Kyndal

Look what the Lord is doing through Mercy Home Ministries, Inc.

Tamara

Started using drugs at the age of 13! Through her addiction she lost everything, but look what God did as He chooses to use Mercy Home

Amanda F.

Amanda's Testimony

Hi. I’m Amanda and I am here to share my testimony.

I grew up with drugs and alcohol all around me, even in my home. For as long as I can remember, drugs had been a part of my life. It was a way of living. And I became addicted not only to drugs and alcohol, but also the lifestyle.

At the age of 21 I had my first child, a beautiful daughter. And sad to say, I lost custody of her when she was 2.

Still, I could not break the addiction, even though it cost me everything.

At the age of 26, I was with another child. I was on Sub Oxone and shooting pills 9 months of my pregnancy.

BUT GET THIS… My daughter was born perfectly healthy, and no detox! TELL ME THAT WASN’T GOD!!!

I brought my little girl home from the hospital, but my addiction just got worse and soon I was on the methadone clinic and doing Meth. At some point, I was taking my little girl from dope house to dope house, trading off everything I owned for dope. I was living in a house with no power, water or food. I went from one Walmart to another, stealing things and then returning them for gas money to get to the methadone clinic or to get more dope. I was shooting as much dope or methadone as I could, knowing I could die.

Then, my baby girl was also taken from me. She was put into temporary custody with my brother.

I still couldn’t lay the drugs down. Eventually, I ended up in jail. (Little did I know that was a blessing.) While I was in jail, I got sober!

When I got out and returned home, everything hit me. I realized then just how bad things had gotten. And I started using again but even worse than ever before!

I had lost my daughter. I had a house with no power, water or food, or even a family. Where there once was a family, lots of toys and some laughter, there now was misery, needles and a bunch of pitiful people that came around only for a place to get high or lay their heads down.

I hated myself and what I had become.

But one day, my cousin came to a “DOPE HOUSE” and got me. She told me of a place she thought might could help me. And a longtime family friend was a director there. I agreed to go check it out, just to satisfy her, not really thinking I would commit to anything.

BUT GOD!

That’s when I met who is now my pastor and the directors of Mercy Home for the first time. Thank you Jesus! After interviewing me, they accepted me saying I could come that day.

But I was scared and said, “No, I’ll come back tomorrow. Give me until 4 tomorrow."

They agreed, but wondered if I would actually come back. And truthfully, I fought it! I wasn’t so sure that I wanted to do this. IT'S A YEAR LONG PROGRAM!!! The devil tried everything he could to get me to not show up the next day. But God!

God had a plan!

Jeremiah 29:11 says "’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’"

Coming to Mercy Home Ministries was the best thing I have ever done.

Was it easy? I would be lying if I said "yes."

Many times I was tempted. There were times things happened that triggered me and other times I just would think too much and would want to leave or give up. For example, there were times my husband and others would come to church to see me and I would watch them leave, tempted and wanting to go with them. There was even a time that Michelle and I found some drugs!!! But the hardest time was going to court and DHR placing my daughter Bodi into foster care, into a home with complete strangers! And I had to just watch her go.

I can look back now and see that God was even in that! My daughter was placed in a Christian home with an amazing couple that I will forever be grateful for! And I praise God for it!

But as I said, Satan tried over and over many times to discourage me and try to get me to run. And many times I considered running.

But I DIDN’T!! I chose to stay!!! And I have found out that God honors commitments!!!

I have learned that if you just keep doing the next right thing, good WILL come.

No matter where you are, if you’re in a program or out in the world, we all have choices, and our choices that we make decides our future.

I am so thankful that I made the right choice by coming into Mercy Home Ministries!!

I have been to five different programs in my lifetime. (5 is the number for GRACE.). But the difference in Mercy Home Ministries is IT’S A HOME!!! And in this home, is HOME!!! A family of LOVE, SUPPORT and CONCERN! And when you come in, immediately, you become part of this Family.

But best of all, MHM’s points you and leads you to CHRIST!!! I am happy to say that I NOW HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD!!! Before coming into MHM, I didn’t have one. The only time I would pray was when I was in jail or I was sick from the drugs and I would pray for God to take it away or let me die.

