By Jen Roland God's Brave Women - Jen's Story I walked out of my employer’s office, tears streaming down my cheeks. I had just given my official resignation and, while I knew it was the right decision for my family, it didn’t make it any easier. My boss’s words still linger in my mind: “I hope it’s only temporary.” At the time, I believed this was true, but God had something much different in store for me. At age thirty, being brave meant setting aside my personal goals to

By Rachel Schelb God's Brave Women - Rachel's Story Gutsy. Sure. Self-confident. Independent. Self-starter. Determined. These are words that I’ve been described as. Sometimes they're used in positive ways, and other times, they have been used with negative connotations. I prefer to think of myself as brave. This one word encompasses all these other words but is never used with a derogatory tone. You never hear someone say, “Ugh, she’s so brave,” as they roll their eyes in dis

By Rachel Lee God's Brave Women - Rachel's Story Growing up, I had fond memories of hot, summer days spent at the local lake, learning to swim at the instruction of my father. My dad loved to swim, and he was a great teacher too! He offered patient assistance, affirmation and the occasional correction, when I was in need of further guidance. He gave me the knowledge I needed and the kind of confidence that comes only with practice. I was not afraid to go out into the deep end

By Brittnie Blackburn God's Brave Women - Brittnie's Story My eyes filled with tears as I slowly packed her suitcase. Shirts, shorts, swim suit, sneakers, all the gear a child needs for a week at summer camp. All of the typical gear plus a lot of non-typical gear such as headphones, fidget toys, overnight diapers, wipes, chew bead necklaces and more. What was I thinking? I continued to wipe my eyes over the course of the next hour. Yet, as I grabbed the last tissue out of the

God's Brave Women - Michelle's Story I recently attended a training for a new program we are starting that will help seventy-five children of our trafficking survivors. I get so excited with the thought that these children will have the opportunity to break the cycle of abuse, exploitation and prostitution in their families of origin. Our team dove into this new program with high hopes and planned accordingly all the systems, strategies and structures. Now we are all set! We