When You Think Selling Yourself Is Your Only Option

Brianna Langley • Apr 12, 2018

The bleeding just wouldn’t stop.

Sandra was in the middle of her most recent in-home abortion. And this time, she could feel the life draining from her like the blood pooling up around her body.

How had it come to this? How had she ended up lying here, dying in her own home?

When she thought back to her childhood, Sandra knew the answer to those questions.

Sold by Her Own Family

Sandra was born in a town on the western border of Chad. Her mother died when she was an infant, so she was raised mostly by her aunt, Delphine*.

Life wasn’t bad. Sandra went to school, and even though her family didn’t believe in God, she often went to church with a neighbor.

But danger is always lurking for young girls in Chad. Girls are often kidnapped and forced into marriage.

Delphine agreed to an arranged marriage for Sandra when she was 13. Delphine said Sandra would be going to live with another man for a while. She could come back after the holidays if she didn’t like it.

But Sandra had overheard the discussion between her aunt and this man. She knew she’d been sold as a child bride.

Enslaved in an Almost-Deadly Marriage

Soon Sandra fell pregnant. She was only 14. The pregnancy was so hard on her small body that she couldn’t even stand up straight. Five months into the pregnancy, she lost the baby — and almost her life.

A year later, Sandra gave birth to a son. Just 12 months after that, a daughter.

When their daughter was about a year old, Sandra’s husband took another wife. Fights became frequent in their marriage.

One day, Sandra’s husband beat her so badly he nearly killed her.

Somehow, Sandra escaped her husband. She fled and found her way back to her family’s village. But when she got there, her relatives didn’t want her. Sandra was on her own.

She Thought She Only had One Option

Sandra had little education and no family support. So she made her way to the capital city, N’djamena.

Feeling she had no other option, Sandra turned to the oldest profession on the planet: prostitution. But N’djamena’s red-light district is a dangerous place. Gang rape and even murder are real risks.

Sandra was young — only 20 years old.

She fell pregnant several times during her prostitution days, but she had no husband to provide or even care for a child. So she chose to have abortions. One time, she bled so much she thought she was going to die.

Sandra’s faith and sense of self-esteem fell to an all-time low. She thought about suicide regularly.

She felt abandoned and hurt by God and openly turned her back on Him.

Rescued by the God She’d Rejected

Once, Sandra was walking back to her room when a group of men blocked her way with their truck. They forced her into the vehicle and drove out of town so they could have their way with her.

Realizing what was happening, Sandra began to cry to God, “Lord save me! Save me! Save me!”

The men began to fight amongst themselves when they arrived at their destination. Then the police arrived and the would-be rapists scattered.

Sandra had never felt more desperate, afraid and alone.

Then she met Albert*.

She Thought He was a Good Man

Unlike the cruel men Sandra usually met in the red-light district , Albert seemed to care for her. He even provided a home for her. They had a daughter together and were unofficially married.

Although Sandra was not Albert’s first wife and he had had children by other women, life finally seemed good again. Sandra even began occasionally attending church.

But then Albert landed a lucrative job. His eyes began to wander. He started taking other women and setting them up as concubines.

Desperate for answers and peace, Sandra began attending church more regularly.

She Found a Safe Place to Recover

That’s when a missionary named Naomi came into Sandra’s life. The two began to meet and study the Bible together.

Then in 2015, Naomi and other missionaries opened the Acacia Center. The center is meant to provide vulnerable women like Sandra a safe place to share their stories and be counseled through their traumas. It serves as a rehabilitation center and a place where Chadian women can learn practical life skills.

Naomi invited Sandra to participate in the programs offered there.

The workers at the program taught Sandra how to earn a wholesome income through making soaps, greeting cards and tote bags. They also helped her identify the lies that had harmed her in the past. She began to replace the lies with the Truths of God’s Word.

Thanks to You, She is Finally Regaining Self-Worth!

When Sandra watched The Jesus Film at the Acacia Center, she finally grasped how much the Lord loves her. Her heart and her life changed.

Now she says she feels like a tree being pruned, bit by bit until she discovers the image of God inside her.

Thanks to friends like you, Sandra is beginning to thrive. Younger women in the program now come to her for encouragement and advice. She counsels from her own life experiences and the traumas she’s faced.

Like the roots of the Acacia tree reach down deep for water in the ground, Sandra is learning to reach for the Living Water of Christ to help her flourish in the harsh world in which she lives.

*Names changed.

