Listen to Sylvia Blakely talk on the 1 year anniversary of Arise Daughter as she shares her passionate love-filled calling to mentor people who have experienced healing from abortion and are looking to journey towards servanthood as a prolife leader – and answer their calling from God.
Summary
This is Jacob Barr, and in our Pro-Life Team Podcast, I had the opportunity to speak with Sylvia Blakely, the founder of arisedaughter.org. Our discussion focused on helping those who have found healing from abortion to reach new heights in their personal growth and to actively participate in ministry and service. Sylvia shared her personal journey of healing through the program “Forgiven and Set Free”, which led her to establish a supportive community for others undergoing similar experiences. This initiative, Rise Daughter, provides additional healing, training, and service opportunities in a virtual setting, catering to both women and men.
Sylvia emphasized the uniqueness of each person’s healing journey and the importance of ongoing support beyond structured programs. She described how Rise Daughter operates as a mentorship platform, offering one-on-one guidance and group sessions to help individuals identify and work towards their goals in God’s service. The program also extends to artistic expressions, allowing participants to explore their traumas and advocacy through creative outlets.
Throughout our conversation, Sylvia highlighted the spiritual aspect of her work, discussing her relationship with God and the Holy Spirit’s guidance in her life and mission. She expressed a desire to collaborate with other organizations and churches to reach more people in need of healing and support, emphasizing the importance of addressing the often-ignored issue of abortion in religious and community settings.
It was inspiring to see Sylvia’s dedication to her cause and her vision to expand the reach and impact of Rise Daughter. We concluded with plans to reconnect and explore the progress and new developments of this vital ministry.
#ProLife, #HealingFromAbortion, #SpiritualGrowth, #MinistryService, #MentalHealthSupport, #AbortionRecovery, #FaithBasedHealing, #VirtualCommunity, #MentorshipPrograms, #ArtTherapy, #SpiritualGuidance, #ChurchAndCommunity.
Transcript
The transcript was automatically generated and may contain errors.
Jacob Barr :
Welcome to the pro-life Team Podcast i’m here with Sylvia and we’re going to talk about how you can help those who have experienced healing from abortion go further and go higher and essentially be prepared to be servants in your ministry and in God’s army awesome. So well said.
Sylvia Blakely :
Sir, can I use that as?
Jacob Barr :
Oh, of course, of course, yes.
Sylvia Blakely :
I loved it. That was awesome.
Jacob Barr :
So Sylvia, I am so glad that you are here and I would like you to introduce yourself as if you were talking to a small group of executive directors of Pregnancy Clinics.
Sylvia Blakely :
Ok, well thank you so much for inviting me, Jacob a pleasure to be here. My name is Sylvia Blakely and I am the founder of a risedaughter.org and the Rise daughter is designed to help women and men who have come through a level of healing to receive even more healing training and then service opportunities for them to go out and work for the Kingdom of God. Well, if I could share a little bit of my story, that might help a little bit, OK? I had gone through a curriculum call forgiven and set free and it was amazing it was 9 weeks of really gruelling work looking at myself, looking at my abortion story and all of the factors that led up to it. And when I finished that nine weeks, I could not let my team go. I was one of three other participants and had three team leaders and I just felt like I was in community with them we shared so much. We’ve been through so much and so I wanted to stay in touch with them and so I kind of Co opted them into a group me page and so I just kept in touch with them and let it, you know, kind of let them know what my what my new goals were and things that I hadn’t quite accomplished yet and so they were gracious enough to stay in touch with me and so I thought to myself, well, if I need a group like that after going through something so intense, maybe other people could benefit from something like that. And so God began to nudge me toward creating a house. That’s what he kind of turned it for me with many rooms, and the rooms would be filled with women supportive of each other as we go through this next level of healing and possibly training and then being able to serve in the Kingdom. So we had an opportunity to start a website and got some support from a current partner, divinely driven ministry. And so I was able to just kind of launch and put it out there that we were available for women and men who had gone through a level of healing but then didn’t know what to do with their new freedom, right? I was running down the street with my hair on fire, so to speak, and I just kind of wanted to serve God in some way, but I didn’t know how. And I know that there are thousands of people out there just like me. Maybe some of them will be serving in your PR CS, which is awesome. Just why some of them go through the healing process in the 1st place, but then some may come out and may want to do something totally different. You know, we’re in a virtual world now and so healing opportunities are taking place all over the globe just with the click button, right? So a Rise daughter is a virtual healing community. We are a group of women right now who are just bonded together, not only through our post abortion stories, but also through the healing in the community that it takes to continue to heal. And so that’s what we get to offer to women and men as they come out of the healing program. We are a safe place. We meet once a month and we get a chance to really share our stories we get a chance to love up on each other and support each other as we go on to our next level of healing, training and service.
