Beautiful Dream Society

P.O. Box 32554


Oklahoma City, OK  73123
USA

 I will also be keeping a blog, karininafrica.blogspot.com, where you can keep up to date on the work that we are doing as well as linking to prayer needs, photos, and my support link. Thank you so much for your prayers and support, I could not do this without the encouragement of my amazing family and friends!

God Bless,

Karin

This year I need to raise about $16,000, due to my student loans coming out of deferment and a potential shift in my housing. Please be praying about financially supporting me during my second stint here in Lesotho!

Here are some specific needs that you can meet financially in the coming year (projections are based on my staying for 12 months, I have committed to 6 months with the possibility of staying on if my finances allow it):

International Health Insurance; in the event that I am in an accident or need any type of medical care, this insurance covers me in Lesotho and South Africa- $650

Plane Ticket; I will need to purchase airfare to come home next summer for a brief furlough and to be in my best friend’s wedding: $2,000

Gym Membership; there is not a whole lot that is ‘normal’ about my life here, but we do have a gym, and it is my main source of stress relief!: $40 per month/$480 total

Student Loan Payment; I am very blessed to be able to be here in Africa and gain amazing experience- but I am still paying off my graduate school loans: $100 per month/$1200 total

License Renewal; in order to maintain my status as a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, I have to renew it in March: $120

Rent; while I love my BDS team here, it has been a really tough year to live where you work with all of your co-workers. I think that it is in my best interest to live off-site this next year so that I can avoid burn-out and do my job to the best of my ability: $250 per month/$3000 total

Groceries; I do need to eat!: $150 per month/$1800 total

Car; this is a big ‘wish’ on my end- Beautiful Dream Society has a limited number of cars for a lot of staff/residents/volunteers. If I am able to afford to live off-site, I would need a vehicle to get back and forth to work, as it is not safe to take taxi’s after dark and I generally work into the evenings: $3,500.

Extra Expenses; gas, transport money, program supplies, spending money (I should note that whenever you ask someone to hang out, it is cultural that you pay for everything- volunteering makes it very hard to have friends!), etc.: $200 per month/$2400 total

time flies when you're having adventures.

It is hard to believe that I have been in this beautiful country for nearly a year! I head home in a week and a half, and I cannot WAIT to see my family and friends! I do have plans to return to Lesotho for another 6-12 months, if my finances permit it, so the good-byes to my residents, friends, and 'Lesotho family' will not be too hard this time around :o) 

In BDS news, we got a new resident a few weeks ago- she has had an extensive trauma history, but she is safe now and is settling right in at the shelter. We are excited to help her finish her diploma in computer studies as well as teaching her life skills such as budgeting, meal planning, and cooking. I am really enjoying my time counseling her, and I have to admit that I am sad to leave so soon into my time with her, even if it is just for a month! I have been training a few of our house moms in art therapy, and I wrote a manual for them to follow, so she will still be able to work through some of the effects of the trauma with them while I am away. Plus, we have Skype so I will still be available to touch base with her and our house moms- praise the Lord for technology!!

Please be praying for our new resident- that she will know the redemption that she seeks and that she will continue to heal from a difficult and damaging past. Pray for our two transition residents who are in college as they prepare for exams, and another transition resident who has begun interning at a local orphanage's clinic in order to pursue her dream of becoming a nurse. And, as always, keep all of our other girls in your prayers as well :o) As for me, I need prayer for discernment- I feel strongly that I am to return to Lesotho in January, but I need a. funding and b. a home for Charlie (my horse) for the next year. Please pray that if I am supposed to be here that these things will be provided. Thank you so much for your prayers and support- hopefully I will see many of you when I am home in less than two weeks!

There are so many things to be thankful for on this adventure...

Over the past few weeks, I have taken some time to reflect on how thankful I am. I am thankful to be living the dream in Africa. I am thankful for my family back home who support me in my pursuing of my dreams, goals, and callings. I am thankful for my residents and the ways in which they stretch me and teach me. I am thankful for my team here on the ground; that they encourage me, challenge me, and love me. I am thankful for the opportunity to start new things and watch them grow. I am thankful for those who support me so that I can be here and do this work. I am thankful for the God who sustains me, through times of joy and times of suffering. I am so incredibly thankful.

Some other updates that I am very thankful for:

-We got the funding to send our girls to college! Last week we registered them for classes, and they began school this week. They are incredibly excited and grateful, and I count it as a huge blessing that we got to be a part of helping them achieve their dreams.

-We will be starting equine therapy with some of our residents. I began studying this back in the States and I am excited to utilize this innovative technique to help our girls process the trauma they experienced in a safe and non-threatening way.

-We were awarded a grant from Oral Roberts University that will allow me to create an art therapy space on our two shelter properties; this will allow me more privacy when counseling and it opens up an opportunity for me to develop our outpatient counseling program!

