Carmen, here! In 2012, I went on a cycling tour from Cincinnati, OH to Washington D.C. (yes, it was hard, and yes, it was amazing).

The team I rode with raised funds and awareness for International Justice Mission’s anti-trafficking work. When we started in Cincinnati, we toured the Underground Railroad Museum and Freedom Center.

The exhibits there are heartbreakingly beautiful, honest, raw, and honor the lives of so many people who were enslaved. They tell their stories of oppression, survival, and perseverance in compelling, artful ways.

In one of the last exhibits, a short film is shown that talks about a family who strategically built their home on the top of a hill so that they could best assist and aid people who were seeking freedom and crossing the Ohio River.

It was at this moment, I heard the Lord speak, and when He told me I would one day build a house on the hill, too.

Once I completed the cycling tour and returned home, I uprooted my life and changed my career trajectory. Instead of pursuing a career in education, I enrolled in a grad-school, and began working with survivors of sexual abuse, domestic violence, and trafficking

All of this - the houses on hills, my background in social services, my heart for serving women, and my wedding photography business have - by the hands of Jesus - all come together for this:

Partnering with anti-trafficking agencies local to Dallas-Fort Worth to create a space where freedom, hope, entrepreneurship, community, and fun can all exist together through our studio, future workshops, pop-up shops, and retreats.