Monday, January 17, 2011

January Update.

Dearest Brothers and Sisters, 

Hello everyone! I hope that all of you had a wonderful holiday season and you are still keeping up with all of those New Year’s Resolutions! ;) 

So many incredible things have happened this past month that I hardly even know where to begin!
I guess I will start with an update on Rahab’s Hope. Our strip club outreach went extremely well. We delivered gift bags to five strip clubs throughout the general western NC area and the interactions we had with club owners/managers/bouncers were very positive. We were received well and kept safe throughout the night and we are continuing to pray for the girls who received those that God would work in their hearts and that if they are being victimized they would be provided with a way out. Another area of Rahab’s Hope, our escort agency outreach, is also taking off. It was such a blessing to receive a grant that provided us with funding to purchase some new computers and phone systems to make calls to online ads on websites such as craigslist.com and backpage.com. We have been donated, completely free of charge, some office space in downtown Asheville and this will be the primary activity happening there. We are also having some software developed to keep up with all of the contacts we are making so that we can minister more effectively to these girls and so that if we run across any victims, which we inevitably will, we can turn over those leads to law enforcement who can then move forward in investigations. 

We are also still hoping to work with the client that I mentioned last month. Her situation is extremely unique and has brought more challenges than we expected but we are still hopeful for her and that God will continue to provide us with wisdom as to how to reach out to her. 

There are a couple things that I would love to ask for your specific prayer support in. First, God has been taking us through some transition as far as staff goes. It never gets any easier to have people transition in and out of your life, but I am confident and excited that God is putting the team together that He is going to use in mighty ways with this ministry. Please pray for our unity during this time and that we would lean on Him for our stability always! Secondly, Super Bowl 2011 is approaching very quickly! As exciting as the Super Bowl is… it is also one of the largest days for the business of sex-trafficking within the U.S. of the year. Hundreds of thousands of children will be trafficked into the Dallas/Fort Worth area for the purpose of being bought and sold for sex during this time. Teams are mobilizing and prevention and awareness surrounding this event is being raised but please remember to pray during this time. It is extremely heartbreaking to realize this is happening, but it is also an incredible opportunity to see a lot of victims rescued and a lot of perpetrators arrested. 

Lastly, on a personal note, God has been revealing so much to me this month and pursuing me in so many ways. I attended the annual Passion conference in Atlanta, GA a couple weeks ago and it was absolutely mind-blowing. I got to spend four days with some incredible college students from Biltmore Baptist, listening to worship from people like Chris Tomlin, David Crowder, Kristian Stanfill, and Tenth Avenue North and hearing the Word delivered through people like Louie Giglio, Beth Moore, Andy Stanley, Francis Chan, and John Piper. I left Atlanta with a renewed passion for the Lord and a greater desire to make Jesus’ name famous than I have ever felt before in my life. I am so incredibly thankful that I got to attend and allow the Lord to speak into my life in so many awesome ways. 

Also, I have recently been asked to serve as the Women’s Discipleship Leader for the College Ministry of Biltmore Baptist church. I will be leading approximately eight young women and hopefully, through the power of the Holy Spirit, will be able to help them experience Christ and authentic community in ways they haven’t ever done before. I am so excited and would greatly appreciate prayers as I move forward in obedience to the Lord and this new calling. 

Thank you so much for taking the time to read about how I am doing and praying. If you have a chance, I would greatly appreciate it if you could respond in some way to let me know who all is making it this far. J I hope that all of you are doing well and if there is anything I can do for any of you or any way that I can pray for you please let me know! I love you all so much and am so blessed to call you not only friends, but brothers and sisters.

Covered by Grace,
Shannon

Monthly Supporters:
Don’t forget to send in your support for the month of January!
Check to: On Eagles Wings PO Box 9737 Asheville, NC 28815 (“Shannon support” in Memo Line)
OR
Online: @ hopehousenc.com (“Shannon support” in box for extra information after you submit your donation)

Prayer Requests:
Victims that the Lord would have to come to Hope House!
Our current client – healing for her and wisdom for us
Rahab’s Hope Outreach! – soft hearts of women who received gift bags during our strip club outreach and favor for our upcoming escort agency outreach
Decision regarding relocating our facility
Softened hearts for awareness of the issue
Awareness and Intervention during the Super Bowl
Transition and Unity among staff
New relationships/friendships/@ Biltmore Baptist
Wisdom for new position as Women’s Discipleship Leader w/ College Women


Contact:
Facebook – www.facebook.com/shannonfromwelcome
Group – Shannon’s Ministry Partners
Blog - http://saoshano.blogspot.com
Email - saoshano@gmail.com