Tag SHIELD House Colombia

Why do I love the fact that we are calling the safe house for street girls God is giving us in Colombia “Shield”? Why does this name mean so much to me? Why does it seem so right?

 
[quote]”You are my refuge and my shield; Your word is my source of hope.” Psalm 119:114[/quote]
 

When I think of what God has done for me or is for me what comes to mind? Sometimes I think of The Lord as my Salvation, my God, my Redeemer, or maybe my Comforter. But I rarely think of or praise The Lord for being my Portion, my Shield, or my Stronghold and yet these names are how David frequently referred to The Lord and worshiped Him for being so in his life.

 
[quote]”The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.” Psalm 18:2 [/quote]
 

So what does The Lord being my Shield or Fortress mean in my life?

Well, you see, I grew up a very scared little girl. I was painfully shy to the point of even at the age of 12 I still would not talk to anyone outside of my family. I hated going to church or parties because people would be there. At the age of 17 I would cry when my dad made me speak to ladies at church.

I remember being in a Target store one day and almost wetting my pants because I was too afraid to ask the checkout lady where the bathroom was. So for me, knowing The Lord is my Shield and Rock means I don’t have to be afraid anymore. He will protect me and as long as He is on my side I have nothing to fear. He is my place of safety and I don’t need anyone but Him.

 
[quote] “O Lord, oppose those who oppose me. Fight those who fight against me. Put on Your armor, and take up Your shield. Prepare for battle, and come to my aid.” Psalm 35:1-2 [/quote]
 

My hope is to show other little girls the safety I have found in Him. He can be their Shield also and in His presence they can let go of all their fears as well. I pray our Shield House will be a refuge for hundreds of beautiful souls who need a shelter from the hurts and fears of this evil world. May these verses I have come to love be true for all the girls God gives us in Colombia.

 
[quote] “For You, Lord, bless the righteous one; You surround him with favor like a shield.” 
Psalm 5:12[/quote]
 
[quote] “My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart.” Psalm 7:10[/quote]
 
[quote]“We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield.” Psalm 33:20[/quote]
 
[quote]“But You, O Lord, are a shield around me; You are my glory, the One who holds my head high. Psalm 3:3[/quote]
 

Today, at 27-year-old, I am serving the Lord all over the world, even in some places that people consider dangerous because I know He is my SHIELD…
 

Love, Rebekah Bullen

At Large Missionary

Mission Critical International

 

Photos of Rebekah’s Ministry

 

Rebekah depends on the donations of big-hearted people like you to continue the amazing work she is doing around the world.

 

If you would like to help Rebekah you can mail a check to:

 

Mission Critical International

301 Pruitt Rd #1030

Spring, TX 77380

 

or give online below.

100% of your gift will go to support Rebekah’s missionary work around the world.

“Why do you want to work with young adults and not children? What is the point of trying to help people who are already almost grown?” I have been asked that question so many times that now answering it almost becomes a routine when talking to people about Mission Critical’s dream to build a home for young adults (beginning with young women) ages 18-23 in inner city Bogota Colombia. Honestly I sometimes have to ask myself the same question…. Is it really worth it? Is this a real necessity here in Bogota? Will it make a difference? These last few months that I have been in Bogota I have felt a deep dissatisfaction with the work that I have been able to do so far, let me explain a bit of what I mean.

The Colombian government is unfortunately a nightmare of nightmares when it comes to paper work especially for ministries and that means that before starting anything there is a long waiting and investigation process that has to take place and the consequences of not doing everything excruciatingly perfect can be devastating including prison time and fines of thousands of dollars. Basically if you want to help people here in Colombia you had better be ready to be patient and wear out your knees from hard-core prayer. All that to say most of the work that Oscar (Mission Critical’s general director in Colombia and my Fiancé) and I have been doing for the last 4 months, other than translations and mission trip organization for different ministries and doing our best to love on individuals, has been talking to various lawyers, ministries, churches and individuals with any knowledge about how to establish a legal ministry here in Colombia.

