Fearless Activator | BalletRIP Instructor | Author of Brave
Tamlyn Trefz is passionate about #girlssupportinggirls - helping women find their freedom, so that they can be all Jesus has created them to be! She ran a successful recruitment company for 12 years before publishing a book titled "Brave, Straighten Your Crown". She designed a product range with @sparrowsociety called TamTam, to build into their NGO. This led her to join the team for their first training and launch of the YesGirlProject in Zambia (which empowers girls with a choice for a brighter future through skills training and sustainable scholarships.) She also started a clothing range called Chosen, which she handed over as a gift to her business partner. From there she founded Women of the Valley WOTV - an annual conference which gathers women from all congregations, joining them together to use their talents to uplift and encourage one another.
“As we learn the key values, rhythms & nurtures for life; we start to have a foundation for our future. A future that God has planned & mapped out with a purpose. It for us to seek that purpose & plan from Him, to have a fulfilled life of not all plain smooth sailing but a road of trust and guidance.” - Tamlyn Trefz
TAMLYN speaks to Strongest Story on seeing achievements as acts of obedience, straightening your crown and saying “yes”…
“Acts of obedience have changed my career path, the number of children I have and the places I have lived and worked. They have taken me out of my comfort zone (of living in our little bubble here in Cape Town), all the way to the centre of Africa! I’ve been pushed to be vulnerable and share my story as I’ve navigated through life with an eating disorder at school, bad postnatal depression and anxiety ,and even trigeminal neuralgia. Whilst doctors thought it was a tumour - I trusted my God through every valley and remember clearly before my MRI the words, 'This is not your destiny'.
I have been given the opportunity to stand in front of a hall of ladies and young teenagers sharing the story of my struggle with an eating disorder, and how I allowed the world to define my image instead of knowing whose image I was created in. Being invited to speak at women's events is always a highlight for me and this is where my heart lies: to encourage women of all ages.
‘Women of the Valley’ is a conference that happened last year for the first time and was a huge success. This year we had everything planned to proceed as we did last year, but with the unexpected curve ball of Covid 19, our plans had to change. I’m thrilled that we are now officially ready to Pre- Record our conference at Hillsong church so that we can go online and stream the conference for FREE on the 31st October 2020! We are also praying that funding will come through as we feel strongly that this needs to reach and encourage every woman, even the ones that could only ever dream of attending a women's conference. We are trusting God hugely for what He has planned for this event.
During all the busyness of motherhood and juggling and coordinating different things, there was a stirring in my one son, 'Mommy, why haven't we fetched our sister?" What started out as a simple question ended in a heart stirring, God ordained daughter who was to join our family a year later.
I wasn't able to physically have any more children after our two boys (who now are 13 and 10), but this does not stop a plan and purpose that is destined for this world. The words "Talitha Koum" meaning "Little girl, I say to you arise"... echoed through signs and confirmations, as we worked through this new heart song that God was putting into our hearts. After a couple of months of trying to hear Him clearly, my hubby and I went to visit an agency to hear more about what the process would entail.
It has been a journey of love and trust as we navigate and learn to dance in time with each other. After a year of signing up with the agency, our baby girl of 2 years, joined our family. She is everything God told us she would be!
It has reminded us of God’s constant love and grace every day as each new day brings a time to love, heal and build a bond that will last a lifetime. It has also reminded us how we are all adopted into a greater family and part of an ever lasting heritage.
We recently had a photo shoot which captured sacred moments that I will never forget. She points to the images and says, ‘That’s my family!’ Adoption is the process of waiting for her ‘inheritage’. This heritage will never be taken away. It will be signed, sealed and covered for eternity.”