Beauty in the Mist of Brokenness

“The hand of the LORD was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones…Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!… Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’”… So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.’ Ezekiel 37:1-10

At the beginning of April, I had the opportunity of leading my first ever Beauty for Ashes mission trip to NM. Beauty for Ashes is the women’s ministry of Adventures in Missions. We exist to share God’s restoration, hope, and healing with women through ministry and training. It creates safe spaces for women to encounter the hope and healing of Jesus. We desire for women to walk out of shame and into freedom through biblical stories, testimonies, seeking the Lord’s voice and sharing their stories with their community. The ministry is designed to create a space where women interact with the truth of Scripture about their view of God, their identity and worth in Christ. Is a place where we invite the Holy Spirit to speak into their lives and where God’s healing is free to flow over the hurts and pains of our past, so we can step into the bright future our Heavenly Father has designed for us. 

We were scheduled to serve at the Navajo Reservation and to partner with the Navajo Brethren in Christ Mission located on the high desert plains of northwestern New Mexico. This was also the first time ever that Beauty for Ashes has had the opportunity to serve at a Native American reservation.

We prepared as a team via zoom meetings, we prayed, planned, fasted, and waited eagerly and expectantly for what God was going to do during that trip! On a beautiful Saturday April morning, 15 women from all over the United States (including me) met at the Albuquerque Sunport Airport.  And just like that…the adventure began!

Sunday morning during church service God spoke the word RESURRECTION…that word continued to resonate in everything we did, eventually it became evident that it was the reason we were there. 

In the next couple of days, GOD made it so clear that HE had handpicked our team for such a time as this. We served from one mind and one heart, the heart of Jesus.  God’s greatest commandment is to LOVE ONE ANOTHER, that is exactly what we did in the few days we had. We loved one another, encouraged one another, supported one another, challenged and stretched one another, and PRAYED for and with one another. God was moving, His Spirit was moving…HE was moving in us and through us. He knew the women in this community needed to be filled and he used us with the Holy Spirit to fill their cup. It was like HE filled us and then used us to pour his love into them repeatedly. It was incredible! He literally was breathing life into dead bones!

One morning during prayer, one of our team members was given a vision of a huge black cloud covering the land of the Navajo territory. But she was also given the vision of the Spirit of the Lord hovering over the land and driving away the darkness. She was reminded of the verse in Genesis 1:2 “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” We could see and feel God’s goodness amidst the brokenness. There was deep hurt, heartbreak, and raw grief but Jesus met us there- in the valley of the shadow of death.  

During this trip, we could see firsthand how the Lord restores, redeems, and resurrects all that was lost or stolen. We heard stories about the loss, grief, sadness, and loneliness that the Navajo women have been walking through in the last couple of years. It was truly heartbreaking. They’ve been through a lot, but they’ve also overcome a lot. However, they shared, openly and brought us right into their lives. They embraced us and encouraged us and our stories. At the end of our trip, one of the Navajo women came to us and said: We haven’t been able to be or have a community since Covid. But even before Covid, we always felt like we were not accepted as a culture. Your team came and provided a safe space for us to be us, to be a community again, and to be authentic by modeling genuine love, care, and honesty. We felt accepted as part of your tribe, and you have become part of ours. We could finally grieve in so many ways, from so much loss. We needed this!

Another participant said: “I was drawn by your genuineness, care, and love. I haven’t belonged in a long time. I forgot who I was a long time ago, and when my husband died 4 years ago, I was lost.  You ladies made me feel at home, valued, seen, and a part of the team. There was no way I could resist what God was doing. I know that God wants me to be part of this! And I am excited and ready!

Another woman said: “I’ve always felt judged, betrayed, or abandoned by women but you all made me see that I can feel loved, uplifted, challenged, and open with women again for the first time in 34 years. So, I’d say God used you.”

As for me… I struggle a lot with my insecurities. Before this trip, I was asking God why he would choose me to lead the group when there were people in our team that were clearly more prepared, experienced, and capable of doing it. One afternoon during our trip God gave me a vision of a pilot light on a gas stove (small flame) After thinking and praying about what that meant , I don’t believe I was there to lead the team…. I think I was there to carry the flame of the Holy Spirit to ignite, empower and activate others into what God is calling them to do. The truth is, I could only lead them by leading them to our Heavenly Father first.

During this trip, God taught me a huge lesson through one of the youngest team members. She shared that at some point someone was trying to tell her how to share her lesson and her story and that she started feeling really anxious about forgetting it, but that at that moment God reminded her of David and how he chose to take off Saul’s armor.  Immediately she thought- I am doing this for the Lord, I will wear my own armor. I felt so convicted of how many times I compared myself to someone else… So from now on, I will wear MY OWN ARMOR, the one God has fitted me with.

What can I say… During that trip God almighty made the bones rattle! He brought dry bones to life! HE rolled the stone and called us ALL to come out of the grave! So that we can live abundantly in His will, for His purpose and for the expansion of His kingdom!

(the Navajo women requested us not to post photos of them)