Jacob Barr :
Ok, So what did you find, what did you find in your story when after going through the first, you know, the group that you know that the experience of fighting, healing from abortion. What did you find by having that extended experience with your group or how did that group continue down? Was it like you’re finding greater healing or was it or support that was needed like how would you describe the benefits of going on further beyond that initial experience?
Sylvia Blakely :
Right well, first of all, most programs that are 8 to 9 weeks aren’t really designed to continue to support the women and the men that come out of them because, you know, they have to kind of reboot, reset and move on. And So what I found that I needed was just that continued community, sense of purpose, sense of belonging that I was, I don’t know if I could say afraid, but maybe it was a little bit of afraid to give up also you know when you give that much of your of your story to somebody, it’s an interesting thing and it and it’s something that you want to not easily walk away from, right you’ve built relationships that means something, and so having that continued relationship really meant something to me.
Jacob Barr :
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense because essentially you yeah, essentially you’re known by those people who heard your story and you’re also the person who knows them. And so that makes a lot of sense that there would be essentially room to continue relationship more so than ending the oceanship. How long does your does this concept go on for is essentially like an ongoing listen ship kind of piece or does it also have an 8 to 9 week run in some way?
Sylvia Blakely :
Right well, here’s the thing. You know, i feel as if our organization should be poised to help continue to support that woman or man as long as they need to be supported. Each of our healing journeys is different i know when I finished Forgiveness Set Free. As grueling as it was and as difficult as it was, I there were still some milestones that I had not quite met when I got finished and I and I knew that because the program again, was so revealing of what really LED up to my abortion that I needed to do some additional work right so each of us is going to have a different journey that way some of us will come out completely healed and be ready for service right away. But some of us may need to dig a little bit deeper at some other roots, some other underlying issues that may have led to the abortion. Some of those issues could be sexual abuse, some could be codependency. We don’t know sometimes until we finish the healing program like that, that’s so intense and Holy Spirit is so gracious to reveal those additional things for us if we ask. So it may, you know, it may be a few months, it may be a year or so, we don’t know, but we are ready to hold your hand and walk with you through that process.
Jacob Barr :
Ok. And so the goal, it seems like, So why was the goal picked for to be ready for service or and I guess it makes sense that one goal line might be to identify additional areas of healing. But how would you say, you know, being ready for service is that a, is that like a calling that you essentially or maybe it’s being ready to answer the calling that God has placed in someone’s heart to do something And then in which case you have to be prepared to do that, I suppose. Yeah can you speak to that Like what what’s the background or the side connections to being ready for service or what are the benefits of being ready for service?
Sylvia Blakely :
Yeah i think you just, you just hit the nail on the head Jacob. You know, one thing that I was very clear about with me was that this was not going to be a club, right we were not going to be a group that was just going to meet for meetings sake. Although our meetings are extremely refreshing, we call them refresh meetings as a matter of fact because they are an opportunity for you know, leaders of other abortion programs, PRCS to just come and just be for a minute, you know, without an agenda necessarily an area where you can just relax your soul and just allow other women and men to speak life over you. But that being said, you know, God is always wanting more harvesters for the work that He has for us to do and this is a harvest field and we know if we really were at capacity, each and every one of our post abortion ministry programs will be overrun right with the millions and millions of women and men who are seeking healing from somewhere and don’t know where to go. So you know we have to be ready to increase capacity and that is part of that is a huge part of why we exist.
Jacob Barr :
So you mentioned that this is for men and it’s obviously for women, but also it’s for men. Can you speak to how this program is it the same for men or is it uniquely different for men compared to women if you speak to that side of that of that of the abortion healing world or healing and abortion world.
Sylvia Blakely :
I am learning more and more every day i just attended a men’s conference put on by support after abortion about how men heal differently. You know, how they heal the message of shame and guilt differently, how they might need each other’s support in a different way. And so honestly, I am still learning. I’m looking at hopefully being able to add amendments or soon. But we don’t know we have to see who God allows, you know, to walk through our doors. But we know it’s going to look differently because we know men process this you know, this loss differently than women do. Is there a place for women and men to work together in this i do believe so. I absolutely do believe so i believe there’s going to be some Coed healing that’s only going to happen amongst couples or amongst men and women who can again give each other support in this.
