janinehald - He Gives Beauty for Ashes

Beauty for Ashes is Adventures in Missions’ women’s ministry that focuses on sharing God’s restoration, hope, and healing with women around the world. The core of this ministry is all about sharing personal stories in order to overcome shame and step into the freedom that Christ offers us through His sacrifice. During my time on Team Golden Girls, I’ve had the honor of putting on three different Beauty for Ashes events and loved every single one of them. I really enjoy planning and organizing these events, but I especially love getting to see women open up and step into the healing that Jesus has for them. For this most recent retreat, we got three whole days to lead the girls from the sewing program through activities, hear their stories, and spoil them with gifts and snacks.

I found myself truly having to rely on the Spirit’s guidance for the entire event. Although I came into each day with as little expectations as possible, there were still a few moments that caught me off guard. I found myself needing to switch gears completely when certain activities didn’t click with the girls, coming up with new things to do at the drop of a hat when we had way more time than anticipated, and making space for the women to share whatever they needed to even if it didn’t exactly line up with the prompt. It reminded me that all forms of ministry require you to humble yourself, step aside, and let the Spirit take complete control. It’s not about sticking to my perfect plan; it’s about serving people in the way that they need to be.

The retreat had some truly incredible moments, but my absolute favorite was when the girls washed each other’s feet. It was such a holy, reverent moment. We had them make a circle with their chairs, then we set up the water, buckets, and towels for them and stepped back to give them the space to intentionally love and serve one another in this way. The time started with a few awkward giggles, but the girls quickly settled in and leaned into the emotion of the situation. They were so gentle when it was their turn to washed feet and intentionally prayed over one another the entire time. Tears were shed and about halfway through, Florence, the house mom, began to lead them all in a beautiful Kinyarwandan song. While they soaked in one another’s love, the team sat on the outside of the circle and covered the time in prayer. It was so beautiful to get to witness this and be a part of this really special time.

It was such a treat to get to know these girls better and hear their stories. It was also amazing to get to spoil them with little gifts and fun snacks. I’m so incredibly grateful for these three days and for the role I got to play in planning and putting on the event. I had a blast decorating the room each night and figuring out treats and picking the topics and activities.

We intended the cookies to be eaten… but this works too!

Gift bags make everything more fun, especially when they’re pink!

I’m so very thankful that Debrah was able to translate for us. She did an incredible job!

We ended the retreat with a fun spa time. Those face masks are definitely the best purchase we ever made.

“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of His splendor.”

Isaiah 61:1-3

On our last day of the retreat, we had a time of prayer where the girls brought forward the burdens on their hearts. Their requests include prayers for: