The Birth of a Dream “God sets the lonely in families, He leads out the prisoners with singing.” Psalm 68:6a House of Hope was born of the desire to see God’s promise to set the lonely in families, materialize in our community. This ‘family’ was envisioned as a healthy and emotionally safe environment in which women could begin to learn and grow into the fullness of God’s vision for their lives. In the fall of 2001, House of Hope found its physical ‘home’ in a beautiful, Victorian building in downtown Cedar Rapids. In God’s bountiful provision and perfect timing, He provided the $1,000 deposit, as well as the $20,000 necessary to purchase the house though the obedience and generosity of individuals in the community. Not only did the local body of Christ—across denominational lines and despite doctrinal differences—share the vision of House of Hope, but they provided the physical talents and necessary resources to both restore and furnish the house. In the words of one volunteer, he was restoring the house back to its original beauty so that the Lord would transform the lives of women back to what He intended for their lives, to their original beauty. House of Hope officially opened for residents on January 31, 2002, after many long months of prayer, planning, and physical preparations. The programs was initially designed as an intensive, three-phase program with scheduled activities throughout the day. At the end of the first year, House of Hope had served thirteen women; four suffered from alcoholism, two were recovering drug addicts, four were extremely depressed and suicidal and three had left an abusive relationship. In that year, House of Hope rejoiced as two of its residents graduated from the program and six women made a first-time commitment to the Lord. After celebrating the faithfulness of God with the community at a fundraising banquet, House of Hope was blessed with the opportunity to pay off the mortgage on the house. Again and again, the Lord provided for House of Hope’s every need—even a brand-new bicycle for a resident’s son—as staff and residents alike learned to lean on God’s magnificent love for them. At the end of 2003, House of Hope entered a period of reflection on, and testing of, the purpose and direction of the ministry. Changes both large and small were made to strengthen and improve the program. Perhaps the most significant change was the decision to open a revised, three-month program to non-residents on March 3, 2004. Over the next eighteen months, thirty-two women enrolled in the day program and seventeen more enrolled in a corresponding night program. Twenty-one teachers, sixty prayer support members, fifty-seven fundraising volunteers, fifty house project volunteers, and ten maintenance volunteers provided labor and time necessary for House of Hope to function. It was also during this time that House of Hope offered its first day-long seminar on depression, which forty women attended. It became apparent that the women from the community desired the opportunity to learn and grow at House of Hope even if they could not commit to the entire three-month program. Thus, House of Hope began to seek the Lord for His continued direction for the ministry, eventually revising its program to offer women the opportunity to enroll in the classes of their choice, free of any timetable, in January 2006. Whereas in 2004 and 2005 forty-nine women had gone through the program at House of Hope, in 2006 sixty-one women were taking classes. However, each year provided something changeless: an encounter with the living God who loves women and desires to speak to, heal, and teach them. From God’s first stirrings of a vision for the ministry in 1998 to the present day, House of Hope has served as a poignant reminder of the truth of Scripture that God does, indeed, set the lonely in families. He does, indeed, lead out the prisoners in song. And He truly can, and still does, set the captives free.