Jacob Barr :
So you when we first met, it was at I think it was a heartbeat conference or Karen at conference, Karen at yes, Karen at yes. And I remember just like when we first met, I remember you having like this. I don’t know if the word is aura, but like, I could tell that you were like in conversation with God regularly like there’s just something about you that says that. And so I want, I want you to speak a little bit about how the Holy Spirit leads you or how you hear God’s voice.
Sylvia Blakely :
You know, every morning, Jacob, this is just the strangest thing but I wake up with him singing over me i don’t know if it happens to a lot of people, but it’s absolutely the truth. I wake up in the middle of a song, so I know it’s not me singing right. It’ll be like, oh, OK, thank you God for, you know, for keeping me tonight and then I wake up and I’m and I’m often really driven at a certain time in the morning to get up and go do my devotion, My devotion time with him is very precious to me and I know if I delay it or if I don’t do it that day, not gonna be a good day, right? So, you know, so we get to spend 45 minutes in an hour together with me reading, with me listening, with me hurdling and with me praying and listening. And that has just been so precious to me because that two way communication has to be worked on. You know, he’s always there he’s always speaking. But if I don’t take the time to stop and listen what he’s saying, I could miss it. And so when I’m in download mode like that, and sometimes it’s right before I get up to go do my devotion, he just starts, I don’t know, just dropping I it’s just the strangest thing it’s almost like a computer update. It’s like an update every morning I get like 2 to 5 huge, you know, ideas in my head and I’ll roll over and put them in my phone really quickly or, you know, make sure I put them in my journal somewhere, people to pray for whatever it is. And, you know, obviously it’s not me at three in the morning coming up with this stuff right. And it’s always good news advancing it’s always Kingdom building stuff. So it’s just, oh God, look, you know, are you going to give me the time to actually complete all this stuff i don’t know. And I, you know, but I try not to worry about that, you know, because he told me I was going to work at his info. And so when he’s ready to do what he does, I’m trying to make myself available to be ready to receive what he has.
Jacob Barr :
Oh that is so amazing. So Sylvia, waking up into waking up to the middle to the song of being, do you think God is like essentially like does the experience feel like you’re listening to a song and as you wake up you’re in the middle of a song it’s almost as if you’re being sung over is that can you describe what that sort of feels like and because it seems like a really beautiful and it’s just an amazing experience to go through.
Sylvia Blakely :
You know, Jacob, since I was probably three or four years old, I’ve always felt God’s presence, and it’s often been through song. I can remember being a little girl just sitting on my front stoop and just crying when I’d hear a song in my head and I didn’t know where it came from i didn’t know why, but it was always something that was designed to speak to me and touch me and so that’s been, that’s been something I’ve lived with pretty much my whole life. But it’s been just, I think since I’ve actually, probably since I’ve started a rise daughter, that his insistency about letting me know that he’s there for me has grown. You know, ministry work is difficult i’m finding that out right. You know, to be able to stand in the gap for women who are healing and fight against the enemy who does not want this work done. You know, during the day, I think at night, he just wants to be able to bathe me in his love. And you know when you’re in his eye, you know when you have his favor. It’s just that it’s a feeling i can’t. It’s hard to describe otherwise except for to tell people that if you can ask Holy Spirit to do it for you, please do. Because you just feel a love that is overwhelming, just overwhelming like today. And ever since I woke, I woke up this morning i just can’t seem to contain my joy. It’s just been the most amazing day today.
Jacob Barr :
Oh, that’s awesome. That’s so awesome. Ok, so this curriculum, this abortion healing continue, you know the potentially allowing someone to continue on finding healing and help and care with their community. Is this, is there a price tag is it licensed is it free? How did what does that look like for someone wants to adopt this into their clinic or center?
Sylvia Blakely :
So you know, right now it’s a process and it’s something that we call a line it’s arise, live in God’s newness. So it’s a little bit of a play on our name, but it’s a process that allows me as a mentor to sit down with someone who again is coming out of a healing program and looking at. We look at 8 different domains, different areas that person has been placed in by God where they can be influential or they can be influenced by. And we talk about each of those domains individually and we look to see where God is already plugging them in. We also look to see where there’s areas where they don’t feel free, where they can’t talk about, you know, their past and what’s LED up to where they are right now. They also look at areas where they want to be freer and who can they, you know kind of bring along as an ally in that in that process. So it’s it really is just a one-on-one process right now and it is allowing people to see how God is connecting the dots in their life through this healing. We sit down, It’s about 90 minutes and then we revisited in about two weeks. And we look at to see where God is moving. And quite often people have, you know, come to the realization that, hey, you know, i didn’t tell my daughter because I was afraid, for example, that she might reject me. And now Holy Spirit is saying it’s time. I’m going to make an opportunity for you to have that important conversation and then it happens and then the world doesn’t end And then, you know, they find out their connections even closer than they than they expected. So it’s been that kind of a just one-on-one really intense mentoring time for us to just sit down and look at, look at their life and see how this healing is going to further God’s Kingdom.