Through lots of Bible studies, Church Services, Reading the Word, Praying and Memorizing Scriptures, MHM has helped me to Grow in the Lord.

Psalm 119:105 says, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”

MHM has helped me to Trust in Jesus!

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not to your on understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.”

And MHM has Lead me to Christ!

1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

I am forgiven! And Jesus Christ is now my Lord and Savior!

I truly feel that because of me sticking with my commitments and making better choices, God has performed miracles for me!!!

Before, I could not go without drugs. But I am now ONE YEAR CLEAN!!!

During my time in MH, I have graduated CWJC and received a scholarship! I now have a CAR and a JOB, along with an APARTMENT awaiting.

But that’s not all. I am also rebuilding a relationship with my oldest daughter!!! THANK YOU JESUS!

And IN LESS THAN 10 MONTHS, I RECEIVED CUSTODY BACK OF MY YOUNGEST DAUGHTER! I KNOW that was a MIRACLE!!! I have never heard of anyone getting custody back, in such a short time, after the child has already been placed in foster care!

But it’s even BIGGER than that! GET THIS… 

I was still living at MERCY HOME when DHR and the Court System placed my 4 year old child back into my care!!! Placing her with me… At Mercy Home!!! THAT DOESN’T HAPPEN! And I give GOD all the GLORY!

I thank everyone who has had a part of my life this past year! It's been a great journey! 

“And I am completely convinced that God, who began this good work in me, will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)

Now, as I stand here in front of you all, I want to encourage you, no matter where you are in your life, or what may come,

NEVER GIVE UP!!! GOD IS WITH YOU and HE IS FOR YOU!

MAKE RIGHT CHOICES and STICK WITH YOUR COMMITMENTS!

BUILD A RELATIONSHIP AND GET TO KNOW JESUS CHRIST! For HE is the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE!

And KNOW that WITH GOD, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!

PSALMS 40:1-2 says

“I waited patiently for the Lord;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.”

Amanda M.

Amanda's Testimony

 

I grew up the older of two children in a divorced family. My mom loved me and my brother and worked very hard to take care of us. It wasn’t always easy, but obviously I survived. I’ve always known Jesus thanks to my grandmother who is very Christ-like and taught me at an early age to love him and have a reverence for God.

But as a teenager I did like most do and I partied some and shortly before I turned 18 I got pregnant with my son Tyler and I gave birth to him on May 31, 2006. I had a difficult time with accepting the role of being a young mother, being that it was definitely unplanned and shortly after my son was born his father and I split up. But by the time I was 21 I was supporting us both on my own working in management for a fast food restaurant. I had a new car, my own place, and everything that Tyler and I needed or so I thought.

My entire life I’ve struggled with bouts of depression and loneliness and as a child I would lay awake at night and pray myself through or talk to my grandma about God but as a young adult I strayed from that and learned instead to experiment with drugs in order to fill that void. Until the year I turned 22 I was able to function and work to provide for my son but as my drug use became more prevalent my supervisors began to notice and I quit my job in April 2010 after I was unable to pass a drug test requested by upper management.

After the loss of my job I began to associate closely with a man who was manufacturing my drug of choice. I began to constantly use without limit and sell part of what he would produce in order to make ends meet. I became totally paranoid. I completely changed and distanced myself from my family. Then in June 2010 my house was raided and I was arrested with this man for unlawful manufacturing of a controlled substance. I spent a few weeks in Marshall County Jail and eventually my dad came and bonded me out. But when I got home my life was totally different. I lost my car, my home and custody of my son. The pain of this realization was overwhelming and I did not seek an open communication with God to give me strength and within the next month I was high again. Eventually I met up with the same man and went on a completely destructive yearlong bender that took me away from my family again.

My personality was completely changed and I turned into a violent, angry shadow of who I used to be. I no longer prayed and we began to thrive on the evil works we were involved in. And eventually my soul was hanging in the balance. In May 2011 I was arrested in Boaz for possession of a controlled substance only to be bonded out by that same man the next morning. Five days after being released from Boaz City, Etowah County task force raided a house I was at along with 6 other individuals. I had my second manufacturing charge in less than a year. After spending 5 months in Etowah County Detention Center I was transferred to Marshall County for 8 more months due to a revoked bond on my original charge.

