A new woman joined us at HD, and although change always makes us freak out a little, I am overwhelmed by just how good God has been at bringing us new participants at just the right time (for them and for us).
“A” joined us first, and she was the perfect first participant for a bunch of women who desperately wanted to help sexually exploited women but weren’t sure if they were cut out to do so. “A” escaped from her trafficker years ago, and she joined us out of a hope that she will someday help other women like her. This means she’s already grown a lot and developed a really healthy sense of self-awareness, so classes went smoothly and our confidence grew in our abilities.
“D” joined us next, and she started coming to the Day Program during “A”s first Celebration Week. After four weeks of classes, we take a week off to do fun things together, and this was perfect timing for “D” to jump in. She’s very fearful and brave, and this gave her a chance to slowly see how things work at HD, who we are as individuals, and to have time to adjust to the new setting before starting classes.
Now “A2” has joined us! The chaos grows, since now our class runs like this. I say a few sentences in English, and then pause. Anthi translates what I said into Greek for “D” and “A” translates into Romanian for “A2.” When one of them has something to share, either Anthi or “A” translates it into English for me.
It’s crazy, and it’s perfect. “A” had just been telling us about her goals of helping people and of using her ability to speak multiple languages. She “just so happens” to speak English, Greek, and Romanian, which are the three languages spoken at HD.
It’s also perfect for “A2,” I think. We have one week of classes before our second Celebration Week next week. “A2” is eager to please (there’s another blog post coming about how sometimes healing means people feeling safe enough to get angry) and she is jumping into the classes full-throttle. But I know she’ll burn out quickly, and thankfully next week will be five full days of fun and relaxation. It will also be a great chance for the rest of us to take a breather, since the chaos of multiple translators will take time to adjust to.
I just…feel really solid. And peaceful. It can feel like insanity when I’m looking moment to moment, but when I zoom out, it is so obvious that God is pacing us, giving us just enough to challenge us without totally overwhelming us. And he’s bringing us women at just the right week for them, too! He’s quite good at scheduling, and I am so grateful to learn to trust him more and more.
It Is Trish 