Jacob Barr :
Ok, so and if the clinic wanted to use this to help to help the women and men who are finding you know, healing or have found healing and want to continue on, would they go through your group to do a virtual group or would you provide like the curriculum in some way so that they could use a local person to? Is this sometimes done in person or is it always done virtually? What does that look like and how does that work?
Sylvia Blakely :
Right so our ministry is 100 % virtual at this point. Ok. So what we would do is we would partner with that PRC and say, hey, if you have somebody that you would like to refer to arisedaughter.org please do. We will get together often times I get referrals and then we meet on like an email and then, i’ll you know, kind of meet with that person individually and we’ll see where they are. It may be something that is something they’re not quite ready for so we get to talk about that. It may be something that maybe they need to go back to some fundamentals in terms of their healing and we can talk about that and kind of get them referred back to maybe another program that would that would fit their healing right away before they step into the next level. We’re talking about a subset of people, right so this is these are people who have healed and want to move forward. Some people are healed and they’re happy where they are and that’s OK. But from your mouth to God’s ears that it may become a curriculum at some point. Jacob, that would be amazing awesome. Now God has not called that out yet, but I could see that being a possibility. Most definitely. But right now it’s one-on-one referral, yes.
Jacob Barr :
Ok, so if someone if someone was called, if someone has a need and they live in a different state, they could connect to your group virtually, yes. How many spots do you have available for someone to connect to this, you know this virtual group?
Sylvia Blakely :
Well, right now we have quite a few i mean i am the lead mentor right now. So I have, I’m retired, praise God to do his work so you know I make available probably a good 15 spots a week for the one-on-one mentoring so I have not been full yet so I still have some capacity, but I am also in the process of training mentors. So I’ve got 17 members who are being trained right now to become mentors. So we can do the math from there hopefully you know I of course they won’t be as all of them won’t be as available as I am, but we will definitely be increasing our capacity this year to be able to accept because that one-on-one right now we’re finding is really important. Group has been really good again for us to be able to just kind of share our general concerns, our overall laborers and ask prayer for that but that mentoring piece really I’m feeling, is going to be most beneficial one-on-one.
Jacob Barr :
Ok, so most of these, most of the yes, most of them are one-on-one but do you have some that are small groups as well or is it almost all one-on-one at this point?
Sylvia Blakely :
It’s all one-on-one at this point again, small groups is more our monthly refresh meetings. We also have an artist collective which we can talk about a.
Jacob Barr :
Little bit oK.
Sylvia Blakely :
That’s small.
Jacob Barr :
So 17 people being trained to essentially be available, oh seven people being trained.
Sylvia Blakely :
From your mouth to my God but.
Jacob Barr :
Yes, so seven people. So if so it sounds like there’s room for this to grow. You know, essentially you’re preparing for it even with 15 spots in your schedule available, you’re still preparing people to also take on that leadership role of or that guiding role of helping other people continue on with their healing process.
Sylvia Blakely :
Yes, yes.
Jacob Barr :
So there’s really not like a curriculum per southeast it sounds like it’s almost a lot more like a how would you describe how you’re training those seven people or what are, what resources or tools do they leverage? Or is it primarily their experience in a previous one-on-one along with your tutorship or guidance? How would you describe?
Sylvia Blakely :
I would say so far six out of the seven have led their own post abortion recovery programs. So they are quite experienced and I think 4 have already been mentors in other capacities. So they come with a lot of experience already. But what we’re doing is we are putting together mentorship, the arise daughter way. And so we’re going to be looking at specific characteristics of our mentors that are going to make us unique. You know, we’re going to be available we’re going to be responsible and resourceful we’re going to be compassionate and caring we’re going to be transparent, teachable ourselves we’re going to be all of these things that will make us look a little different, maybe, but we’ll definitely, you know, kind of melded to what most people traditionally think of as mentors.
Jacob Barr :
Ok. So if a Prezi clinic has a client in mind and they probably have many clients in mind that might you know be benefited or you know would like to be connected with this group. Would they simply? How what would be the process or steps that they might do to provide a referral or to help them connect with a with a mentor?
