Tracy Muhlenbeck, the owner and main coordinator at the Five Sisters Project, stands in front of her newly redone office.

Vocation is a noun. Its definition, according to Webster’s Dictionary, is, “a summons or strong inclination to a particular state or course of action; especially a divine call to the religious life; the work in which a person is employed; or the special function of an individual or group.”

In that sense, the Five Sister Project, which is owned and operated by Tracy Muhlenbeck, owner of The Better Way, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, may be exactly how her vocation can be described.

Muhlenbeck says the Five Sisters Project has been a passion project for her for many, many years, but God has told her many, many times over it was not the right time or the right place. Until now.

The story of “The Five Sisters” stems from a biblical story of Zelophehad and his five daughters, Mahlah, Noa, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. At that time in history, the daughters were born when the worth of a woman was determined by the value of her dowry. By law, daughters were not entitled to an inheritance or any other monies. When Zelophehad died, the five sisters faced a frightening future with no father to protect them and no husband to support them and no inheritance to provide for them.

“But these women did not despair,” says Muhlenbeck. “These sisters presented their case to the entire assembly of men, who in turn, took their request directly to the Lord. And the Lord declared a permanent change to the law, securing the inheritance of his precious daughters. At Five Sisters, we believe each woman has a spiritual inheritance to claim.”

Though the building that is now occupied by the Five Sisters Project was empty for quite a few years, Muhlenbeck says the generosity of others has helped the project get remodeled. Now, the focus is raising funds for temporary housing.

The Five Sisters Project opened up last June on Wells’ South Broadway Street and since then has not only improved its facilities, but improved its resources for women in the area.

After getting a bit of a makeover, the building has been set up for guests and Muhlenbeck has been meeting with visitors for the past five or six months, expanding both their client base and their resources in the area.

“We are training volunteers who have their hearts in this program, we’ve been working with the Wells Police, the Committee Against Domestic Abuse advocate in Blue Earth, attorneys, and the Freeborn County Crime Victims Crisis Center in Albert Lea,” she says.

Currently, the group is focused on fundraising to pay for the revamping of a few apartments to provide temporary, transitional housing for those in extreme or dangerous situations. The costs of those renovations could be up to $60,000.

According to the Five Sisters Project pamphlet, the organization “serves women in crisis by providing confidential comfort and critical care, spiritual coaching, life skills training, resources and referrals.” The group, with its many volunteers, also promotes critical issue awareness through community education.

For example, in January the Five Sisters Project hosted a free viewing of the movie, “Nefarious: Merchant of Souls,” a documentary on the global sex trade industry.

They are also planning on hosting a Bible study on Feb. 23 at 6:30 p.m. at the Five Sisters Project as well as a soup and crafting event. Details of both events can be found on their Facebook page, “The Better Way -?Five Sisters Project.”

“We not only work with women in domestic violence situations, sexual assault situations, emotional or mental or physical abuse, but we want to inform the community that these issues, including sex trafficking, are in our communities. Not only are in our communities, but in high numbers in our communities,” says Muhlenbeck. “And we want to give hope to those women or men in those situations and give them viable solutions to safely help them get out of such dangerous situations.”

One thing Muhlenbeck emphasizes besides help and healing, is hope.

“So many times, we see women who are truly stuck in these situations feel there is no choice for them and are deceived by a person they trust who says they care about them and begin to abuse that trust,” says Muhlenbeck. “And before they know it, they are being told they aren’t worth anything and trick women into dangerous relationships and even sex trafficking situations.”

Muhlenbeck says it is vital to look at the truth and statistics of sexual-related crimes in the nation, in the communities, and in society. Take, for example, a bachelor or bachelorette party.

“More often than not, the idea of those parties involves a stripper, even for the bachelorette parties,” says Muhlenbeck. “And so, society, in some form is accepting of those behaviors, and eventually, we turn a blind eye to it when those lines begin to blur in our communities and forget that there are people in those industries who do not have a way out.”

Muhlenbeck takes pride in being a “military brat,” having grown up in multiple states across the United States, but one thing she says she has noticed about Southern Minnesota in particular is its unique small community relationships.

“You see these people who know everyone in their community, and that can backfire, let’s be honest. When someone is in a dire situation, those people, more often than not, feel uncomfortable about going to their friends or community members for fear of being embarrassed or having their situations be aired out in public,” says Muhlenbeck. “We are here to provide advocacy and confidential discussion for those in need of an un biased ear to be heard.”

She says women can be too hurt to try and find something better for themselves and Muhlenbeck insists that God has a specific plan and gifts for each one of his daughters.

“God is teaching people that they have unique gifts and talents. And those gifts have been masked or forgotten by abusers and those women lose all sense of themselves,” she says. “But God continues to bring us gifts and resources, we just have to know how to recognize and use them. It’s about trying His plans instead of our own plans, sometimes, and trusting that guidance.”

Sexual violence can happen to anyone, from children to teens to the elderly. Muhlenbeck wants to make sure that each woman has a safe place and a safe person to talk to.

“My faith calls me to love people. I won’t discriminate against a person based on their religion, their skin color, their income, or who they know in the community. I am here to help women in crisis and we will do whatever we can,” she says.

And by “we,” she means the growing group of volunteers who have helped with transportation, cleaning, event coordination, lawn care, building maintenance, victim advocacy, newsletter mailing, and many other tasks.

“There are never enough warm bodies to help this huge need that we have,” she says. “If anyone is interested in joining us, whatever your gift is that God has given you, come and share it with us.”

It is important to note that though Muhlenbeck and her army of volunteers are not licensed counselors or have an extended education background in the field, they are armed with their first-hand experiences to understand victims in need and have a multitude of resources available for those who need more than what the Five Sisters Project can offer.

Whether your vocation is to drop everything in your life and start up a crisis center for women, or to point out an article in a paper to a friend who may need help, or volunteer your time for your neighbors, it is Muhlenbeck’s message to listen to what anyone’s true vocation is and to help them follow it with their whole heart.