By Suzanne Pearson 19 Mar, 2024
Previously on the TEAM blog, we sat down with Justin Burkholder (pictured above at left, with TEAM's Executive Director of Communications, Aaron Catlin). Justin will become TEAM’s next International Director on July 1, 2024. Justin shared about his background, family, and the journey that led him to TEAM. Check out that interview here . Today, we pick up the conversation as Justin shares how God called him to the role of International Director, and what he sees for the next chapter in TEAM’s work in the global Church. Q: How and when did you first consider applying for the position of International Director? How did the Lord reveal Himself to you as this opportunity presented itself? A: For some time, I have been evaluating how God wants me to use the gifts He has given me. Jenny and I have had a fruitful ministry in church planting in Guatemala and would happily continue doing so as God leads. However, as God blessed my efforts in TEAM leadership, there were friends and family who expressed that I should consider using my gifts in the International Director role. I don’t believe that everything necessarily rises and falls on leadership, but I do believe that it is a core component in the body of Christ. Using the gifts God has given me is a way that I want to bless the body of Christ in TEAM, making my contribution to the global purposes of God’s mission. Jenny and I spent a lot of time praying about this and decided that I should put my name in for consideration, trusting God’s guidance. We had a tremendous amount of peace throughout the entire process and were blessed by the prayer-filled process that the board undertook. Q: This is a key role in a large and complex organization, and I’m sure this was a big decision for you and your family. What were your fears or concerns? Why did you ultimately decide to accept the position? A: You say “were” like the fears have passed! I still am quite aware of my youth and inexperience - of the responsibility and weight of this role. Mostly, I’m afraid of leading an organization like TEAM in the flesh. Many of the fears that I have faced have been fears rooted in fleshly desires and concerns. I have no desire to succeed in the world’s eyes and fail in the Kingdom of Jesus. Why did I ultimately decide to accept the position? I’m convinced that the Good News about Jesus is true. The tomb is empty, Jesus is King, and the world needs to know, because Jesus is coming back. He will put things in order. He will establish righteousness, peace, and justice for all mankind, and He has commissioned His Church to proclaim and demonstrate His rule and reign. I want to use my gifts to do whatever I can to amplify the proclamation of this message and the multiplication of His Church around the world. Q: What are your goals and vision for the future of TEAM? A: This is something that I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about. I’m certainly not ready to present a fully-shaped vision and goals for TEAM’s future without the input of other people in different contexts in TEAM. But, I will share a few things that I think are important: First, we need to model God-Dependence . I am hopeful that as leaders in TEAM, we can continue to model God-Dependence. As Hudson Taylor said years ago “…God’s work, done in God’s way, will never lack God’s supplies.” I am hopeful that we can increase our sense of faith in God, prayer, and seeking direction from the Spirit. Secondly, we must strengthen our relational fabric . Due to the changes that we have experienced by decentralizing our home office functions, and the challenges from the pandemic, we have experienced a loss of relationships. It is imperative that we intentionally prioritize the building of relationships with one another. I plan to visit our workers and staff, and I am expectant that other key leaders and staff will be doing the same. Third, we must pursue the greater presence of the global Church. The Kingdom of Jesus Christ doesn’t look like any single geopolitical, ethnic, or racial culture. If we want to truly see the Kingdom of Jesus come on earth as it is in heaven, then we as citizens of this Kingdom must learn from one another, submit to one another, and grow with one another. The missional potential of the global Church has been unleashed by God’s Spirit since Acts 1, and we have an opportunity to learn from many brothers and sisters in Christ who can help us to better model and proclaim the Kingdom of Jesus to those who have yet to believe. Lastly, we must increase our Gospel boldness . There are still many places of great spiritual blindness and spiritual brokenness around the world. The apostolic impulse of cross-cultural organizations should call us to the to the edges of where the Kingdom of Jesus is not penetrating. Whether spiritual blindness and brokenness exists because of lack of access, idolatry, injustice, or any other myriad of reasons, I prayerfully hope to see more and more TEAM workers continue to move into spaces of great Gospel need.
By Suzanne Pearson 08 Mar, 2024
Through God-ordained partnerships and creative connections, TEAM worker Keith Moore sees the global Church advancing in amazing ways. In the global missions landscape, a phrase that comes up often is “from everywhere, to everywhere.” God is calling His global Church in literal new directions, as He raises up cross-cultural workers to be sent from places that were once on the receiving end of missions work. We call this movement “polycentric sending.” TEAM workers Dawn and Keith Moore have seen first-hand this transition taking place. Their story involves the unlikely but beautiful intersection of Charlotte, North Carolina; Tegucigalpa, Honduras; and Memphis, Tennessee...and beyond. The Path to Honduras Keith and Dawn joined TEAM in 1991 and served as church planters for nine years in Bogota, Colombia. After safety concerns precipitated their return to the States in 1999, they knew they wanted to continue serving in Latin America. The Moores felt called to Honduras but wanted to connect with a strong missional church to help send them. The Lord orchestrated a collaboration with Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. “Some people asked, ‘Why Honduras? Missionaries have been there for 100 years. It’s already reached,’” Keith says. “But there’s a whole section of Latin America that had not been reached - the upper crust.” Keith goes on to explain that he and Dawn felt called to reach college-educated professionals in Honduras – a ministry vision that resonated with the missional goals of Bellevue Baptist. Impact and Growth With the support of this new church partnership as well as another sending church in Birmingham, Alabama, the Moores embarked on their next adventure. Keith and Dawn started Impacto Honduras Church from scratch, and in less than 20 years, the church grew into four locations with 1600 total members. The Moores and other TEAM workers also created a “Bible school” type training program to help professionals who feel a call to ministry to make that transition. Throughout this period of explosive growth, church partnerships played an integral role. “It’s such a different vision when you have a church that says, ‘OK, this is our deal, we want to make this happen,’” Keith explains. “They helped us with everything. They took away every single obstacle to growth. Every time we needed something, they were there.” In 2017, the Moores once again found themselves on the verge of another decision. Was it time to leave Honduras? “I had no desire to leave,” Keith recalls. “People were coming to Christ every week! It was just so amazing.” However, back in the U.S., Keith and Dawn’s parents were in their 80s and would soon be in need of more care. “We realized that either we would leave in a crisis, or we would leave strategically,” says Keith. The couple began to implement a careful succession plan. By the time they left, the four churches were established with strong, Honduran leadership ready to carry on the work of the Gospel.
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