Hambre Para la Justicia

      Isaiah 30:18 says this: “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him.” This verse came to me last night in a very special time of experiencing God’s Spirit. It all started when I attended a training session at 7:00pm on this seemingly ordinary Tuesday night. This training was for an active ministry at our base called Freedom Street that works with victims of human trafficking. I have felt for two years a nudge in my heart for this issue, and whenever I hear people talking about it the reality of this evil shocks me once again. Over the past few years I learned about this issue at conferences, looked up information online, watched documentaries, and read a book about it. But I never knew how to get involved in a practical way, to go beyond knowledge about the problem.

      During the training last night, I kept thinking how horrible and unjust human trafficking is. God does not want this to happen to people – his heart breaks for the victims as does mine. I could feel the Lord stirring up this issue of injustice in my heart again, but this time was different. This time God was confirming this passion, this calling for me to do my part to stop human trafficking. Before coming to San Jose, I didn’t know that there was a human trafficking ministry here, but now I am sure that God is confirming in me the need to reach out to this hurting population. After I complete the four nights of training, I will be able to go out onto the streets with the group to be part of the prayer vigils and conversations.

      The most amazing part of the night happened after the training, though. We had a short time of worship in the prayer room before the people who had already received training went out into the streets. Two other girls and I felt that we should pray or intercede for those in the streets, so we stayed in the prayer room. We then proceeded to share with each other how God had spoken to us individually about justice. That very night God had stirred in each of our hearts a passion for reaching out to the oppressed and hurting, specifically victims of human trafficking. All three of us had difference experiences and knowledge about the issue, but after talking about it together, we realized that God has a plan to unite our group through his heart for justice.

      For the next hour or so, we shared how God was leading us to work with human trafficking. It was amazing to see the connections we had and the ways the Lord showed us things through scripture. I was super excited because this is the first time I have really felt God speaking to me about something this specific. That night he confirmed my passion and one of the paths he has planned for my life. As we continued to pray for those out on the streets, the Holy Spirit was guiding us. What an incredible night of passion and confirmation!

      On another note, we found out yesterday where our outreach will be: we’re going to stay in Costa Rica for the whole two months! I think this will be good because we’ll get to see other parts of the country, and I’ll be able to improve my Spanish even more. J Also, most people on our team have felt a call to work with justice issues on our outreach, and I think God is definitely speaking to us about working with human trafficking. We don’t know any details yet except that we’re staying in the country, but please pray for our team as we try to discern what places to go and what ministries to work with during these two months. It will be a time of learning and growing.