Sometimes a vision becomes reality in a way that could only have come from God.
Young women who escape a trafficking situation are often without some of the most basic necessities, such as hygiene items and clothing. One Portland officer shared that he recently rescued a girl from her trafficker, and was forced to put her in a cadet uniform for lack of any other clothing options!
…Actions Need to Start
Sometimes a vision becomes reality in a way that could only have come from God.
Young women who escape a trafficking situation are often without some of the most basic necessities, such as hygiene items and clothing. One Portland officer shared that he recently rescued a girl from her trafficker, and was forced to put her in a cadet uniform for lack of any other clothing options! To meet these needs, Hands of Hope has organized resource drives for items like shampoo, conditioner, comfortable clothing and small gift cards. These resources have already benefitted numerous survivors. There was only one problem: Where to store it all?
Meanwhile, the Adorned in Grace Design Studio was relocating and getting a much needed makeover. While designing what the new studio would look like, they wanted to include a closet that Portland police could access 24/7 and pick up needed supplies for survivors. This would be a huge answer to the storage problem, but came with a question of its own: Who would build it?
It’s amazing how God weaves a story like this together. While volunteering with the Design Studio during a 30 hour famine fundraiser in March, Michael was keeping his eye out for potential Eagle Scout projects. He approached Linda Tribbett, founder of Adorned In Grace, who suggested he take over the design and construction of the closet. In a matter of minutes, longstanding prayers were answered and the resource closet was finally going to become a reality.
Through another enormous, God-orchestrated blessing, Eden Community Church agreed to fund the project and all his needed materials. After three and a half months of discussing important design features, calculating dimensions and receiving official project approval through the Boy Scout council, Michael was finally ready to cut some wood. Compared to the over 100 hours of the planning phase, constructing the closet took only five days of cutting, pounding and transporting. On July 10th, Michael brought the closet to the Design Studio where the final fitting was done and his project was officially installed!
“Honestly the thing I enjoyed most about the project was being able to complete it and realize how faithful God has been in the past 3-4 months,” Michael states. “Finally being able to complete something that will help people and bring them closer to Him is a very rewarding feeling.”
Over the last year, 30 adult trafficked women, 9 sexually exploited children and 10 at risk teens have benefitted from the collaboration of Portland churches and the Abolition Now Hands of Hope ministry. A large portion of this ministry focuses on collecting and distributing the needed resources in order to give these women and children what they really need, hope.
Do you or your church want to get involved in the fight against trafficking by providing more resources to fill up the closet? You can learn more about our Resource Drive here. As Michael says, “where thinking ends, actions need to start. Overall it boils down to one thing, take action. I can say with certainty that no one will get anywhere without taking that first step outside their comfort zone.”
You never know–you might just be another answer to prayer, which God is already weaving into a beautiful story today.
