When I embarked on my vocational quest, I asked a spiritual adviser, “What do I do in order to find and devote my life to encounter God?” The answer was, “Stay close to suffering.”
In my job as site director of the House of Peace, I have learned to accompany women’s stories, women’s survival and women’s journeys of suffering. And yet, it’s also been a place of grace and a blessing.
The House of Peace has been accompanying domestic violence survivors for more than 14 years. The women and children at the House of Peace have suffered physical, verbal, emotional, financial abuse and so much more, and yet they have persevered.
We provide a safe and supportive home for these survivors to stay for six months to heal, process, learn and transform on their journeys to survival.
It’s the will of the Holy Spirit for these families to dwell here, and our role is to open our arms to them, offer unconditional acceptance of who they are and provide a restful place for them to breathe, rebuild their sense of self and safety, support their children and build community with one another, so they can become ready to restart their independent lives.
Their time with us is to connect with the Holy Spirit — the flame of fire — the vital enlightenment inside of all of us. That connection happens in a connection to self that quickly evolves into a synergy with community.
These women feel empowered to support their new friends, sisters and neighbors, and quickly become actors of goodness and healers. This extends years beyond their stay with us. They return to us to give back, their generosity powering a dynamic flow of energy into a community of love and care that embraces these women with guidance, support, encouragement and accompaniment.
Our community is a sisterhood that makes a commitment to a condition of presence and a loving, caring culture giving these families a chance to rest from the weariness of their wounds.
We assure these women they are not alone. Our sisterhood — other mothers residing at the House of Peace and those who came before them — accompanies them. Although women and their children only stay with us for six months, we have created a community of sustainability through our Phoenix Program, which allows women to continue the sisterhood they formed here.
They can stay connected to continue processing, healing, and learning from one another, while sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. It’s beautiful to witness the experience of walking together faithfully. That process of humanizing ourselves again is when we really find God.
It’s profound to witness the suffering of these women and their children, and how their rehabilitation transforms them into people who have resilience and hope. As one of the women shared with me: “This House of Peace has been given to us by God and we’re proud of our prayers. This house is a miracle. It’s our responsibility to God to care for it and to make it a loving place.”
My responsibility at the House of Peace is to be a gatherer of the flickers of hope for these women and in return, I have found a well of hope.