I’ve lived the majority of my life in Florida, the sunshine state. I’ve never seen snow and about 80% of my Christmases were spent in shorts and flip-flops. Beyond that I have spent the last year of my life chasing summer around the globe. Fall has arrived here in Georgia but it feels more like winter to me.
But now the Lord is calling me into a new and different season.
I’m going to Wisconsin in winter. My flip flops will be obsolete and I’ll be learning the difference between snow shoes and snow boots because as my northern roommates informed me they are not the same thing!
If you have kept up with my blog you have heard me talk about my plan to go to the Philippines next year. If you missed that announcement check out this blog.
I will be working with Adventures in Missions in partnership with Wipe Every Tear and Bella Goose in the Philippines.
I want to give you a little bit of an idea of what that means.
Wipe Every Tear is an organization that exists to bring freedom and hope to women being trafficked in the sex trade.
Bella Goose is a Wisconsin-based coffee shop that seeks to serve the very best coffee and scones while creating a space for people to experience the Father and His love. And they have a desire to bring this to the darkness of Angeles City in the Philippines.
Angeles City is a city a few hours outside of Manila. If you google this city what you will find is photo upon photo of bars and women dressed in very little clothing. They are the reason people travel to Angeles City. Men go to Angeles City to exploit these women, but we, Adventures in Missions, Wipe Every Tear, and Bella Goose go to bring hope, life, and love. We go to show these women that they are beautiful, they are loved, they are purposefully created, and that they are worth it.
Bella Goose is taking their coffee shop to the heart of this city to be a light and a hope. The vision is to be able to love and minister to the girls working in the bars, but also to the men. It is easy to look at this situation and to be angry at the men who use and abuse these women but the reality is that they are lonely and seeking intimacy in the way they know how. Bella Goose wants to meet all of these people where they are, to show them they are not too far gone, that they have worth and value, and that they are loved.
I am going to be a part of the team that helps to create and begin Bella Goose in the Philippines. To be able to have a more accurate idea of what this will look like I will be spending a few months in the Wisconsin Dells beginning in March. I’ll be training in their coffee shop and gaining a better understanding of their heart and vision for Bella Goose in the Philippines. All while finally getting to see snow!
