It always amazes me how God takes the broken and hardest parts of our lives and turns them to good for His glory. I shouldn’t be surprised…He promises it in His Word…and yet, somehow, I am very forgetful and need constant reminders of His goodness and graciousness towards us!
I have always wanted to be a missionary, but because of health issues couldn’t ever get medical clearance to go to the field. But God is faithful, and He opened doors for me to serve in the local church in Canada for almost 14 years before giving me the opportunity to go to the mission field. Throughout one of the most difficult experiences of my life, I ended up working, not in a church, but in a home for expectant mothers and then managing a brand-new housing program that would allow single moms who were working to break the cycle of abuse and poverty the chance to start over. Far outside of my “field” of Children’s Ministry in the local church, I spent hours asking the Lord what He was planning! And 2 years later, He revealed His plan in such a way that I will NEVER forget it!
With some health problems finally taken care of, I went to what was then called Candidate Seminar with ABWE. I knew I wanted to serve in a Spanish speaking country and that my biggest skills were going to be in the field of Children’s Ministry and administration. And then I heard about Iquique, Chile and the team serving there.
This small team was getting ready to open what we believe to be the very first Crisis Pregnancy Centre in the whole country. They were also planting a church and needed help with the ministry to children. It was as if the Lord looked down on me and said, “This is what I have been up to! After all the difficulty, and all the tears, you have been prepared to join THIS team at THIS time in order to spread the gospel to those who are in the midst of crisis.”
What a precious gift the Lord has given me! I know that in many situations, brothers and sisters around the world recognize God’s faithfulness in the midst of trials, but they never get the opportunity to see the WHY. I am grateful for those trials now because I know that they led me to where I am today!
So, let me tell you about Florece. Florece (which means Blossom or Bloom in Spanish) is a prenatal and family counselling centre in downtown Iquique, Chile. It opened in 2016 after years of prayerful planning and preparation by my teammates Pedro and Stephanie Garcia as they saw the need to support women who find themselves unexpectedly expecting!
We offer pregnancy tests, motherhood preparation courses during pregnancy, parenting courses during the first year of life of the baby, post-abortion counselling, bible studies and our Baby Boutique, where our clients take the points that they have earned by participating in the program and use them to “buy” items for their babies. All our services are free and are available to anyone in need.
I was able to visit Iquique and be here for the very last training event before the ministry opened in October 2016. My heart was so encouraged to see national volunteers coming together in support of life, and to see them being willing to try something brand new and unknown in this culture.
I went back to Canada to begin raising support and getting ready for language school and Florece opened. It took over 2 weeks before the first woman knocked on the door. The volunteers did practice sessions, role-playing different possible situations so everyone could be as comfortable as possible when it was “go time”, and handing out fliers in the community while they waited.
Since those first very quiet days in October 2016, God has done so much. He has given us a building and the ability to renovate it. He has given us national partners in ministry who support both financially and through prayer. He has changed our days from quiet to crazy!
When I first arrived in Iquique in March 2019, we considered having 5 clients in one day an incredibly busy day. Now we routinely have 15-20 scheduled on any given day. We are making connections with government offices, medical clinics, police, etc and are having clients sent to us from a variety of places. We have the very distinct privilege of being a place of safety and security during a very stressful time in a women’s life. And we get to do something very important – we get to meet a felt need so that we can earn the right to share with them about their greatest need – the need to know Jesus as personal Lord and Saviour.
Since 2020 I have served as the Director of Florece. Although the pandemic changed things for our ministry in a major way for some time, we are pretty much back to “normal” now! Our team of 12 volunteers from 5 different churches in the city work together every Tuesday and Thursday to defend and speak life to women in crisis, and to share the Good News that there is a God who loves them with each woman who walks through our doors.
Since 2016 we have seen 386 new clients, have had over 2620 individual appointments, seen 92 precious babies born, and had the privilege of leading 73 women to a saving knowledge of Jesus! This year looks to be our busiest yet – and we look forward to seeing what God has planned for us in 2023 and beyond!
If you or your church would like to learn more about Florece, please feel free to contact me directly at taylorjenn@abwe.cc I would love to chat with you and share about the ministry of Florece with you!
