HAPPY NEW YEAR 2023 update from our Founder

Happy New year! 
 2023 is the appointed year of the Lord! The promises, prophecies and dreams we have put on a shelf and we have been waiting for are being fulfilled!!

This is the year of RE-birthing new dreams and they becoming reality! The year of rebranding!
 
Habakkuk 2:3 "For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, it will not tarry."
IT’S TIME TO DREAM AGAIN…..
In Genesis 37:9 Joseph had two dreams, and the second was bigger than the first. His first dream was a field of sheaves; the second dream was a sky full of stars. The second dream was bigger than the first dream! Its time to dream anew dream!! 
 
Haggai 2:9 “The Glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former; says the lord of Hosts. “And I will give peace; says the lord.”
 
Job 42:12 a “So the lord blessed job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning!!”  Job 42:10 and the lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed, the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before!!
 
As you know I took a one-year Sabbatical, which was not an easy decision, but it was the best thing I ever did! The Sabbatical year is a time of dying to self-desires so the Lord can replace them with the new things He is desiring to do. The actual Sabbatical year of the Lord on the Hebrew calendar took place every 7 years when the farmers would not plant but instead let the ground rest. The land would come back the 8th year ready to produce a greater harvest! Also, the number 8 is the number of new beginnings. I spent much time in prayer seeking the Lord to get new direction for this ministry. I gave my soul and body a time to heal, rest and recharge. The Scripture says in John 12:24, “Truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

​As we close the book on 2022, I have been reflecting on the past years of ministry. I’ve been reminded of all that God has done through Hope and a Future Ministries, in the lives of the women we have served in the prisons, jails and in our ministry home. Now we are getting excited about the future as we’re beginning to envision the next chapter God has for us—to expand our services to help more women walk in true freedom. I am so looking forward to this next season with great anticipation and excitement for all the new and fresh things God is going to do!
During my Sabbatical year I was also able to write my life story, Beyond Hope. This has been a long-time dream of mine and this dream is becoming reality. WOW, dreams do come true! God doesn’t waste anything! I hope this book will be a key to unlock spiritual prison doors and set captives free. No matter how dark the situation appears, no one is Beyond Hope. My book will be published early in 2023 and available on Amazon. You can go to our website at: hopeandafutureministries.com for updates or to donate to our book fund to send books into prisons, jails and to those in need.

The Freedom House has offered a Christian transition home for women releasing from prison and jail for over 8 years. We have seen many women receive true freedom. Many are now living successful lives in our community. I don’t have enough room to share all the stories of their lives that were touched and changed. Even better, seeds of hope continue to be planted by these women and their families.

After much prayer over the past year, we were led to reopen the ministry home with  a new focus. Rather than housing  women, the ministry home will be a place where women can meet for bible studies, to support each other centered around God’s Word. This will be open to all women who have a desire to grow in their walk with the Lord and rise up to be whole again!

With your help we’ll continue our outreach to women in prison and jail. We’ll continue to provide Bible studies and Bibles. Some of the ladies have absolutely no support and have burned bridges with their families. We’ll continue sending these women cards and notes often to let them know they haven’t been forgotten. As these women get ready to be released, we’ll continue to provide mentoring and guidance as they transition out of prison or jail back into our communities.
Please continue to pray for us as we step out in the new things God has for us. We truly are better together!

​Sincerely, Founder, Rachelle Benthin
Hope & A Future Ministries

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