After recently immigrating to America from New Zealand, my son William told me about Scarlet Hope. Being forever thankful for the grace God has poured into my own life, I decided it was the least I could do to be faithful and step out of my comfort zone.
The first time I attended Club Zero, Scarlet Hope’s bible study for women in and out of the industry, was a night I’ll never forget. I was a complete stranger to everyone and I was keenly aware of the fact that I was so culturally different from everyone else. I spoke with a “Kiwi” accent and used “Kiwi” colloquialisms. Most people found it difficult to understand what I was saying until they got used to my accent. In every way possible, I felt like a complete foreigner.
However, from my first interaction with a Club Zero “regular,” all of that changed. When we were introduced I held out my hand as a gesture to greet her and she instantly gave me a beautiful smile and said, “We don’t shake hands here, we give hugs!” And with that, I realized I was no longer a foreigner in that place. We may have come from different backgrounds, different socioeconomic statuses, and even different continents, but under that roof we were family: brothers and sisters in Christ.
Traveling home that night I shared my first impression of Scarlet Hope with William. I told him what a warm and loving atmosphere it was, and that first impression has never changed. The weeks turned into months, the love has grown, and many times I find myself just sitting back and watching in awe as the love and light of Jesus Christ touches and changes us all.
On Thursday nights we share a meal, fellowship, pray, praise, and study the bible together. We experience the love of Jesus. We live life together, we laugh and cry together, we share our happiness and sorrow.
And we do all of this as a family.
Written by Pat, Scarlet Hope volunteer since 2014
