VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT

My name is Ashley Gebora. I have been with COF for 10+ years. We started out as quiet, sit in the back church goers, not really trying to make any friends but God had other plans. In 2015, my soon-to-be-great-friend, Kristy Stark, led a missions meeting and afterwards, we were ready to jump in head first into international missions. We signed up for Costa Rica and shortly before we departed, my husband Kaci got baptized, which, in itself, was kind of a miracle.

Fast forward to February 2023, visit one was to Kolkata. Remove yourself from an American mindset and now you’re in a place where a woman’s voice is much smaller and opportunities are fewer, but God has moved mountains in the lives of so many women, especially single mothers. These women are trusting others to care for the everyday needs of their children so they can learn a skill that would give them the option to leave sex-work. Mother-to-mother, I can’t even imagine a comparable scenario.

Visit two was to Siliguri to visit Changing Destiny. This place is aptly named, they are, in fact, changing the destiny of hundreds of lives at a time. The moment you step onto this property, you feel such a positive energy. The Holy Spirit is working within the staff and the kids. We had the opportunity to speak to several of the staff members, many of whom are believers. They are truly the hands and feet of Jesus on the ground and spreading His love. The children (literally) were leading worship and just energizing each other through music and prayer. It’s awe-inspiring knowing the background of many of these kids whose destiny was nearly to get pulled into sex-trafficking and now THEY are leading worship alongside their class and dorm mates. What could have been a desperate situation for them was turned into a best-case scenario, only something God can do with the limited resources that were given to them. He found a way when there was no way.

This was the trip of a lifetime. Just to be a witness to God’s miracles across the world and be able to come back and share is something few of us get to do and it’s an amazing opportunity to get to visit our partners across the world!