Seriously Called

I love to laugh.  I have what can be described as a goofball sense of humor and cheesy jokes can make me smile so much my cheeks hurt.  I believe that circumstances happen every day where we have the option of laughing or crying, and I always opt for laughing at myself (example – last year on a mission trip my teammates and I were running to catch a bus and my pants almost fell down ).  I still find myself wading in the realm of clumsiness and though most people grow out of that around age 15, I for whatever reason, never did.  I think instead that as I get older I just find new ways of tripping over things, spilling food or beverages, or running into inanimate objects.  It is what it is.

I try to not take myself too seriously.  And I try to shake situations off when I know the only outcome of holding onto something beyond my control is worry and anxiety.  However, over the last two years of my life and even more so since I began working with Beauty From Ashes™ I have come to recognize the seriousness involved when your “job” is people.  Earlier this year I attended a Christian Leadership Academy and one of the instructors always said “we must stop playing games!  These are people’s lives we’re dealing with!”  What a true statement.  Everything, and I mean everything, Beauty From Ashes™ Beauty From Ashes™ is involved in has to do with people.  These are God’s kids, and to not take their lives and situations seriously means to not take His family seriously.

Every Wednesday, Beauty From Ashes™’ staff and volunteers attend a weekly outREACH service at Grace Church, an inner-city church located in an area where prostitution and drug usage is the highest in the county. The outREACH and church service is designed for people who are overcoming many life-controlling issues in order to build relationships.  Beauty From Ashes™ offers assistance to females  seeking help.  They also lead support & life skills group called Breaking Free at the church on Tuesday evenings.  The worship at the outREACH is awesome; people freely pouring out their hearts to the Lord and rejoicing in the healing and restoration He has lavished upon them.  After the service, a free dinner is served and it gives people time to chat, laugh, and even sometimes cry with one another.  It’s a time for fellowship and a time to offer a listening ear and encouraging words when needed.  I really enjoy going and am starting to get to know some people.  It’s fun seeing the same faces week-to-week.

Another part of ministry Beauty From Ashes™ is involved in is meeting those caught in the sex industry right where they’re at: work.  Beauty From Ashes™ does strip club outREACH the second Saturday of every month.  For several years now, BFA has taken a warm, home-cooked meal and gift bags to a club near Fort Myers Beach.  Setting up inside the locker room, BFA spends the next three to four hours serving food to both the women and the staff of the club, engaging in conversations, and praying for the women when invited to.  It is an incredible time to really get to know the women, hear their stories, and have the opportunity to show we truly love and care about each person.    

What a privilege and honor it is to be a part of the divine appointments the Lord orchestrates each day.  He knows every person I am going to influence and every person who is going to influence me.  And how utterly astounding that the Lord not only allows us to be His light and love in the darkness, He actually trusts us with this calling.  Our actions and our words resonate Who lives in us, and even a 10-second interaction can let someone encounter Hope and Love, possibly for the first time.  The enemy has caused nothing but chaos and brokenness through the sex industry; the Lord is saying He wants His family back and we are called to let His love shine.  I have never taken anything more seriously than now.  

Natasha Hurt was born and raised in Greeley, Colorado.  She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Northern Colorado.  An employee of High Plains Library District in Greeley for almost 10 years, she acquired a passion for anti-human trafficking.  In 2011, she went with Adventures in Missions on a 4-month, 4-countries trip, exposing her to organizations involved in anti-human trafficking work in Cambodia, Thailand, India and America.  Then, in 2012 she attended the G42 Leadership Academy in Mijas, Spain, a 6-month program designed to “ignite passion, unleash freedom, go to the nations.”  She currently is an intern with Beauty From Ashes™ Ministries in Fort Myers, Florida.  She hopes to start an organization in Colorado similar to Beauty From Ashes™, with the desire to show people caught in the sex industry how much the Lord loves them through intentional relationships and outreaches.