I heard of Shores of Grace two days before I arrived at their base in Recife. The call to anti-human trafficking awoke in my heart years previously after I watched a movie called Human Trafficking. I cried for a long time as I let God break my heart with a great compassion for people held captive in this way, in my day. My involvement back then was to sow financially into people who were fighting against trafficking, hoping fervently that one day I too might stand alongside them on the frontlines and get to expose Father’s radical love and freedom. As Father delivered me from a spirit of slavery, passed down my generations, I believed I would see others delivered in the same way. Before setting foot in Brazil, Holy Spirit whispered to me, ‘anti-trafficking’, this whisper was the catalyst that led me to discover Shores of Grace. As I was talking to them about visiting, I received money to fund my flight to Recife, it was a confirmation that God destined me to be there at that time. I joined the teams going out to the favelas, often muddy and dirty places where relationships have been cultivated patiently by the team. Jesus said, I no longer call you servants, but friends. Friendships have sprung up with people who would otherwise be lost, utterly hopeless or sick. Salvation, hope and healing have come through their doors. It was a privilege to be able to water the seeds lovingly planted by others. Their pioneering, whether in the favelas, streets, or red light areas has made it easier for people like me to be able to step in and water the already planted seeds. On the red light outreach one night, I prayed for one girl who was soon getting off the streets and starting a day job, afterwards her friend who was drunk said, ‘Next time I’d like you to pray for me’. So I said, ‘Let’s pray now!’. As soon as I touched her hand, Holy Spirit gave me a word of knowledge and then said that she was destined to work in social justice. As God gave us more revelation of who He made her to be, hope began to arise in her and she wasn’t drunk anymore. At the end, she cried and said, ‘That’s exactly what I want for my life, I just talking to your teammate about it before you prayed for me’. She laughed as she said, ‘I knew that you had something for me, that’s why I asked you to pray’. The hunger for something of God was stirred in her heart when she witnessed the beauty of God’s love expressed to her friend. I know she also felt Father’s love as I held her and kissed her cheeks. That encounter was already prepared before the world began, it was just waiting for me to step into it. I believe the fight against human trafficking starts with one life. One life that recognises it can bring the hope of salvation to another life. Shores of Grace under the power of the Holy Spirit is changing lives, person by person, day by day. If God is stirring your heart as He did mine, be bold and ask Him to make a way for you to visit Shores of Grace to get face-to-face with Radical Love and join Him and the team as they go out to love the unloved.
Shalom,
Nikita