June 2021 Newsletter
Every quarter, these updates get more exciting to share. God is doing some amazing work in Middle Tennessee, and so many of you have been involved!
If you follow us on social media, you have seen the amazing work that our interns did over the last eight months. Meredith Edwards and Chloe Callaway deserve a huge round of applause! They’ve since completed their internships, but we’re blessed to have THREE new interns for our Summer Internships! Emily Hudelson will be our Program Assistant, helping with the day-to-day client work, intakes, connections and prayers. Abigail Meier and Dara Carroll are each working in our marketing department, with Dara on our social accounts and Abi on our emails, website and anything else we can assign!
A PICTURE OF HOPE AND A FUTURE
Even more exciting is the addition of a new staff member! Daphne Toungette was called to join us in March as our Program Director and has done a wonderful job as we move into the next stage of growth. The Lord has already used her in mighty ways, and we know that she was called to fulfill a very special purpose.
One of the first clients Daphne got to assist was a young lady whose story spread far on our Facebook page. A series of God connections made us aware of her situation, and while she’s outside our standard criteria for clients, we felt very strongly that we were called to be part of her solution.
After all, 431 Ministries is called to tend to the needs of ALL overlooked and underserved women, and Hope fit that description.
In fact, Hope had a perfect storm of situations around her that prevented "normal" solutions to work for her. We made hundreds of phone calls and emails, reaching out to dozens of connections to find housing for Hope. Nothing came through. God shut all doors, knowing He had one special family in mind to help this girl.
In fact, it was literally because of you and your faithfulness in praying and sharing her situation that the DeSouza family heard about her situation and reached out.
We asked Emily DeSouza, Hope's new host mom, to share how things have been, and she wrote this beautiful update:
“A Place for Hope”
Emily DeSouza
Our family has been blessed to bring Hope to live with us this month. On the surface Hope is giggles, jokes, energy and a conversationalist. As we have heard layers of Hope’s story over the past couple of weeks, I have learned she is the product of hard choices that require a strength of character beyond her years.
When she felt trapped in circumstances beyond her control as a child, she chose to believe something better was around the corner. When she couldn’t read numbers due to needing vision therapy and was given a pair of glasses instead (despite not needing them), she chose to learn to do algebra in her head and write numbers with her eyes closed. When her safety was threatened this year, she chose independence without knowing how she would survive. When Hope dreams of her life as an adult with marriage and children, a family of her own, she chooses to finish school even though it’s no longer legally required.
Hope repeatedly chooses joy over despair, faith over disbelief, hard work over immediate gratification, perseverance over folding. I am reminded of this Scripture: “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
(Romans 5:3-4)
She recognizes God’s hand on her life and can tell stories of how she knows He provided food when she had none and sheltered her to keep her alive. Hope dreams of being a mom and of working with young children in a school or daycare setting. I have seen her nurturing kindness in the time she spends with my children. The Lord has a beautiful future planned for Hope that is being brought to fruition by His provision and the help of her 431 community.
This is just one of the amazing stories that we get to be on the frontlines for. We have been reminded over and over this quarter that this service is a gift. By allowing the Lord to use our time, our talents and our treasures, we are given the unique opportunity to see Him work in mighty ways right before our eyes.
We earnestly believe that He's calling you too. We have side-by-side opportunities as well as events coming up that we would love your prayers for, your hands at, and your heart willing to serve — men and women! Keep an eye out for a postcard coming your way soon.
Thank you for being a part of the greater story in Middle Tennessee! We can't wait to share more in the next update!
