Two years ago, Mela and Sabri heard a cry. It came from the girls in the prison who were starving for love and purpose. It came from the street corners where the prostitutes stood enveloped in the shadows and lost in a darkness of their souls. It came from the girls who had been kidnapped or sold from their families, brutally forced into a life inside the brothels, and know nothing but pain and brokenness. Their silent cries begged for someone to stop and listen, to do something, anything, to offer hope, to fight for them. And that cry reached the hearts of Mela and Sabri. Casa Mis Sueños was born. It was birthed with a desire to be a voice for the voiceless, to fight for a way out for these girls, and to stand in the gap against the incredible injustices that these girls face every day.
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| House of My Dreams - Created For Freedom |
Ecuador is a huge hub for human trafficking within South America. Thousands of underage girls are trafficked in and out of Ecuador for the single purpose of being sold for sex 10-15 times a day. And within the entire nation, there are only two homes devoted to the restoration of the girls that are rescued out of this nightmare. And what is worse, most of society is either ignorant of this inhumane crime or has simply turned a blind eye to what is going on right beneath the surface. Speaking about sex is taboo in this country, so of course, anything related to prostitution or child sex trafficking gets pushed under the rug. Even people within the government have no idea what is going on. Recently, one of the two foundations that works with rescued girls met with some very high officials in the government. When these politicians heard about the work, they displayed their complete ignorance by asking, "Is there really trafficking in Ecuador?" How can the ones who are responsible for the peace and prosperity of a nation be completely unaware of the darkest, most evil crime that is taking place on their very soil?
Casa Mis Sueños is simply a response to the incredible need in this country. What is the answer to injustice in the world? We are.
The moment I sat down with Mela and Sabri and heard their vision of starting up a safe home for girls who have been rescued out of forced prostitution, I knew I had signed up for the right internship. The vision - "Casa Mis Sueños is a ministry devoted to restoring value and identity to young single mothers at high risk, who come from human trafficking, prostitution and youth prisons, in order for them to live as daughters of God and to inherit the Kingdom." In a nutshell, the vision is to open up a safe house that could be not just a rehab center, but a home for these girls. Casa Mis Sueños literally means House of My Dreams. This home would be an environment that would allow these girls to heal physically, emotionally, psychologically and spiritually, and also be a green house for them to have dream for their future.
One year ago, Jesus signed this dream with His seal of "Yes and Amen." Mela and Sabri were given a house where this dream could come true. Located outside of the city, this facility is perfect for Casa Mis Sueños to be born. Within one moment this dream became so much more than a dream, it became reality. Since then, this beautiful story has continued to unfold with doors opening up everywhere, connections being made with people of influence and resources, miraculous donations coming in, etc... God's favor is all over this ministry!
Someone once told me, a dream is not a dream unless it is absolutely impossible if God does not come through. Will we limit our dreams to what we can accomplish in our own ability? Will our dreams reflect a small God or a big God? How big do we believe God is? How good do we believe God is? How powerful do we believe God is? Well where we are at this moment is in the very middle of a lake of impossibilities, 5 feet in over our head. There is no way any of this can happen unless God miraculously shows up... as He has over and over and over again.
In order for our home to open up, we have a laundry list of things that need to be accomplished. First of all, we are $300,000 dollars away from reconstructing our facilities. We already have all the blueprints for what will be an absolutely beautiful home for these girls and their babies. We have the architect and the man power. We even have people who are donating material. It's just a matter of putting all the pieces together, along with the missing finances, and this house will be reality. Then we are praying for the right house parents to come to our back door. These would be people who are willing to give their lives to create a family environment for these girls, to pour into their lives, and to oversee the restoration process so that they can eventually leave the home and enter society as capable and successful young women. We also need everything it takes to make a house a home - furniture, appliances, kitchen utensils, lighting, etc... So from where we stand, there would appear to be giants standing in the way. But we believe our God is bigger!
So that's the home of Casa Mis Sueños. But while we are waiting for all the pieces to line up, there is no way that we could wait to find the girls! For the past 2 months, we have been working at one of the two rehab centers here in Ecuador. We go once a week to simply love on these girls, help awaken their dreams and desires, bombard them over and over again with words about their value and identity, and be a friend to them. I guess you could say that we are being Jesus to the least of these. The facility they are at is by no means Christian, but we have been given liberty to share whatever we want with the girls. It has been phenomenal watching the transformation that has taken place! They are so hungry for love. Each time we come, we are met with laughter, hugs and kisses. Every time we leave, we are begged to stay and held onto with even bigger hugs. These girls are opening up their hearts to us, sharing their dreams, asking for prayer, etc...
