11/27/2021
PART ONE
"In another lifetime I lived in a village Haiti for 4 years + was surrounded by a community + team that became my safe place. But things began to get unstable in the country + it quickly became a liability for me to continue living there. After I was evacuated out of Haiti in 2018, I wasn't sure how to pick up the pieces. A year later I still wasn't healing from the trauma I experienced. I found myself back in Lynchburg, with more trauma piled onto pre-existing trauma. Our ministry eventually shut down, partly because of partnership bridges burned + agreements of others not met, + partly because donors are hard to come by consistently. I felt the ache of not being able to pay staff or start programs up again that I knew were giving women Hope. I began to start dreaming up ways to reopen our women's center in a way that was more sustainable— insert Bloom Studio.
Bloom felt a little vain at first. It felt as if I was living a first world dream while my third world people were hurting + needing help. But whenever I would have a sleepless night or felt like the weight of it would crush me, I remembered that what we are building here will eventually build the dreams of women in Haiti + beyond that, maybe other women in other countries too. And THAT is my deepest passion + why I believe that God created me. There is nothing that quite lights me up inside than a woman stepping into her gifting + becoming successful.
It's been over a year since our women's center has been fully operational, but these past years have not been a waste. We have been growing our salon + our team at Bloom + they have become my people, my community, + my safe place. When I walk into our building I feel freedom + excitement at what God can do with our little space. And we are now planning to reopen fully January of 2022 with a more sustainable backing.
(CONTINUED IN NEXT PHOTO)