-Our income generating projects are taking off, and each one of our residents is on their way to having a sustainable source of income! They have started ‘the giraffe project’ making stuffed giraffes out of traditional African fabric, and we have lots of great ideas for future projects that will help them earn a living for themselves and for their children.

My time here in Lesotho has flown by, and I am grateful that I have the opportunity to come back for another 6-12 months in 2013. For those of you who do not yet know, I will be back in the States from December 10^th until January 10^th- I look forward to spending time with my family and friends and getting some much needed rest! As of right now, I am not sure where God will have me in the next year or so… I am just trying to be obedient and go where I am needed. Please pray for me- that I would have discernment about where I am supposed to be and what I am supposed to do. I will need to raise support for my second stint here, so please pray that God opens the right doors and that my needs will be met. Most of all, pray that I will be still and not allow myself to be anxious about the future. Pray that I will stay the course and remain in this season of thankfulness, and continue to experience all that God has for me right here, right now. I am very thankful for your prayers, they have been felt over here on the other side of the world :o) 

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with THANKFULNESS.

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ."

~Colossians 2:6-8

An adventure in honor

I have been learning a lot about honor lately. I grew up knowing that I should honor my mother and father. To this day I hold to this as a single woman. When I decided to come to Africa, I sought guidance from both of my parents. I am lucky, because they recognize that I am an adult that they have raised well. They trust me; they know that they have instilled good values in me. They have taught me to love the Lord, and to walk by faith and not by sight. While they were not thrilled about me moving to a third world country halfway around the world, they knew that they had to hold me in an open hand and let me go. They prayed for me and with me, and they gave me their blessing.

In this new season of my life, I have been learning about honoring my boss and my co-workers. It is easy to honor my parents. They have raised me, loved me, and encouraged me. Honoring people that I do not know well is more difficult, but God calls us to honor those who he puts in authority. I am blessed with a wonderful director here who invests in me personally, professionally, and spiritually. She makes it easy to honor her. I know that I will not always be called to honor someone that makes it easy, but I know that I will always be called to be obedient. I am learning to honor the other missionaries that I live with, our local volunteers, our residents and a bevy of new friends here in Lesotho. I am being stretched and challenged, and it is GOOD. As I learn to honor the people that God has placed around me, I know that I will learn to honor Him better also. As my time here progresses, I am changing, learning, growing. I will be very different when I come home, and I would not have it any other way!

Please continue to pray for our residents. We are still waiting on funding for our two girls who want to go to college. Pray for favor as I hopefully get a chance to meet with the Vice Chancellor of the National University of Lesotho; I am going to ask for scholarships for our girls and for them to be given local tuition rates rather than international rates. Please pray for another of our residents who is struggling with her plans for the future and grappling with the question of raising her baby on her own or putting him up for adoption. Pray that she will feel loved, supported, and encouraged. Pray for me, that I will continue to grow in my role as a leader here, that I will get better and better at loving others, confronting issues, and seeking wisdom and discernment when decisions need to be made :o)

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “HONOR your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— “that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.””

~Ephesians 6:1-3

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

Lions and giraffes and elephants... oh my! Time for a cousin adventure!

This past month I was blessed with a much needed visit from my cousin, Ben. As I talked about in my last post, I have been struggling with homesickness- along with compassion fatigue and feeling a bit burned out since I do not have my usual 'self-care' methods: horseback riding, girls nights out, game nights at friends, the young adults group at church... So a visit from one of my favorite cousins came at just the right time! It was wonderful to meet up with him in Johannesburg and get to go on a safari and to the Lion Park. Oh, and big THANK YOU! to my aunt Rose and uncle Roy for treating us to a fantastic sushi dinner. Sushi is my favorite, and I was not sure how I would last a whole 5 months more without it :o) Many adventures were had, and I came back home to Lesotho with lots of stories- it finally felt like I was living in Africa!! The trip also helped me to realize how important it is for me to monitor my time off and make sure that I do things that relax and restore me... I am much more useful in my job here if I am energized and enthusiastic! Here are a few snapshots of our trip:

The cousin adventure begins!!

Oh, you know, just some elephants in the road...

Rwar!!

As far as things with Beautiful Dream are going, things are busy but good! Our Africa director is transitioning into a role based more in the States, since her daughter and husband have to be there for school and work reasons, respectively. This leaves Cristen, our assistant director, and myself with a lot of responsibility. It is exciting and intimidating all at the same time :o) Please pray that I am able to step up and meet these responsibilities with vivacity, and that God gives us all grace in this time of transition. I also need prayer for my finances; I raised 60% of my needed support for the year, and now that I am nearly 7 months in I really need that last 40%! Other than that, please continue to pray for our residents in the midst of court cases, all of the cases are dragging out and we have not seen one end since January. Yikes! But our residents are strong, steadfast in the Truth, and they feel encouraged and supported. Praise God for His unending grace, it is present here more than ever! 

"The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters,
He restores my soul."


~Psalm 23: 1-3