Being a Banner of Jesus

This fourth of July weekend, I was blessed with a trip to Davis, CA to visit some very special people.
I visited my "spiritual family" from college. They took me in when I was in a very rough patch in life. I spewed anger and threw fits in incredible states of brokenness but they never gave up on me. They knew the love of Jesus and a stable family was the only thing that could restore me.

No matter where I am with them, I can call it home. They have relentlessly pointed me to Jesus the past four years with every aspect of their lives. How they discipline their children, how they react to conflict, how they spend their time, what food they eat, how they live out their daily-life tasks with loving endurance (three young kids can be a handful)...

I always see Jesus when I am with them.

And I hope I can do the same in my life. I want to live as passionately and missionally as they do. I hope to be a bright, shining banner leading women to Christ with my time here at Magdalene Hope. If I fail at everything else but still show these women Christ, then I have succeeded.
Nothing else matters in this life because the glory doesn't go to me.

Our time here is short so lets live it the way Jesus commanded.
This is how lives get transformed. This is how hearts get softened.
Be a bright, shining banner leading others to Jesus!

"So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." -John 13:34-35

Weeds and Truth

"Why do you always have to be right Annie?"

I heard these words again today and I had to cringe.
Many of my friends have said this to me, usually right after I corrected their bad decision or told them a fact about something they didn't know before. I like to coach people. I like to counsel people in making wise decisions when it comes to exercise, spending money, and other daily life decisions. I thought this would be a good trait now that part of my job with Magdalene Hope is to help people grow and realize their true potential....

But sometimes I feel like I overstep my bounds. God has put this topic on my heart all day long. I've been meditating on my actions of the past and present and this is what I feel like I should say:
I am so so so deeply sorry if I have ever made you upset by pushing you to change or to make a different decision in your life. I promise you, every time I do that...it is out of complete love for you. I have never been good at showing my emotional feelings for people. My love comes out in truth-and-logic-oriented motivation to change.
I see so much beauty inside every single one of you and I want to be a catalyst to bring out that beauty.

I've been on my hands and knees in the dirt and rocks, pulling weeds for hours, while thinking and thinking of my actions. And I am almost ashamed of myself. I have been so hard on my friends. The more I care about them, the harder I am! I pushed and pushed my friends and significant others to be more. And I ask myself if this is why so many of my relationships fail.

I should have showed you love.

I need you to understand my heart. I've been pulling weeds until my fingers are rubbed raw all day because  this yard-job should be done right. I don't want to cover up the weeds with mulch and call it a day. I know how beautiful this yard can be and I cannot rest until it comes into fruition. And that is how I am in my relationships. I don't want to see you "just get by", I want to see you shine!

So I want to apologize for being overly motivated, overly truthful, and intense. I want to work on showing grace and love to those around me. Thank you for putting up with me and showing me grace. If you know me, please help me grow by telling me the answers to these questions:

Have I shown you grace and love? Have I been harsh or overly truthful to you? If it has ever felt like I "always had to be right", what would you like to see me do instead?

Thank you so much!

The Great California Adventure

If someone told me 5 years ago that I would be director of an organization like Magdalene Hope at the age of 22, I would've laughed in their face.
I just don't direct things. To be honest, most of my life has been keeping my head low so I could make it out in one piece with as little trouble as possible. I barely spoke in high school and college was a blur. I thought I would settle down quietly with a $30,000 a year job and support those who are being His hands and feet.

But God had different plans.

When I heard about the open position at Magdalene Hope, I felt a push from within myself. I had to go. I have only felt this push two other times in my life (which college I was to attend and going on a Puerto Rico mission trip). All I know is that when you feel the Holy Spirit push you, its to a life-giving abundance. He will always push you into something that brings God glory and fulfills His will. So here I am.

I firmly believe God had me travel 8 hours away from every friendship and family member I have so he can use "the least of these" (me). I am humbled to be here and thrilled to listen to the Holy Spirit on my new life adventure. I cannot wait to learn more and use my talents where they are needed.

Thank you to everyone who has welcomed me with open arms into this organization! I am surround by such beautiful, hard working, and dedicated people. I'm still learning all the names and faces but its an honor to get to know each and every one of you.I'll keep this first one short but I hope to share more about what I'm learning as the months roll on!

-Annie

Liberty and Justice for All

*Liberty: The state or condition of people who are able to act and speak freely.                 Freedom from arbitrary or despotic control.

*Justice: Just behavior or treatment.

Liberty and Justice are powerful words, until I started working with Magdalene Hope and had my eyes opened to the Sex Trafficking world, I took them for granted.  They were just part of a phrase I mumbled at the end of our flag pledge.  When I take those words and use them in the context of women being bought and sold, it's a new revelation.  There is nothing liberal or just about the way these women, children and even sometimes men, are being treated.  A little over one week ago today, crowds gathered at the Liberty Bell in Bakersfield to acknowledge Human Trafficking Awareness Day.  Speeches were given, proclamations were stated and prayer was abundant.  This meeting of officials, public leaders, safety officers and regular citizens was another monumental step forward in Kern County's fight against prostitution and sex trafficking.  We here at Magdalene Hope would personally like to thank all our friends and family who could make it out to show support.  Friday was not only the day of the rally, but that night was a regularly scheduled streetreach for our ministry, and let me tell you, your prayers during the day were powerful! We split up into two teams to hit the streets and were immediately shocked to find hardly one girl in sight! Car one was ministering to the girls who are out walking and car two stopped at all the motels.  As someone who was personally in car one, let me say that we drove up and down union almost three times before being able to hand out a gift bag.  God wanted to reveal himself in a big way that night by affirming to everyone that our prayers were making a difference!  Yes, we love being able to minster to and pray with as many girls as possible.  But, on those rare nights when we pass out only a few bags, it's a reminder that less girls on the street hopefully means they are somewhere safe not "working".  That night, we handed out six bags and almost all of the girls asked for prayer! 

John 1:5 "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not
                 overcome it."

~Our blog has been stagnate for awhile but we are back in full swing now, and hoping to keep all are friends and social media followers completely updated with what's going on at the ministry.~