I spent those 13 months in God’s Word trying to build on my relationship with Him. On June 19, 2012 I was released. It felt so good to be home but I had a hard time readjusting at first. However I was determined to get my life back together and put everything that had happened behind me but unfortunately I also put God behind me. I did well for a year, had a short relapse in 2013 but was able to recover, pick things up where I left off and by October 2013 both of my cases in Marshall County had been dropped and the one in Etowah County was reduced and deferred to a pre-trial program.

I was working by 2014 and the man I had been with for a while chose to move in with me.  He had issues of his own but I really thought I cared about him. He however was struggling with addiction himself. For many months, even though he was using, I remained strong enough to stay sober and keep things afloat. But on New Year’s 2015 I began using methamphetamine with him and never tried to stop and it only progressively got worse. I ended up leaving him and getting another place but I was already too deep in to stop on my own.

In May 2015 I was arrested for theft in Boaz and lost the job I had held for 3 years. I managed to barely get by and keep my house and car for a few months but lost more and more of myself every day. In August I was involved in a high speed chase through two counties. Although I managed to escape authorities I had to turn myself in a week later.

This time I stayed. I knew there was no way I could live like this anymore. So I gave in and poured out my heart to God. I asked Him to take control of my situation and do whatever necessary to make my heart right. The first few weeks in Marshall County were hard. I felt like I had never left. I was devastated at how I could’ve possibly ended up back there and hurt my family so bad after everything I had accomplished and overcome. I felt like a failure but I kept faith in God’s restoration power.  

After a month I found out about Mercy Home Ministries and agreed to apply. I entered Mercy Home Ministries October 2, 2015. I knew from the start that Mercy Home is where I’m supposed to be. I knew it the first time I stood at the cliff overlooking the lake in front of Mercy Home. I knew at my first church service and I’ve known every moment since.

On April 5, 2016 halfway through the program I lost my little brother to drugs. He was my best friend. When Jordan died I literally broke apart inside… BUT GOD!!!! The devil is out to steal, kill, and destroy and that is exactly what he did to Jordan. He stole his joy, destroyed his life, and eventually he killed him. This was so hard. I was devastated. But I realized through the next few weeks Mercy Home and all those that are involved in the ministry have been a vessel for God to totally restore every relationship I fractured.

God showed himself in a mighty way by healing all my hurt. Each day that goes by I get closer to Him. It’s been a privilege to be here building a relationship with God instead of where my actions could’ve taken me. It’s been such a blessing to be loved and accepted while building my relationship with God. I can honestly say I will leave here with a firm foundation to stand on and mentors to hold me accountable.

God through Mercy Home gave me my life back and I will be forever grateful. God had me exactly where I needed to be. If it hadn’t been for Mercy Home, I don’t know where I’d be, I don’t know what would’ve happened to me, or how I would’ve taken all of this. Had I not been at Mercy Home and grown to learn that I am not defenseless. God saw me through this terrible tragedy in my life. Mercy Home and all those involved in this ministry have been a vessel for God to totally restore me and every relationship I had fractured. God has healed all my hurt. Each day that goes by I get closer to Him.

It’s been a privilege to be at Mercy Home and graduate the program. It’s been a blessing to be loved and accepted while building on my relationship with God. I can honestly say I’m leaving with a firm foundation to stand on, and mentors to hold me accountable. God through Mercy Home gave me my life back. I will be forever grateful.

Delora

Delora's Testimony

Hello. My name is Delora.

Revelation 12:11 says I'm an overcomer through the blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony.

It's only by God's grace that I'm alive today. At the age of 4, I began being molested by my grandfather. He told me that he loved me and it was our secret, which I found out later that he did the same thing to my mom growing up. It was then that my perception of love was distorted. My dad was barely in my life growing up. His addiction to alcohol was greater than his love for me, which led me to feel inadequate. My mom was in and out of psychiatric hospitals, and had her own battle with addiction, which I didn't realize until I was 13. 

