Women's Ministry Home . . . a vision from the Lord to assist women in need.
Daughters of Naomi
The book of
Ruth in the Bible is one of, if not the most favorite of mine. When the Lord
spoke to my husband and me about starting a ministry home for unwed homeless
women, this immediately came to my mind. I shared the vision of the following: When it seemed that their circumstances
could not be more devastating, two impoverished and desolate women found
themselves to be the objects of God’s sovereign care. The book of Ruth
highlights sacrificial love within human relationships. But the greatest
display of selfless love is the foreshadowing of the coming of Jesus Christ.
You may or may not be familiar with this passage from Ruth
Chapter 1 -
Naomi Loses Her Husband and Sons
1In
the days when the judges ruled,
a there
was a famine in the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his
wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab.
2The man’s name was
Elimelek, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon
and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab
and lived there.
3Now
Elimelek, Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons.
4They married Moabite women,
one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten
years,
5both Mahlon
and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.
Naomi and Ruth Return to Bethlehem
6When
Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had come to the aid of his people
by providing food for them, she and her daughters-in-law prepared to return
home from there.
7With
her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set
out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.
8Then
Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back, each of you, to your mother’s
home. May the Lord show you kindness, as you have shown kindness to
your dead husbands and to me.
9May
the Lord grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another
husband.”
Then she kissed them goodbye and they wept aloud
10and said to her, “We will
go back with you to your people.”
11But
Naomi said, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going
to have any more sons, who could become your husbands?
12Return home, my
daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was
still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to
sons—
13would you
wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters.
It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord’s hand has turned
against me!”
14At
this they wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but
Ruth clung to her.
15“Look,”
said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go
back with her.”
16But
Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you
go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and
your God my God.
17Where
you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me,
be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”
18When Naomi realized that
Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.
This is one of the most beautiful love stories just in the
first chapter. Not to mention when Ruth meets, is redeemed by Boaz and marries
him. Who happens to produce with her the lineage of King David and our Saviour,
Jesus Christ.
For me growing up my mother was my role model, Bible
teacher, trainer in life, evangelism & being a lady. I clung to her as the
one I would receive from love, knowledge & wisdom. She was my life until I
lost her on September 7th, 2011. It was the hardest day of my life.
I can remember it so vividly, as she was only 58 years young, thinking it was
not time for her to go yet and what would I do without her?
The ways of God are without question, but not without
understanding . . . his ways are perfect, his plans are perfect. Ps.18:30, Luke
24:45, Ps. 32:8
God knew my future, just as he knew the daughters of Naomi’s
future. One of the most difficult thing to do in our human mind is to trust God
with our life. Prov. 3:5
When I met my Boaz (my husband) I was in my deepest of
despair. At that time I didn’t know how I would keep going or what my purpose
was (although God had spoken it to me through a pastor in Florida twelve year
previously) in life. God knew I needed direction . . . and motivation.
One thing my husband is and that’s motivational! The thing
we had most in common was our love for the Lord and serving others. He made me
laugh and encouraged me as I grieved and tried to get through the tragedy of
losing the one person in my life that gave me stability. Getting thrown into
ministry before we even married was the most surprising to me.
At that time my husband was Vice President of a local
Gideon’s organization in South Bend, Indiana. I knew very little about the
organization (even that it was one) and certainly had no idea women were
involved in the ministry. When we went out one evening, my understanding was to
a friend’s house, we ended up separating into different rooms. I was taken off
guard and didn’t know if we were in an amish home or a cult!
Finally as the women accepted me into their auxiliary,
defined in the dictionary as additional, giving support; serving as an aid; helpful,
I was asked to join (once we were married) and serve in a position. After we
were married, prayed over by elders of our church and served for several years
as Scripture Secretary for The Gideon’s International. Going to meetings,
coordinating passing out testaments by contacting doctors, dentists &
colleges and speaking in churches on behalf of the organization was fulfilling.
But there was a call of God that had not been realized in my life.
My husband also felt this call . . . to minister the Word
fully, without restriction and evangelize our area for Jesus Christ. We were
ordained through World Harvest Minister’s network and began in ministry under
Pastor’s Glenn and Sue Davis. For less than a year we worked with them in
ministry until they left the church and we left with them. At that time we
traveled, had a band and ministered to pastors across several states.
Pastors Glenn & Sue Davis
God brought us divine connections and we networked with many
pastors and churches holding conferences and outreach concerts. There was
always another part of ministry that was left undone. It was the lost on the
street, so we partnered with another outreach ministry, Lifeline, Steve &
Jodi Ignowski, now 180 Outreach Ministries. Those six years were very fruitful.
We saw change in people’s lives. Dramatic change.
In the last few years we have branched out on our own,
partnering with friends from other churches to reach our community and seen
great results from our labor together. The most important aspect of ministry to
the souls that come to know the Lord, surrender their lives to Him and accept
him as their personal savior. Leading people to Christ is every believer’s
calling, to be ministers of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18). Through the years, we
have intercepted lives headed to hell and rescued them from the pit. There’s a
couple of ladies who we took into live with us that were in need and became
like daughters to us.
In 1998 when my husband came to know the Lord, he received a
vision of a center for street people to house them, teach, train & help
them become more productive members of society. When we met, he was leading
cell groups outside of the church, serving in the church and believing for the
vision to come to pass. After we were married, one day, he was at home and like
a good builder, took a 2 X 4 and began to draw. This was no ordinary sketch of
a contracting project. The Lord showed him what the center was to be designed like.
The outside perimeter is the shape of a diamond, the
interior shape – the cross. There’s a message there for a later time . . . this
is to be the Center of Faith, Hope & Love.
In the meantime, God has done so many marvelous things. We
remain faithful, as He is much more faithful. So we are looking at starting
with a home, for women, on the street – homeless. Realizing this vision will be
the start of much greater things to come. We are prayerfully seeking on how to
accomplish this and believing God to supply.
