Dear loved ones,
I hope that this letter finds you
well. As many of you know, I am currently a senior at the University of Mary
Hardin- Baylor in Belton, TX. I am studying psychology and am planning on
graduating in December. Currently I am serving at Temple Bible Church as life
group leader to ten sophomore girls and they are my heart beat on my campus. I
am so thankful that the Lord has blessed me with a position of leadership in
their lives and I have grown tremendously in my walk by pouring into them. I
have also recently begun an internship with women’s ministry at TBC. The Lord has recently taught me so much about
what it means to love people exactly where they are and love people in their
brokenness. That is how the Lord loves us.
This New Year, I had the opportunity to go to the Passion
conference in Atlanta, Georgia. While I was there, my eyes were open to modern
day slavery. I learned about the 27 million people who are still in slavery
today and that is more people than our entire history has ever seen. Half of
those 27 million are in sexual slavery, or human trafficking, and half of those
in sexual slavery are children. That is 6.75 million children that are being
sexually exploited. This is not okay. Coming back from the conference, I felt
very restless and irritated being at school feeling like there was nothing I
could do to end this atrocity. Within just a couple of weeks of being back in
Belton the Lord gave me an incredible opportunity to be a part of the work he
is already doing to end sexual slavery. On June 17th I will be
leaving for East Asia to work in an American style bakery. This bakery is
employed by girls who have been rescued from slavery and they are given a safe
and loving environment to work in so they can earn a living and stay out of the
sex industry. I will be leading them in a bible study and do a lot of prayer
walking over the city. Since the ministry is fairly new, I will also be doing
mapping for the ministry. This will help the missionaries there identify where
the brothels are located in the city.
This will be a very difficult trip to go on. I am so very
excited to see the way the Lord uses me for the work he is already doing in
East Asia, however the nature of this trip is very heavy and will require me to
lean on the Lord for understanding each and every day that I am there. I am
asking you to first and foremost pray with me. Pray that the people I will meet
will be receptive to the gospel. Pray that I would adjust to the culture and
language quickly and learn how to communicate efficiently. Also pray that the
funds would come in for my trip. My trip is a total of $3400 including airfare,
housing, food and other expenses. If you feel led to help support my trip, you
can either donate online at https://secure.acceptiva.com/?cst=98f714
and type my name in the box that says "write in student's name". You can also donate to my trip
using a check. Make your check payable to Go Now Missions. Write my name on the
memo line. You can mail your checks to:
Go Now Missions
P.O. Box 195439
Arlington, TX 76019
Please
let me know if there is any way I can be praying for you. Feel free to contact
me anytime through my e-mail, larodriguez@mail.umhb.edu
, or by calling me or texting me at 832-495-8130. Thank you all so much for the
love support you have shown me. I am so blessed by having you in my life.
surfed the Atlantic, Pacific and East China Sea. You are quite the adventurer.
What you have to be your sister to 
