Updates & Invitations
Inspiring House Update
Our new resident arrived safely on February 27th. She is a joy to spend time with and brings a sweet spirit to the restoration home. She and our current resident have already hit it off and work well together. Thank you to all who contributed to the items in her welcome basket, as she walked into her room on the first evening, she immediately exclaimed, “I feel so special!” And special she is. She sat on the couch later that evening listening to worship music, it played loudly in the background like she was taking it all in: her new life. We are so excited to have her here and to see the growth in both our residents and staff. To quote our outpatient client when she was told about our new resident's arrival, "God truly is a chain breaker".
In the end of March, one of our residents decided to go public with her faith! Our very own Director of Housing Amber had the privilege of baptizing her. What a huge moment for our resident and the SFMB team. This is why we do this. We are overwhelmed with how good God is!
Thank you for all being a part of this vision unfolding before our eyes.
Our Team is Growing!
We are so excited to be growing our team! God brought three new amazing women to our staff, and we can’t wait to introduce them to you.
Amber Van Hoose is our new Director of Housing. Amber came to Set Free Monterey Bay as a volunteer. She currently attends Grace Christian University, where she’ll graduate with a degree in Human Services. Amber is currently part of the core leadership team at Venture Church and the church plant launch team. Amber is a first-generation believer. She knows what it is like to experience deep loss, what it looks like to have nothing, and have God turn it all around, bring hope, and come out on the other side, living in freedom. Amber is known for her contagious spirit, passion for life, and crazy love for Jesus.
Tayler Townsend is our Assistant House Manager. She currently serves at Venture Church in Salinas on the Media & Production team and occasionally sings on stage with the worship team. It was through Venture that she found out about SFMB. Tayler is currently a full-time student at Cal State University of Monterey Bay, where she has been working on her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She agrees that “every life is precious and deserves to be set free” and knows that it can be accomplished only through Jesus.
Sarai Rangel is our new Program Director. Sarai's biggest desire is to see someone encounter Jesus, to see the impossible made possible, and for people to receive salvation through Jesus Christ. Sarai is a minister at The Encounter Church in Salinas CA, serving under her parents as the leader of the Service Department. She is also a worship leader with a dynamic tenacity to lead people into the presence of God. She is an alumnus of Cal State University Monterey Bay where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.
You can read extended bios and learn more about our team on our website. Please be praying for our staff as they serve the Lord together!
Volunteer Training: April 6th
It's time again for our volunteer training session! Join us on April 6th at 6pm in Monterey to learn about how you can serve survivors with SFMB. These are such amazing sessions where our potential volunteers can learn more about the trauma-informed work that we do at the SFMB restoration home. After one evening with our instructors, you are well-equipped to begin serving our clients through a variety of ways. We are always on the lookout to see who God has led to join in the mission to care for trafficked survivors in Monterey County, and we can't wait to meet with you next week! The training will be held at 2511 Garden Road Suite 200A in Monterey.
Prayer Night: April 30th
We are so excited to invite you to our first prayer night of the year! Join us for an evening of praise and prayer on Sunday, April 30th at 6:30pm in the Monterey High School Cafeteria, hosted by All Things New Church. Local community leaders will facilitate a beautiful time of worship and prayer as we stand in the gap for survivors of human trafficking. We are so blessed to unite together in this way as the SFMB community, and we can't wait to see you there! Monterey High School is located at 101 Herrmann Drive in Monterey, and you can enter the property to get to the cafeteria from either Larkin Street or Herrmann Drive.
Local Events
April is an exciting month with many opportunities to engage with SFMB. These two local events are sponsored by organizations that SFMB partners with to support human trafficking survivors. If you are interested in learning more about both the local and global scope of human trafficking, we encourage you to attend one or both of these events. We look forward to seeing you there!
April 21st: Monterey County Human Trafficking Symposium
Please join us on April 21st from 9am to 1pm at Calvary Monterey for the annual Monterey County Human Trafficking Symposium. This event is meant to inform and educate leaders on the issue of human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of children in Monterey County. All educators, law enforcement, first responders, hospitality workers, community-based organizations, advocates, social services providers, and child services professionals are welcome. SFMB’s executive director, board member, and an outpatient client will be speaking at this event, so you don’t want to miss it! Register online today.
April 25th or 27th: Coalition to End Human Trafficking Annual Conference
The coalition will welcome 12 nationally recognized speakers and subject matter experts to this year’s virtual conference. Please take a moment to read their extraordinary bios. The 2023 conference consists of two educational sessions – one on April 25th and one on April 27th, both are from 9am to 1pm on Zoom. The speakers will share their wisdom and vision for reimagining systems and services that serve youth. Each webinar will offer tools and solutions for social service providers, parents, teachers, advocates and those working directly with youth. Registration is free.
Ways to Pray & Give
We invite you to join us in prayer for provision for SFMB. Our organization and our clients have a variety of needs, both spiritual and physical, that we bring before the Lord and our SFMB community:
Spiritual
Spiritual warfare: pray for victory in spiritual battles through the transition out of their old life and into a new season of restoration.
Mental Health: ask God to address mental health issues that arise in the healing process.
House & Home
Twin Bed frame & furnishings: Help set up the 3rd bedroom and make room for 1-2 more intakes by visiting the Amazon wishlist.
Staff Suburban: We need a vehicle to transport all residents and at least one staff member. Until we procure this vehicle, we also have periodic and urgent needs where borrowing a 7-passenger vehicle for a day is helpful.
Graduate Car: We would love to gift our graduating resident with a vehicle to help her get set up well for this next stage of her journey.
Volunteer
Saturday night shift coverage
Teachers for weekly programming (fitness, bible studies, music, art, etc.)
Financial
Gift Cards for meals: Some days we are gone from the house for 5-8 hours a day. Eating out is expensive and gift cards are a practical way you can help SFMB to feed the ladies on these long days. You can mail cards to us at 2511 Garden Road, Suite 206B, Monterey CA 93940.
Monthly givers: Even $10-20 a month makes a difference! Partner with us by setting up your gift online.
If you are able to help meet any of these needs, please follow the links provided or reach out to connect@setfreemontereybay.org.
Follow Us on Instagram
We love to share with you what is going on at SFMB! In addition to our email newsletter, we also share stories on our Instagram page @setfreemontereybay! If you are on social media, be sure to check us out and stay up to date with SFMB.
Thank you!
-SFMB Team
