Hope Beat

Healthy Relationships Lead to Healing

You have probably heard that healthy relationships are the key to healing and transformed lives.

RAHAB’s Minor Mentoring Program embodies this belief through and through. Youth who are deemed survivors or at-risk of human trafficking are referred to our Minor Mentoring Program and receive one-on-one mentoring.

• These mentors are staff and volunteers who dedicate a minimum of one year to building a relationship with each young person.
• The mentor and mentee are paired with intentionality through prayer and finding common interests.
• Over time, these relationships grow and flourish.

But don’t take our word for it — we asked a long-time RAHAB mentor to give her testimony (name withheld to protect the privacy of the youth we serve) on what being a mentor has been like for her …

What made you want to become a mentor?

In the span of just a few weeks, I had three separate people tell me about how I should consider and pray about volunteering with RAHAB, and one of them specifically brought up Minor Mentoring. When I learned more about what that meant, I thought it would be a really fun way to serve. I love working with teenagers, and getting to love someone by hanging out each week and doing fun things together was definitely something I could easily picture myself doing.

What do you and your mentee enjoy doing most?

Definitely anything with animals. I think we’ve been to One of a Kind Pets too many times to count. Our most recent adventure was to the zoo!

Do you have a favorite moment with your mentee? 

For sure, my favorite moment was getting to stand with her as she got baptized after choosing to become a Christ-follower. You can’t even put that kind of joy into words how beautiful it was to watch. But also, I loved so much getting to be a bridesmaid in her wedding, now that she’s grown up and God has allowed us to continue being part of each other’s lives.

How have you been able to pour into your mentee’s life?  

I think just the continued relationship over the years and adapting what mentoring means over the years is how I have poured into her life. It looks different now than it did at the beginning, because her needs are different now. In six years, our lives have both seen a lot of change, but I want my mentee to know that she is still an important part of my life and she can still reach out to me. God gave our relationship the gift of longevity, and I think it’s through that I have been able to see so much that God is doing in her life and walk with her in it.

How has being a mentor impacted you? 

I’m about to graduate with a master’s in social work, and I can say with 100% confidence that this was from the impact that being a mentor has had on me. When I started mentoring, I had just started a career in teaching. However, I realized through mentoring that working individually with women and children who have experienced trauma was God’s calling on my life.

What is the most important thing to remember when you’re a mentor? 

I remember nearly seven years ago, when I was in the Minor Mentor orientation, the Volunteer Coordinator at the time told us how necessary it is to remember that “she’s God’s, not yours.” Mentoring means walking alongside someone through really tough situations, and teenagers make choices that can be hard to watch. But you have to remember that God loves her so much more than you do, and you have to keep putting your mentee back into God’s hands through prayer every single day. 

What would you tell someone who is thinking about becoming a mentor? 

Being a mentor with RAHAB has been definitely one of the most meaningful and rewarding experiences of my life. God knew that my mentee and I both needed each other. If God is putting mentoring on your heart, go for it. It’s genuinely life-changing, and I have seen God’s love and faithfulness and so many more of His qualities show up through mentoring. I’ve watched Him answer prayers and seen the Holy Spirit at work. So if this is on your heart, it’s about to be a beautiful adventure. 

On a practical note, though, what I would say is essential to anyone thinking about becoming a mentor is to be willing to learn how to have good boundaries and follow-through. With boundaries, every interaction with your mentee is an opportunity to ask God for His wisdom and for Him to protect your heart. It’s necessary to know what your role can be in your mentee’s life and where you pass the baton off to someone else safe in her life. Follow-through and persistence are the other essential aspects of mentoring. Trust takes time, and your mentee is going to want to see that you won’t easily give up or walk out on them. You will have to plant a lot of seeds and water them before you see fruit. 

Anything else you would like to add?

This may seem random, but I feel like I want to give a piece of advice on building connections, because it took a little bit of time for my mentee to open up. Long car rides are a game-changer. I seriously would, on purpose, take us to hang out somewhere 30 minutes away so that we’d have an hour in the car together to talk. It’s kind of incredible how much people will open up and share deeper things on a long drive.

RAHAB is always getting new referrals for youth who need mentors, so we are consistently looking for new, committed mentors. If you are feeling called to mentoring or simply want to learn more, please visit our Volunteer page to get started. It’s yet another way you can invest in the vision and mission of RAHAB while playing a vital role in helping transform lives for God’s glory!