What's Happening at Onehope? and Happy 4th!

Serving at Onehope Refuge feels like being on a daily mission trip. The women and children who come into our care are vulnerable, wounded, and often entangled in deep spiritual darkness. We are not playing church here—this is life or death.

Recently, one mother—wrestling with mental illness and spiritual torment—told two different people she was being held hostage at Onehope. Of course, this is unfathomable. Our home is a place of freedom. But her brokenness and confusion are real. During another occasion on the way home from church one Sunday, I asked a couple of teenagers what they knew about the god they served. One replied, “Well, we know Buddha is dead, but he still protects us and can give peace.” Their response broke our hearts, as we were constantly reminded that the necklaces and bracelets they wore represented Buddha as their god.

These moments are heartbreaking for our team. We long so deeply for every woman and child who enters our doors to encounter Jesus, surrender to Him, and walk in His healing and truth. If this grieves us, how much more must it grieve the heart of our Father?

Those teenagers didn’t want to leave Onehope and our team is heartbroken about their departure. But here’s what we know: they heard the gospel, they were loved, they laughed, they had fun, and they got to be kids.

I had been praying for encouragement, recognizing that some may come and go and we may never see the fruit. Then came a call from a medical scheduler checking in on a mother. I explained we were a safehouse and she was no longer here. The woman paused and said, “Well, I just want to thank you for what you do. I was in a safehouse 20 years ago, and I don’t know if I ever said thank you. God bless you, and thank you.”

We’re not in this for thank-yous, but every once in a while, it helps to be reminded that seeds do take root. While they stayed at the safehouse, this we knew: they were in our care, God had intentionally brought them here, and we would do all we could to share the love of Christ and the hope of the gospel with them.

Every day we are desperate for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We do our best to live out the gospel and share it clearly. Every conversation, every moment, every decision requires discernment.

Would you join us in prayer? Pray that the seeds planted will fall on fertile soil—and that the roots of Christ’s love will grow deep and wide in their hearts.