I have worked hard here in Colombia even to the point of losing a lot of weight and having to stay in bed for a few days because of stress and lack of rest but I can honestly say the hardest part has been these last 4 months. The endless days of waiting on papers and for God to send us the right people to work with and the not knowing where the funds will come from to launch such an endeavor have been merciless and as I said sometimes it is difficult to stay focused and causes one to ask…“is it all really worth it?”

I want to tell you a story about two different girls that I have met and talked with personally here in Bogota… the first one I will call Joanna and the other I will call Keren for their protection. Both of these girls either escaped (because life on the street was better than living there) or were forced to leave the government institutions at the age of 18 years old to fend for themselves with no money, no family and no future. Both girls have told me about how they lived on the street constantly surrounded by prostitution and drugs. Joanna has been my friend for about 7 years and during that time God has used me to help her escape from prostitution 2 different times. I remember as she begged for my help the first time and cried in my arms telling me how she was working as a prostitute and how she didn’t see a way out. Keren and another friend escaped from the government orphanage when she was 14 and they lived alone selling candy on the street for money. By the grace of God Keren was able to avoid the drugs and the “pimps” that constantly surrounded them and just recently she was finally able to reconnect with her family. Her friend however fell into the grip of drug addiction and under-age prostitution and has to this day never been able to break free from that. Every time I think about them and the countless others that I have talked to and known for years that have fallen into sex trafficking at some point in their teenage to young adult lives I say to myself and others YES! it is absolutely worth it and necessary because one of the main causes for this is because they have no other options. More than 800 young adults per year are forced to leave the governmental care systems at the age of 18 in Bogota alone and most of the girls end up in prostitution and the boys become addicts, gang members and pimps or “groomers” themselves. 15% of them will be dead within a year and over 60% will eventually face a fate worse than death in the brothels. My family has worked in these orphanages and we have witnessed the traffickers waiting at the orphanage gate to scoop up these precious little girls.

Mission Critical’s first goal is to give these young men and women that “other option” by starting a prevention program where 18-year-old girls who have ‘aged-out” of institutions can live in a home where they receive their basic needs, counsel, discipleship, help finding a job, training on how to live on their own, the opportunity to study and have a profession/degree and much more until they are emotionally and physically ready to live and be successful on their own. We are one of the only ministries that have this vision to work with young adults here in Colombia, there are countless ministries to children and families but almost nobody is doing what we are working to do. This is the first step of many to come to help break the cycle and help change the lives of young adults in Bogota and other cities in Colombia. That is why we do what we do and that is also why I always ask for prayer for Mission Critical Colombia and for our team on the ground (Oscar and me) especially now that we are hoping to have SHIELD House up and running by the end of 2016. Please, please pray for the long year we have ahead of us and, God willing, for the many years to come of countless souls being reached and changed through God’s love.

Also please ANYONE who reads this take 10 minutes to watch this video and read this article about Medellin Colombia where I spent 11 months earlier this year working with children and street ministry and saw for myself much of what is revealed in this video, http://www.channel4.com/news/colombia-medellin-prostitution-virgins-gangs-pablo-escobar . It is worth the 10 minutes and will shed a lot of light on why this is an emergency and we need all the help we can get to make a difference. Jesus came to set the captives free and He is still doing that today through those who are willing to fight. Just like in the short story of the boy throwing the starfish back into the ocean, we cannot make a difference for all of them… but we can make a difference for the one, the two, and the three that are touched by what we do.

“A soul’s worth, can it be named? What is the price of one reclaimed? We can’t afford to ignore the strife, what will you give for a life?” – A soul’s worth by Matthew Bullen.

Love Brooke

Photos of Brooke’s work in Colombia

Brooke depends entirely on donations from caring people for her support and the support of the amazing work she is doing.

If you would like to support Brooke you can mail a check to:

Mission Critical International

301 Pruitt Rd. #1030

Sbring, TX 77380

Give online below.

100% of your tax exempt gift will go to Brooke’s work in Colombia.