Clicky

Community Living Within a Safe House

by | Aug 29, 2014 | Missions Articles

God has called us into community living most of our service time to Him. We started in our own farmhouse with 50 abused children/teens for 10 years. Feeling the church should open their homes and hearts, we adopted 5 of the boys and 4 were adult adoptions. We have 3 biological children who were grown.Community living does NOT seem like much of a gift, but we have found it to be a heavy offering into certain needed areas. We traveled to Sudan and were the overseers of an orphanage for 9 months. Returning to the states, we fell into another community living need as house parents to a maternity home for just under 4 years.

God’s river has taken us into human trafficking as an older couple, wanting to retire in service to Him. Many do the police work in human trafficking, storm the brothels or offer gift bags to the girls trapped inside. There are so many areas to volunteer in human trafficking, but again we felt that call to community living. We presently live 2 weeks each month on a rotation into a safe house for survivors. These are ladies that have come to the end of the abuse and control and are willing and brave enough to try to escape. What is life like inside a safe house??? It’s a home; breakfast,games, discipleship, routine, exercise, cries, and laughs. It’s a place where these ladies can be respected and see the life of a married couple modeled to them and the order of a home. There are many opportunities to see their faces light up as we celebrate their birthdays, holidays, and special achievements, because no one cared before sometimes.

We teach them the love of Christ, show them how to have integrity, respect them, and listen to their painful details of trafficking AND before the trafficking. The interior of the safe house is peaceful and so colorful for the ladies. We make special efforts to bring LIFE back into their souls that they have lost and to fan the flame of the dimly burning wicks in their spiritual lives. It’s a place where they receive nutritional meals and not the junk food they have lived on trying to be where they were expected on time or receive abuse for it. A safe house is a TEAM of workers who all pool their gifting together
to meet every need we can. We are supported by pro-bono medical community, professional counseling, celebrate recovery classes, equestrian horse therapy and expressive art opportunities for our ladies. The ladies have an opportunity to have a mico- enterprise business of making coasters and selling them for money that they spend and save for their transition back into society.

Healing is our goal, as much as we can pack in. We of course offer the gospel of Christ and personal relationship that we know is a necessity to recovery. In some ways, we are an emotional hospital for the broken and battered. As the wife of a former track coach, I have come to know that we are running a sprint with these ladies. It can be one week or one year and every day needs to be our FULL effort. It is a race of endurance and patience with our entire team working together. Our gift of community living seemed small to us, yet few volunteer to live on the interior of the safe houses. Many cannot live there due to family needs and obligations. We are free to offer this service and it seems we always end up in community living. It has been a BIG blessing for us and we do not see this as a sacrifice at all. We are honored our small contribution can be used and help others with it. When you are wondering what YOU can do in human trafficking, don’t consider your strengths and weaknesses, just give yourself to God and He will find a spot just for you. Come on, join the fight against modern slavery and setting captives free.

For just one sparrow,
Conley and Nancy

If you would like to make a financial contribution to Conley & Nancy Brown, CLICK HERE.

FB: Conley Brown
Nancy Brown

www.redeemedministries.com.

www.modernday.org

Stories You May Like

Why is it Important to be Resilient?

Why is it Important to be Resilient?

The facts are only sometimes representative of reality, and there’s more to the story than we see. It’s powerful when we tune in to that compass bearing, look to God to help us create a complete picture of reality, and not just say, “Truth is whatever my sense is, but Lord, tell me the facts and the greater vantage point.”

Navigating the Pain of Change and Disappointment

Navigating the Pain of Change and Disappointment

That was the order we were given within minutes of discovering our residencies had been denied renewal. The city hall official was not hostile or aggressive, simply delivering orders. I responded that we would “absolutely not be leaving in thirty days.” She mentioned they would send a police officer to our door if we did not comply. I told her she could send the king; I still would not leave after thirty days. That was impossible!