Sylvia Blakely :
Well, first of all, I would say, you know reach out to arisedaughter.org and start a chat with me. I think getting to know who I am a little bit more and kind of you know, where I’ve come from and what the vision is for a rise daughter I think will definitely help to build a relationship between the PRC and ourselves. I think that’s really huge you know, if you’re, if you are hoping to hand off so to speak, I’ll use that terminology, but hand off somebody who’s been under your care. I’m a nurse by training. And so it’s very typical for nurses between shifts to do what we call a handoff, right. And we care for that person for 8 to 12 hours and we’ve gotten to know them very well. And before we hand them off to somebody new to take care of them, we want to make sure that they understand what their needs are. You know, and I have to have a trust in that nurse that I know that they’ll pick up at the time and, you know, go the next leg. So I would say first of all, you know, get in touch with arisestarter.org have a conversation with me, see if my goals match your goals. That would be really important. And then we can begin to look at, hey, who that’s been through your healing programs might want to move forward now because again, not everybody will. Everybody may be completely satisfied to have, you know, completed a program and work at that PRC perfect yay that’s exactly what you know, what you might have hoped for and that’s exactly what you want to happen. But some may want to become sidewalk advocates, Some may want to become telephone advocates. And so maybe your center doesn’t offer that. And we may have resources that we can connect them to when they feel that they’re ready. And that’s the next step, is for us to help them see whether or not they’re ready to move forward. That makes some sense.
Jacob Barr :
It does and then actually that’s a really important part, I think, because I said it highlights how it might be it may be the counselor or the person who works at the PRC who would hand off or help guide a person who’s looking for a, you know, ongoing healing into this space when they identified as something that person would desire or need.
Sylvia Blakely :
Exactly. We just had a beautiful hand off of a young lady who the agency that she was with, they were only designed to spend, you know, 45 minutes to an hour with her. And after that, you know, they knew she wanted to serve somewhere, but they didn’t, they didn’t have that capacity to help her figure out where that would be. And so now I have an opportunity to sit down with her one-on-one an hour each week and just talk about, you know, what God is speaking into her life. And she’s beginning to see some things that he’s moving out of the way and some things he’s moving into her life to help further the Kingdom. So that’s the way it’s designed, you know, for another agency to say, hey, we don’t have the capacity for this next step. Would you like to, you know, partner with us as you bring this next person along a little bit?
Jacob Barr :
So an hour each week, that’s a lot of time how? How do you compensate you know how do you sustain, you know, Provido to provide an hour each week to it Sounds like many people are getting an hour each week.
Sylvia Blakely :
Well, I tell you, if I were a counselor, I suppose I’d probably be charging quite a bit of money. But I am not i am a mentor and my calling is to do this work. So we offer it for free there’s nothing that we offer at a live starter that has a price tag attached to it. So this is just my call this is what I’m supposed to be doing. And you know there there’s going to be a time obviously where they’re not going to need that hour they’re going to spend that hour maybe training or reading something, some other material or you know, possibly listening to a podcast whatever it is, they’re going to need to help supplement, you know what they want to do when they are ready to serve. So it’s just me kind of getting them to that place to see what their next is really and that you know that may take maybe they take a month, may take a little bit longer of one-on-one that way, but we’re going to be there for them.
Jacob Barr :
So it sounds like the seven people who are being trained or following in your footsteps of doing this as like a calling or doing it for free and you know essentially are probably, you know you know either have or seeking a way to put macaroni and cheese on the table in some other form like they’re trying to. So this is, this is a free service, even though obviously it’s, you know it sounds amazing and it doesn’t sound free. Essentially it sounds like it’s someone’s sacrifice or if someone’s be acting as a servant, this you know, this is provided through that heart.
Sylvia Blakely :
Yes, absolutely and here’s the thing, Jacob. Here’s the thing. There are so many women, and I suspect a lot of men, who want to do exactly this type of service for God. When you have been forgiven, when you have been set free, when you are able to walk in your true freedom, your true authenticity, to be truly transparent about your past, and not only that, but what God has done to heal that past, You would be surprised how many people are hiding under the Pew right now who want to come out and serve in this capacity or something very closely like it. You know, there are lots of other things we could do with our freedom, but trust and believe this is one thing we want to do to give back to God and to honor him for what he’s done for us.
Jacob Barr :
Yeah, that does make sense. Yeah and so essentially it sounds like, yeah, finding that desire through the forgiveness provided, find that desire to offer others to find, you know, that same beauty through forgiveness and helping them get to that same, that same place wow so let me think what’s so when it comes to a pregnancy clinic, team them understanding what this is, help them under, you know, them knowing that it’s available and them understanding how maybe how could you explain how they might identify a person who would desire or need this like what question might they ask, or what might that person say or do that would represent them wanting a this ongoing healing opportunity?
