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Voluntarias/Volunteers
Español: Durante los años que Dios ha permitido que el ministerio Girasol siga en marcha, una de las palabras que se ha vuelto impresionantemente relevante para mí es la palabra “voluntaria”. En la zona de México donde se ubica este ministerio, la palabra y la participación del voluntariado es casi inexistente. He pensado mucho en…
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Introducing Amanecer
Introducing Amanecer-hope rising (the word amanecer means dawn)-and our 2nd graduating class! As an offshoot of the work that we do downtown, about 2 years ago we started some training for women to help them move out of difficult circumstances and into the brighter future that God has planned for them. The program looks like this:…
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We Give Thanks!
Last month our Girasol Leadership team gathered for a planning retreat for the upcoming year. We discussed Christmas outreach and lots of other fun topics that we often don’t have enough time to discuss in depth. One of the other things we did was to share our praises and gratitude for all we have seen…
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Christmas at Girasol
For a lot of people, Christmas evokes a feeling of magic- the twinkle lights, the hot chocolate, the gifts, and the feeling of family. For my family, it is one of the few times we get to see each other, with some of us living in different countries. So for us, it means late nights…
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You Can’t Stay For Tennis Shoes
One day, several months ago, I took a visitor who wanted to learn more about Girasol, and our ministry to women in situations of prostitution, to see the downtown center and join me on a day of outreach. When we have new volunteers or potential volunteers with us, we often ask that they primarily observe.…
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Creating Community
We are born into a community. It has a specific culture and we grow into it. Sometimes that culture is healthy, sometimes it is damaging. Our culture is our family, the home we have, the parks we play in (or empty lots), the food we eat, the music around us, the entertainment we participate in. …
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Meet the Team: Hannah Schoenig
¡Hola! My name is Hannah Schoenig and I had the privilege of serving with the Girasol and Amanecer teams in Oaxaca City from February to August of 2022. After graduating from Colorado Christian University in May of 2019, I planned to move to Mexico City to serve with an anti-trafficking organization for two years. Three…
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Libby
When we first began prayer walking in the Red Light District of Oaxaca, we realized almost immediately the emotional and spiritual heaviness that permeated the place. We would walk around for a few hours and return home, completely exhausted and spent. Walking onto one of those streets, there was a palpable blanket of despair- we…
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Trust Building, Arrests, and Being Hit by a Motorcycle
Now that we’ve been working downtown for a few years, some of the women who work in the red light district know us and know what we do. They know they can poke their head into our drop-in center and ask for nail polish remover or a water bottle. They know they can come talk…
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Meet the Team: Christa Hagler
Hi. I’m Christa Hagler. I have been married to my husband, Trace, for 22 years and we have 4 kids ranging from 11 to 20 years old. We have lived in Oaxaca for 11 years and are currently serving with United World Mission. When we got married, we never would have imagined that life would…
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Holistic Care
Many of the women we work with in Girasol carry deep, complex traumas and wounds. While it can be difficult for them to open up to others about these experiences, doing so is essential for their healing. That’s why we seek to provide space for the women to share freely with our team and one…
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A Love That Shows Up
I can remember the very first time that we went downtown with the idea of painting the girls’ nails. We sat up a small TV tray on the sidewalk outside a small restaurant and we waited for the girls to show up. As I painted nails, my hand trembled. I didn’t have much experience painting…
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Meet the Team: Beverly Basey-Jones
Hola, Everyone! My name is Beverly Basey-Jones. My husband Steve and I have lived and worked here in Oaxaca for almost 5 years as missionaries with United World Mission out of Charlotte, NC. I was born and raised on a small family farm on the plains of Colorado and moved to New Mexico with my…
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Love, The Best Reason
In Mexico during the month of February we officially celebrate the Day of the Political Constitution and the Day of the Flag. Most of the people who work for the government (and especially the schools) get a day off for each of these celebrations that are of great relevance in our National History. For some…
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Meet the Team: Ruth Perez
Hi! My name is Ruth, and I am one of the leaders of Girasol. I am the eldest of four siblings, I am a Missionary Kid who grew up in Oaxaca, and I am an INTJ on Meyers Briggs (a 5 on Enneagram). If you know about any of these categories, then you’ve probably already…
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In it for the Long Haul
My husband likes to remind people that working for the Lord generally isn’t a football game, but rather more like gardening…
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Christmas-The Season of Giving
“The giving of gifts is not something man invented, God started the giving spree when He gave a gift beyond words, the unspeakable gift of His Son.” Robert Flatt Christmas is a gift-giving time in many places around the world, but not for the women where the Girasol ministry is located. As we all know,…
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The Impact of Your Giving
Without people being willing to give- of their time, encouragement, prayer, finances, and advocacy, Girasol ministry would not exist the way it does now. That seems obvious, of course, but what I mean is that through the participation of others in helping our team and donating towards this ministry, we have felt an emotional impact…