Beauty For Ashes

“After the forgiveness teaching we saw so many women confessing to one another the forgiveness they have needed to release to loved ones for so long. There were many tears shed, prayers of healing prayed over one another and stories shared of hope.”

“One lady messaged me the night before the retreat and said she had read the info about Beauty for Ashes on the website. She said she wasn’t quite sure this retreat was for her because she wasn’t in a place where she felt comfortable ‘digging up the past’. She did come and at the end of the day, she said she was glad she had come. She said God had worked in her heart to give her freedom over some areas of her life.”

Silence was broken in two women sharing stories they hadn’t before. New identities in Christ were sealed, worth was experienced, community bonds were created, declarations were yelled, and the weekend was sealed with communion.

“[One woman] was in a season of feeling a lack of God’s presence— when she would pray to God, she felt like He didn’t hear her. But today, she heard His voice and felt fully embraced by His love.”

“One of the women broke down crying telling us about God’s faithfulness throughout her life. On our last full day there she approached me and a squadmate with a translator. She said, ‘You gave me a real picture of love. I can now forgive, not because the person deserves it, but because God asks that of me.’”

“Jesus help take down walls around my heart. I can love my family and children even more because of how much he loves me.”

“I don’t feel shame anymore. I am strong, and I am free.”

“My mind has started to change. I believe that I really am a princess. Never before have I felt so valuable. Never before have I seen how much God loves me and what my significance is in Him.”

“When serving internationally, I think a good test of success is whether or not your local partners think your ministry is impactful and for this retreat, that was certainly the case. We had a few girls/women from the ministry helping us translate to the girls at the youth center when needed as they also participated themselves. The feedback from them was overwhelmingly positive. They specifically said that when one of our girls shared part of her story so vulnerably and transparently, it was as though it opened up the flood gates for all of the participants. Suddenly these girls/women were given a platform to share stories that they hadn’t told anyone before. It was a sacred time of sharing, healing and praying.”

Then several of the women in my group knelt before me, took the bowl, pitcher, and towel and washed my feet. I’m still not sure why but something in me broke open. I started crying uncontrollably. I still don’t know what exactly happened. All I know is that God used me to bring healing to those women and in turn He used those women to bring healing to me.

“It is in the moments that the enemy is speaking lies to us that we should turn to God and ask Him, \”What’s my worth?\” God will tell us great and strong truths that will silence the lies of the enemy.”

“We had bought beautiful head bands for the women and when they broke into their groups for the session on worth, the leaders crowned them with a crown of beauty and spoke over them words of honor. When they came back to the big group you could see them holding their heads a little higher and was so proud of their gift.”

“[I] was brought to tears as I saw the women share. It has been a dream of mine to have women from different churches coming together.”