Sylvia Blakely :
Yeah, it’s kind of like that discipleship, right it looks sort of like discipleship and that you’re going to notice that woman or man is faithful. That they are faithful that they are available, that they’re teachable, that they’re hungry, you know, that they want to interact with God’s Kingdom and put themselves out there i mean this is, you know, we’re in a war zone. Obviously the lines have been drawn right between life and death. And so if you want to enter into the war zone, you have to be battle ready. So you know who are, who are the people that are coming out of your program who look battle tested. You know, they’ve come through this fire of healing and trust me, it is a fire. And they come out and they’re still flaming, but in the best way for God. You know, these people are hungry, they’re not shrink, they’re not those shrinking violence. These are the ones that want to get out there and say, God, use me here I am so. And again, that’s going to be a subset of a subset, right we’re not talking about everybody that exits your program. We’re talking about a faithful few that are going to want to serve openly with, you know, with that bullseye in their chest, say i’m pro-life I stand and I’m going to speak.
Jacob Barr :
Wow it is it sounds like you’re taking someone from, you know who has found healing at some level and you’re essentially sort of taking them through like the armament of God to like equip. To be able to like, you know, to, you know to get a shield and to get to get to get a breastplate and a belt and these boots and the helmet and all of these pieces on so they can go and fight and act it feels like you’re helping them, yeah equip.
Sylvia Blakely :
Exactly. And that’s the beauty of my partner, divinely driven ministry. They are a ministry that’s geared directly to discipleship. And so if somebody comes out and they’re not quite battle ready and they want to know how to enter in devotion time with God or how to study His word deeper, you know, I can say, hey, listen, here’s a group that’s ready to take you on and will help you become better ambassadors for Christ so that you can feel like they’re armored up to enter into this work. If you’ve got that layer and foundation already ready, then let’s go. You know, where else do you see yourself? Have you identified some other, you know, issues maybe in your past that you need healing for? I’ve been through three other healing programs since I first did forgiveness set free. Now we’re just talking since April of 2020 That was when I finished that program because God revealed to me there was some other things that I needed to really look into and to tap into. You know, he doesn’t want to leave any healing on the table for us. We just have to be courageous to pick it up. And so, you know, that’s the fire that I’ve walked through, and that’s the fire I want to help others walk through when they’re ready, when they’re ready.
Jacob Barr :
How does How does Araya’s daughter connect with churches and people who are, you know, what does that look like for someone who’s going through Araya’s daughter is it, are they usually connected with the church already are Is the PRC taking someone and helping them, you know, find healing and then do they help are they helping them connect with the church and then they find Araya’s daughter like, how does the church interact with the Araya’s daughter experience and process?
Sylvia Blakely :
Well, let me let me let me put this out there this way. How could the church interact with a rise daughter? I feel as if the sins that we don’t speak in church are the ones that we don’t address. And so if your church does not have a compassion ministry, compassion pastor, if they are not addressing issues of abortion or miscarriage, still birth, any reproductive laws. And I’ve talked to pastors who said, you know, those are sticky wickets for them they’re very nervous about bringing some of those issues up because they’re afraid of alienating a lot of their congregation. So if they’re ready to do that identification of the sin and then the compassion for the sin, then I think it’s the time where again, we can start coaxing people out from under the pews and say it’s OK, we love you no matter what your past is. Here’s an organization that can help you with healing most, but I’m mostly most, but a lot of large churches are connected to APRC in some way. So that is usually the route I think most churches would take. And a lot of the PRCS have an abortion recovery program. So once they enter into the PRC through that network and then they enter into the healing program that the PRC has, then from there I think would be probably the best way or probably the most influential and resourceful way to connect with a Rise daughter.
Jacob Barr :
So would someone normally go through APRC abortion healing group before connecting with a RISE daughter, or might somebody start at a RISE daughter?
Sylvia Blakely :
Somebody could start at a Rise Daughter and we’ve had a lot of people visit the site who are looking just for that very first healing program. We are blessed through say one to be able to offer a five day self study and it’s beautiful because I can email that particular person who wants to just do maybe an at home study maybe they’re not a group person or maybe they’re not quite ready to share with other people what their past has been. They can use this five day self study to explore, begin exploring the issues around their abortion and where they might need some additional healing. It’s not meant to be the end, it’s just meant to be the beginning. From there then they can go into a deeper study if they choose to or retreat something like that. There’s lots of different options for people again, it just kind of depends on where they’re coming from and what suits their needs best. We are doing our best to meet people where they are, Jacob. We don’t want to say, well, if you’re not Christian, we don’t serve you. If you don’t walk with that in this way, we don’t serve you. If you’re just raw from your abortion, we don’t serve you we want to be able to have an open hand for everybody, and we won’t be able to service everybody in the deeper way until they’ve gone through some healing. So there are lots of options.
