The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.
- Isaiah 61:1-3 ESV
This is my life verse for a reason. Since 2009, God has transformed my life, He gave me beauty (identity, healing and wholeness) for my ashes (the dirty, dead, worthless things of my past). Then He has commissioned me to see His daughters set free, both the captives (those in bondage because of things done to them against their will) and prisoners (those who are in bondage because of their own doing).
God showed me in a vision in 2009, that He desired to redeem the pain and destruction caused in my college life. He showed me a vision of a global college women’s evangelism and discipleship movement. It would be an alternative to a sorority, similar to ministries like InterVarsity or Cru, but specifically Holy Spirit led. A sisterhood where young women would be able to grow in their God given identity, intimacy with God, and their inheritance (their God given calling and greater purpose).
Leading up to college, I experienced many hardships in life. Being born legally blind, raised by a single mom in a low income family, knowing the sting of what I was missing by not having a father, having experienced sexual abuse, and loneliness during high school. After my Freshmen year, these wounds began to surface, but without a way to find healing from past trauma, I pushed those feelings down, and decided to live how I wanted. I began heavily drinking, partying, sleeping with men and women, and seeing what I could get from men. Although I was in church in high school, I only knew religion, I didn’t have a deep, intimate loving relationship with a Heavenly Father and didn’t know I could experience the Father’s love and care that I so deeply desired.
Since 2009, when I came back to the Lord, I have been passionately pursuing inner healing, discovering my new identity in Christ, experiencing a deep, loving, healing relationship with my Abba, and the training and discipleship needed to step into this calling God has prepared for me. It has involved many years of internships, ministry positions, mission trips, discipleship schools, started and leading college Bible studies.
In 2023, God told me it was time to leave Los Angeles and to move to a new place, to San Francisco. In September of 2023, I started Youth With A Mission SF (YWAM)‘s Urban Community Discipleship Training School, which is 11 months instead of a standard 11 weeks of lecture and 2 months of outreach. Since moving to San Francisco, I felt God calling me to step out and step into what He has truly called me to. Below you will find my ministry mission statement and what I am currently doing.
I lead, equip, inspire and utilize resources to see young women healed, delivered/set free and activated into their God-given calling. On college campuses, overseas opportunities and local women focused ministries, I focus on:
– Sharing God’s desire for relationships with them, rather than religion.
– Leading them towards pursuing powerful personal encounters with God and Jesus through the Holy Spirit
– In their discipleship journey, help them discern past wounds, strongholds, lies and other barriers that keep them from walking in healing, freedom and intimacy with God and walk them through tools, questions and prayers to receive healing and breakthrough.
– As they continue to experience greater freedom, healing and intimacy with God, help them discern how God has uniquely created her for a greater Kingdom calling and purpose and help her take action steps towards that direction.
– As we grow and mature in our relationship with God, knowing our identity in Christ, pursuing wholeness in our lives, we then can wholeheartedly and healthily step into the greater calling and purpose God has for us.
Currently, I am devoting approximately 10 hours a week to serving as a missionary/volunteer with Because Justice Matters where I am helping with preparing city wide resources to help marginalized women in the inner city of San Francisco with finding the appropriate help needed. I am also helping foster community and pastoral care for mothers of the daughters in current BJM programming. I hope to help in greater capacity with Azul, their young adult cohort later this year and other discipleship opportunities.
I am also spending two days a week evangelizing and discipling young women at UC Berkeley while also interceding for God to move powerfully on this campus. UC Berkeley has had a history of birthing movements impacting history, including one of the ministries that was the beginning of the Jesus People Movement. I am believing that there will be revival yet again at UC Berkeley.
When I do travel to the nations, I love partnering with ministries that reach out and bring restoration to survivors of sex trafficking, sexual exploitation and those at risk for exploitation.
I greatly appreciate and pray for all prayer and financial partners who desire to see the next generation of young women encounter greater intimacy with God, walk in their God given identity and pursue their kingdom inheritance (their Esther call/calling for such a time as this). If you desire to receive prayer updates, please send me an email with PRAYER UPDATES in the subject line to isateldutra (at) gmail (dot) com.