On top of that, my room mate Carly is starting to go down to the red light district on a weekly basis. She wants to build relationships with the prostitutes, the ones shunned by society. Her heart is to be able to buy girls out for the night in order to take them out to dinner and just show them their value and worth. By Valentine's day, she wants to have a formal dinner for the girls that she has built relationship with, where they will be able to come, be catered to with the finest food, be given roses, etc... All to demonstrate the extravagant love God has for them.
It is such an honor and privilege to be part of this incredible dream that is unfolding before our very eyes. My heart is fully in this. I want to see Casa Mis Sueños up and running while I'm here. So please partner with me in prayer. Those girls are out there and they are waiting for us to do something about it!
Check out our facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Casa-Mis-Sueños-Created-For-Freedom/250430848412112
If you want to hear more or get involved, shoot me an email - le.stailey333@gmail.com
Also, check back within a couple of days when I will be blogging about the exciting things that have happened this past week as the dream continues.
Casa Mis Sueños is simply a response to the incredible need in this country. What is the answer to injustice in the world? We are.
The moment I sat down with Mela and Sabri and heard their vision of starting up a safe home for girls who have been rescued out of forced prostitution, I knew I had signed up for the right internship. The vision - "Casa Mis Sueños is a ministry devoted to restoring value and identity to young single mothers at high risk, who come from human trafficking, prostitution and youth prisons, in order for them to live as daughters of God and to inherit the Kingdom." In a nutshell, the vision is to open up a safe house that could be not just a rehab center, but a home for these girls. Casa Mis Sueños literally means House of My Dreams. This home would be an environment that would allow these girls to heal physically, emotionally, psychologically and spiritually, and also be a green house for them to have dream for their future.
One year ago, Jesus signed this dream with His seal of "Yes and Amen." Mela and Sabri were given a house where this dream could come true. Located outside of the city, this facility is perfect for Casa Mis Sueños to be born. Within one moment this dream became so much more than a dream, it became reality. Since then, this beautiful story has continued to unfold with doors opening up everywhere, connections being made with people of influence and resources, miraculous donations coming in, etc... God's favor is all over this ministry!
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| The home where dreams will come true for countless girls. |
In order for our home to open up, we have a laundry list of things that need to be accomplished. First of all, we are $300,000 dollars away from reconstructing our facilities. We already have all the blueprints for what will be an absolutely beautiful home for these girls and their babies. We have the architect and the man power. We even have people who are donating material. It's just a matter of putting all the pieces together, along with the missing finances, and this house will be reality. Then we are praying for the right house parents to come to our back door. These would be people who are willing to give their lives to create a family environment for these girls, to pour into their lives, and to oversee the restoration process so that they can eventually leave the home and enter society as capable and successful young women. We also need everything it takes to make a house a home - furniture, appliances, kitchen utensils, lighting, etc... So from where we stand, there would appear to be giants standing in the way. But we believe our God is bigger!
So that's the home of Casa Mis Sueños. But while we are waiting for all the pieces to line up, there is no way that we could wait to find the girls! For the past 2 months, we have been working at one of the two rehab centers here in Ecuador. We go once a week to simply love on these girls, help awaken their dreams and desires, bombard them over and over again with words about their value and identity, and be a friend to them. I guess you could say that we are being Jesus to the least of these. The facility they are at is by no means Christian, but we have been given liberty to share whatever we want with the girls. It has been phenomenal watching the transformation that has taken place! They are so hungry for love. Each time we come, we are met with laughter, hugs and kisses. Every time we leave, we are begged to stay and held onto with even bigger hugs. These girls are opening up their hearts to us, sharing their dreams, asking for prayer, etc...
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| In the red light district |
It is such an honor and privilege to be part of this incredible dream that is unfolding before our very eyes. My heart is fully in this. I want to see Casa Mis Sueños up and running while I'm here. So please partner with me in prayer. Those girls are out there and they are waiting for us to do something about it!
Check out our facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Casa-Mis-Sueños-Created-For-Freedom/250430848412112
If you want to hear more or get involved, shoot me an email - le.stailey333@gmail.com
Also, check back within a couple of days when I will be blogging about the exciting things that have happened this past week as the dream continues.
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