Jacob Barr :
Interesting so if someone believes in Jesus versus someone not knowing Jesus yet, how does that affect that process and what they might receive through, you know, signing up and starting this process with an arise daughter, counselor or you?
Sylvia Blakely :
There are a couple of programs out there, Jacob, that take you through healing that does not have a biblical face to it. I have access to those resources if a person is completely adamant that maybe they’ve been first hurt, they do not want a biblically based healing program there are some out there, but you and I know the healing is going to come through the love of Christ. And so a lot of times eventually people may start non biblically based, but then they recognize, you know, for true forgiveness and true healing that you know Christ is at the center of that. But not everybody is going to get there i’m quite sure not everybody’s called so we know that. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to see them healed in some way. I would love for them to be able to hear the love of Christ, though, and I think I’m going to do that better by showing them that love at that point, if they’re not quite ready to hear the word.
Jacob Barr :
Yeah and I can imagine someone who knows, who knows Christ feeling just that burden of their sin and thinking that you know, there’s no forgiveness for me and I’m going to I want the secular option. But you know, they sense, you know, but encouraging them or making it available to them is probably the right speed for the for them to accept it by just making it available. So tell me about how does the art play in is it is it through creating art? What how does this? How does this connect as part of this process?
Sylvia Blakely :
So when Arise daughter started, God asked me to build out two rooms initially one was Arise Advocates and that was for women and men who would be ready to speak out for life issues and the other one was Arise Artist. And I thought to myself, that’s interesting, what are we going to do with that? So just so happens, you know there’s no coincidences in the Kingdom, right? I happen to meet a woman who ran a APRC post abortion recovery and she said to me, Sylvia I am extremely interested in this artist piece. Are we using art to look at our trauma and I said, well why don’t we do that, let’s do that and so we began to bring together women who are post supportive, who also have a creative side and wanted to explore that and use that to help them really examine their trauma. So we’ve had oh gosh nine I guess 9 arise artist meeting since we got started. We did a beautiful one on mask making and this was you know participated in by women who’d never picked up a ink head before I’m sure to draw anything. But we created masks and the masks were meant to show us how we can hide, you know, our hurt, our pain, our shame and our guilt and what it looks like when God removes that mask. And so it was it was an hour and a half of creating and laughing, but really understanding that God has. A work for us to do to help pull that mask off. You know, all the things that we tell each other and tell ourselves about, you know, why we don’t feel any pain after the abortion, or why we can’t be forgiven after the abortion was addressed in that particular exercise 90 powerful, powerful minutes. And so we do that kind of thing each month we come together around a theme and then we just explore that we’ve had poetry jams where we’ve, you know, either written or recited poetry. So it’s been a beautiful way for us to just use the arts, the creative arts, to look not only at our own pain, but now to use it as a voice and advocate’s voice for pro-life issues. And that’s where we’re going with this next year’s Arise Artist Mandate that is asking us to meld the advocacy and the art in a way that we can use our art to speak life over men and women who are maybe confused, frightened, unprepared for parenthood. And I don’t know what that’s going to look like yet so I can’t tell you that the inversion of that, I just know that that’s our mandate for 2022.
Jacob Barr :
Yeah and I and I feel like my church uses artistic, you know, creating art or you know, whether it’s watercolor or songwriting or possibly even, you know, coding on a, you know, website coding could be considered, you know, an artistic form but most of it’s. You know, painting and songwriting or song, you know, playing music. And essentially they consider that to be like a way to worship Jesus. It’s like a it’s like an expression or a form of exercising our worship towards God. And I feel like you’re embracing that in a really awesome way of, you know, helping someone express that hard to express thought or idea of, yeah, of healing and their experience with God or what they’ve gone through and I think that’s just a really beautiful way for someone to create something that can then, you know, a conversation could be stirred around it and then it could be, you know, a way to almost break the ice on some hard things to try and convey i agree i.
Sylvia Blakely :
Agree.
Jacob Barr :
And so this is, yeah, wow this is a. And so this is a brand new program so tell me, when did this start i mean, you said 2020 Is that right is that the beginning of this, of this new journey?
