God at Work Behind the Scenes

Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part story of God working in the lives of two women, over the course of several years, with an ocean separating them for several of those years.

K’s* story

It was 2013 in Seattle. Somewhere between my girl’s toddler tantrums, my boy’s preschool pick-ups, and trying to keep up with the forever growing grocery list, my heart became overwhelmed for those suffering in the world of human trafficking. At first, I thought trafficking problems were “over there,” across the world, across borders … tears to cry out for people groups I really knew nothing about. Through some divine articles, news stories, and a coffee shop fundraiser that all came across my path, I began to learn more. I was shocked to realize that human trafficking is a global problem and that victims, buyers, and traffickers could be found in my very own city.

During this time, our family was preparing to move to the South Pacific* with One Mission Society, and I was thrilled to learn about HOPE61, which is the human trafficking prevention ministry of OMS. I felt a thrill of hope to know our organization recognized the catastrophic impact of human trafficking all over the world and were stepping in to raise awareness, empower local leaders, and identify the vulnerable with such expertise and compassion.

But, the team that would welcome us to the field didn’t know how to start HOPE61 in our city. After we arrived, other doors of serving in the community flew open all around me, and I figured God had other plans for me. But I kept on praying.

In 2015, we welcomed a new family to our field … and with that family came our first HOPE61 trainer! S came with passion, organizational skills, and determination to study language and translate materials. I was deeply moved by her trailblazing spirit to bring HOPE61 to our corner of the world.

Fast forward to 2018. Our family was on our first home ministry assignment after serving in the South Pacific for five years. I now had elementary kids in school and a baby who was doing his best to sabotage all possibility of sleep. I had a lot of time to pray, and I found myself coming across articles about human trafficking again. I began praying more fervently for HOPE61 and felt like our time in the United States during our home ministry assignment allowed me to navigate a new path of serving when we returned to the field.

You can read the rest of K’s story and S’s story here to learn how God was working behind the scenes to bring them together in ministry!

By K, HOPE61 Trainer

*Names omitted and location names changed due to security risk.