Skilled Volunteers Needed at Sarah’s House

When Compassion First (CF) secured Sarah’s House, its new, larger aftercare facility late last year, our team never could have anticipated its provision in crisis.

In January, our long-time facility Ruth’s House flooded along with many areas in Indonesia’s North Sulawesi region. As a result, CF staff and residents moved into Sarah’s House months ahead of schedule. Operations continue as best they can, and we continue to deliver specialized care for each resident.

Although we do have this facility, the home is far from ready. We want to provide the best aftercare environment as soon as possible.

To do this, we need your help.

CF is currently looking for semi-skilled and skilled craftsmen who can volunteer their time and talents to renovate Sarah’s House. While anyone willing to go is welcome, we especially need people skilled in:

• Electrical
• Plumbing
• Removing + Constructing Walls
• Ceiling Repair
• Landscaping
• Drilling for + Repairing Wells

If you possess any of these skills, we ask you to make Sarah’s House a priority. Over the next few months, we hope to deploy church teams of four to five people for stays of up to seven days (11 days, including travel). All team members will need to submit an engagement team application, and—for the security of our work—undergo a background and reference check.

Interested? Contact CF’s Bickey Lloyd at blloyd@compassionfirst.org, and ask for more information. Thank you for your partnership as we care for young trafficking survivors every day.

Residents Recover After Ruth’s House Flooded

The past two weeks have been challenging for Compassion First’s residents. During the recent North Sulawesi floods, water submerged Ruth’s House, our care facility for sex-trafficking survivors, but all our residents and staff are safe. We’ve since moved the girls in our care to our new residential facility, Sarah’s House.

Even though renovations to this new facility have yet to be completed, we are incredibly thankful for the girls in our care, who are so willing to face this challenge and those ahead. Although they suffered though a natural disaster, they have handled the move gracefully. Also, they have been willing and excited to help our staff and volunteers clean up Sarah’s House and work with people in the community to clean up in the flood’s aftermath.

This past week, Compassion First was grateful to host a team from Mill Creek Foursquare Church in Washington. Their timing couldn’t have been more perfect. They came prepared to work on renovations to Sarah’s House but had to split their time also working to salvage what they could from our old residential facility, Ruth’s House. They were incredibly flexible, filled with compassion for us and eager to help in any way they could.

While the team was here, they also had opportunities to serve the neighboring community with the girls in our care. Even though the team and the girls didn’t expect to get as muddy as they did, they were filled with joy and made the best out of the situation. They worked hard to make our local neighborhoods clean and safe again.

One day, CF residents and the Mill Creek Foursquare team took a break from cleaning and did some activities together. The team from Mill Creek brought some new arts and crafts from the States and together created something that would be very special to Sarah’s House residents: journals. The girls in our care were excited to decorate their journals with their own drawings and stickers.

We are thankful that through this disaster we’ve all endured during and after the flood, renewed hope was brought to us from Mill Creek. The team brought so much joy to staff and residents as did the staff and residents to Mill Creek. Despite tragedy to our area, we are so grateful for the girls in our care who are willing to participate in the hard work that lies ahead.

Ruth’s House Gives Back

Packing up 4 vehicles and venturing into the mountains, the girls at Ruth’s House prepared themselves to spend a day serving children who live in local orphanages. Food, songs and games made for a day filled with laughter and joy in the midst of challenging circumstances; the outreach took place a week before Christmas and gave the residents an opportunity to give what they have received in their time at Ruth’s House: love and care. For a survivor, the process of learning that she has something of great value to contribute to her society is invaluable—one of the most precious steps of rehabilitation and long-term success. This monthly outreach is a tangible expression of deep, inner healing and hope for the future. Thank you for your prayers and giving that made Christmas a special season within Ruth’s House and extended further to touch a community. 

Celebrating Christmas at Ruth’s House

Christmas cheer filled the month of December here at Ruth’s House. Each day, the girls in Compassion First’s care enjoyed festive activities and crafts, including making bracelets, painting posters, and decorating pretzel houses. Of course, it also wouldn’t be Christmas without baked goods. While some of our staff baked Christmas cookies, Ruth’s House residents embraced their cooking skills by making chocolate pancakes. Let’s just say everyone ate their share of sugar!

All these activities led to our annual Christmas party, filled with even more baked goods and hours of entertainment. We started our party by singing Christmas carols, followed by a humorous skit led by some of our staff. Residents at Ruth’s House then performed a couple dances that started the competition for the best-dressed Christmas outfit. The girls in our care judged participants as they danced their way down an imagined runway. Later, the evening came to a close with a gift exchange, and we took photographs in front of our Christmas tree.

Christmas day arrived with much excitement. The girls in our care attended a morning church service, followed by an early dinner at one of their favorite places. During this time, a few of our staff members stayed behind to hide gifts around Ruth’s House.

When residents came home Christmas evening, they were surprised to find gifts under the tree! They also discovered some gifts had been hidden around the house. With the staff’s help, the girls in our care searched for and found the hidden gifts. Then they opened their presents together, and their faces filled with joy. After a busy Christmas day, it was a peaceful end together with the residents we are honored to care for.