Sylvia Blakely :
Exactly i yeah, i completed my Forgiveness and Free program in April and he began to speak to me almost immediately partnered with like I said, my main partner is dividing the German ministry. They were underwriting me and I, you know, kind of stepped out in faith and went to a couple of the support after abortion conferences and took a whole notebook full of notes and just started contacting people and that’s How I Met a lot of the members that are part of our group now, a couple of old friends. One’s a family member who had never heard my story. And when I shared my abortion story with her, she shared hers with me I’d never knew. So it was an opportunity for us to bond in a completely different way. Now she’s, you know, our artist in residence. So it’s just been an amazing journey. Just reaching out to people, making friends, making new mentors, being able to begin to go to different conferences like where I met you, that was a complete guide thing. I was not at all meant to be a Carinet, if you would look at him in the backroom, but in the spiritual god had a amazing plan for me there and so I I’ve met a coach that I now have an executive coach and you helping me with my website design and helping us promoterize daughter this way i’ve been so grateful for the people that God has brought into my life in this short amount of time. He has his eye on us and he means for us to do the work that he’s asked us to do so he’s asking us to lay different foundations for different rooms and we are getting busy.
Jacob Barr :
Awesome and that there’s so much, I feel like I sort of want to know like where this journey is taking you because I feel like you’re at the beginning there’s going to be so many beautiful landmarks coming down the road. And so it’s really exciting to sort of see, you know where this, where this continues on it’s going to be really cool to hear Maisie to hear about the next things that come up and then where God takes you from there. So I really appreciate you sharing your story and for you listening to God’s direction on this because yeah, i can’t even imagine how many women are going to be blessed by the effort and work that you’re doing it just seems like a very large it’s a beautiful opportunity for people to find healing and that’s just a wonderful, amazing story. So thank you thank you for helping.
Sylvia Blakely :
Thank you Jacob, for putting our Little Unicorn organization out there on the map for people to grasp onto a whole nother level of healing that God does not want us to leave behind. And I just, i’m praying that I can partner with a lot of the people that listen to your podcast so that again, we can build this army that he needs for us to build up, so that we can fight back against the darkness.
Jacob Barr :
Yeah and I can imagine you empowering a volunteer at APRC to essentially to help sort of be like that local person who would help serve the growing population of people seeking, ongoing healing out of that subset of a subset but yet still trying to essentially embracing and supporting those who want to go further, who want to go higher and get stronger and be better equipped to serve and to and to be used by God and essentially it sounds a lot like discipleship prep or like a sister of discipleship i’m not sure how you would say it, but yeah.
Sylvia Blakely :
Exactly. It’s exactly it’s a it’s a model that I hope is replicated and it doesn’t have to say Araya’s daughter, obviously it could be whatever God tells you it should.
Jacob Barr :
Be I think Araya’s daughter’s a beautiful name though i feel like that the word arise has such energy behind it and daughter just speaks of you know of who you’re helping i guess for men it might be nice to have it be a rise son or something but Arya’s daughter is definitely a really good name for the for the female audience thank you thank.
Sylvia Blakely :
You OK again from your mouth. The guys here Rise son may be showing up soon.
Jacob Barr :
That would make sense. I mean, ’cause i don’t think a guy is going to want to be in the arise with the formula. I really appreciate your time, Sylvia, and I will look forward to doing a follow up one with you someday because this is, this is so exciting. This is really fun like how you’re taking someone to that next level I just love. That’s just an amazing vision.
Sylvia Blakely :
I’m telling you, i’m working with this young lady right now, Jacob. I’m telling you, she’s going to be a voice for her generation. I just know it. And you know, we.
Jacob Barr :
Yeah, you’re helping leaders find their voice.
Sylvia Blakely :
Yes, thank God and to him be the glory i just don’t even know. Like I said, my mind is already blown and we’ve been in this exactly 12 months so I cannot tell you how excited I am for the next 12. And yeah, so let’s schedule let’s schedule another one, November 1st, 2022.
Jacob Barr :
Well, or maybe a sooner, but yeah, whenever you want that’s fine. Ok, Let me know. An easy doing on Mondays. Sorry about today. I was. I’ve been running. No, I’ve been running behind but.
Sylvia Blakely :
Yeah, no, I had my makeup on i just got my new Warby Parker glasses so you’re the, you know, the audience, the first ones to see them they’re really kind of jazzy i like them a lot.
Jacob Barr :
Cool cool.
Sylvia Blakely :
Ready i’m ready what? What perfect way for me to cap off our first birthday.
Jacob Barr :
Oh, was it really 12 months from today is that the oh, I did not know that is so amazing. So November 1st, 2020 Oh wow. Oh, that’s so cool. I know oh my goodness awesome.