We have had an amazing few months of activities and events we wanted to share with you.
Fun in the Sun
All of the girls in Victory house and Freedom house had a fun beach day in mid-may. We took our kayaks to Ponce Inlet, and we went kayaking, paddle-boarded, had a picnic lunch, hung out on the beach, played some games, and all around had a great time having fun and getting some exercise. We spent the whole day having an amazing time together with each other and with our families!
Casting Crowns Concert
Thanks to a generous donation of tickets, 18 of our women went to a Casting Crowns concert. It was a fun time and a great bonding opportunity for all of our women. We worship of signing and fun were over the top this night, under the beautiful stars. Lives were changed, and these women are truly learning how to have a blast without drugs and alcohol.
Baptisms
We had 4 more of our women get baptized. Congratulations to Paris, Emma, and Kate on this step in their spiritual journey. Our most recent baptism was our Freedom house mom Elizabeth. We are so proud of her an honored to see what God has done in her life. Baptism represents a changed heart and is an inward expression of rededication and surrendering to Jesus and an outward expression of being cleansed of all past sins and a new beginning with Christ as our center. Baptism is a personal choice, and while not all of our women choose to be baptized, the ones that do find baptism to be a big step in their recovery process as they surrender their wills and ways and past for God’s total healing and redemption in all that He has for their future. We are so proud of all of them, and so grateful and blessed to be able to take part in this.
Guest Speaker
Pastor Eddie from Action Church came as guest speaker. Him, his wife, and his children came with a wonderful message and bearing gifts for our women. He told his personal testimony of his own struggles, and it was especially inspiring for the women. They felt very cared for by our church, and gave us a feeling of intimacy and connectedness with our church family. We thank you for your time and dedication for these women who need to feel and see God’s love for them.
Outreach from Action Church
Thank you so much to our Action Church prayer team who faithfully, every month, come to minister, disciple, and pray for our women. We are so grateful for the personal attention and healing prayers, you are changing lives. We thank you for anointing our houses, from the doorframes to the edge of the land. Prayer is power, and it changes lives. The relationships you form with our women are touching and making such a difference in this life and eternity.
“The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective and availith much” -James 5:16
House Dinner
We wanted to highlight our house dinners we have every week. Every week, Armor Up provides dinner for our houses, and the women work together to prepare the meals. Some of the women can cook some amazing food, and some get the opportunity to learn how to cook. It is an amazing opportunity for family bonding within the houses.
4th of July Picnic
We attended the annual Celebrate Recovery 4th of July picnic, which had lots of games, food, fun, and laughter. We also had a 4th of July party with tons of fireworks and food for the women at Victory House with some of their family and friends.
Baby Shower
We would like to congratulate one of our women, Meg, and her husband Derek on the birth of their beautiful baby boy Zachariah Luca. We all had a fun time at the baby shower hosted at Victory House.
Homeless Outreach
Some of our women participated in two outreach projects to help the homeless. In the first, we got to witness, disciple, and feed those less fortunate living in the homeless camps near our own city streets. The second project we went down to the streets of Orlando to feed the homeless there. What a blessing it was to be used by God to show love to those less fortunate than us.
Stepping Stones Painting
We had a party where all of our women got to paint a stepping stone to find and show off their unique creative styles. We had a wonderful time painting our inspirational stepping stones. We laughed and cried together, and this was a fun event and a good creative outlet for our women to participate in, and the stones turned out beautifully! These stone now line the entry ways of Freedom and Victory house, welcoming and inspiring all who enter, with each woman leaving their own unique handprint in the houses forever.
Kayaking on the Intercoastal
We had a group of women go on a trip where took our kayaks out to the intercoastal for a fun kayaking trip. We also had an amazing opportunity to see the bioluminescent waters. Some of us had an awesome time kayaking the intercoastal waterways and after a beautiful dinner, we saw an incredible beautiful double rainbow that reminded us of all of God’s beauty and majesty. This trip was a wonderful opportunity for a fun time where we got a chance to appreciate nature and see some wonderful sights.