I go involved with the youth at Victory Baptist Church in Buena Vista, Virginia as a preteen, but when I was 14, my mom was beaten nearly to death by her boyfriend, and as a result, we moved to Alabama to live with my grandparents. The love and acceptance of my youth pastors was gone. 

In 1995 my Granny was diagnosed with terminal brain and lung cancer. She was my guardian angel. She was my rock and my strength, and her illness and death were more than I could handle. She died on my 16th birthday. Her not being there to protect me was like living in hell on earth.

I had begun taking her morphine to deal with all the shame, guilt, pain and regret before she died. That was the beginning of my twenty-year addiction to anything and everything that you can imagine. 

Two years later my grandfather took his last breath in front of me and my mother, and the last words he spoke to us were "I'm sorry." 

I graduated high school in 1998, just barely, and in 1999 I got pregnant with my daughter. On March 7, 2000 the most beautiful, perfect baby girl was born, but my selfish desires and addictions got in the way of being the mother I should have been. I praise God for giving her a dad that stopped living for himself when she was born and started living for her. I wasn't there for her just like my mother wasn't there for me. 

My mother died of a drug overdose in July 2003. My life began to completely spiral out of control. I had one failed relationship and marriage after the other. I traded one addiction for another. All my life I just wanted to be loved and accepted, and I felt like I could get that love and acceptance from men and drugs. 

BUT THAT WAS A LIE FROM SATAN!

On February 24, 2014 I asked God to help me stand on the truth. I started the process when I was arrested on February 25th. While in Blount County Jail, a Marshall County inmate was housed with me. She encouraged me every day and told me about Mercy Home. She promised me she and the Director of MHM would be in court for me that following Tuesday. She was released that Friday and I thought I'd never hear from her again. Well that Sunday was visitation, I had been there three months without a visit. At 7 o'clock that night a guard slid an envelope under my door. I opened it and enclosed was application for Mercy Home Ministries. I started screaming and shouting, "Praise God, Praise God! I'm going, I'm going!" Then I looked down and saw the $60 application fee. Immediately I lost all hope. I didn't have the $60. Then, over the loud speaker they called my name. I had a visitor. I ran up the stairs like I was on the Price is Right. I got to the visitation booth and there was the director of Mercy Home Ministries. I picked up my receiver and she picked up hers. By this time I was hysterical. The first thing she said to me was "We love you. We're praying for you. And you're accepted." I hadn't even filled out the application, but I was accepted!!!

Sure enough, that Tuesday morning when I walked into the courtroom handcuffed, shackled and covered in shame, there stood the two people who promised to help me. I could have gone into any 28-day program that day, but after being in jail for over ninety days, I waited 17 more for the Mercy Home to be ready. 

I was the first student. I walked into Mercy Home, and the minute I walked in the door, I felt like my heart had found a home! It was then that I stopped the cycle of going around that same mountain over and over again. I didn't just stop going around the mountain. I MOVED THE MOUNTAIN!

Mark 11:23 says "Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, Go throw yourself into the sea, and does not doubt in their heart, but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them."

One June 1, 2014 my pastor and spiritual father, Rickey Bell, led me to the Lord and I left my past in the past. I started to study God's Word and pray, and this time when I prayed, I believed. All it takes is the faith of a mustard seed. 

On September 20, 2014 my daughter came to see me. I hadn't laid eyes on her in 9 months. I could count on one hand the number of times I had seen her in the last five years. Before she left that day, she told the director that it was the first time she'd seen me not being selfish. God is in the restoration business and he's restored our relationship. On Father's Day this year, she and her dad rededicated their lives to the Lord and she was baptized on July 19th. Mine and my sister's relationship has been restored and every night I send her Bible verses to look up. She tells me that I'm her best friend and I thank her for allowing me the chance to be the sister God called me to be. She's even coming to the women's ministry meetings. Before I got my heart right and came to Mercy Home, she refused to even talk to me. My family has truly seen a change in me that could only have come from God. 

When I came to Mercy Home, I couldn't cook, clean, manage time or accept responsibility. I had no self-esteem and I was just about as lost and broken as you can imagine. BUT GOD! I can cook. I can clean. I am excellent at time management. I can accept others just as they are. I have a spirit of excellence in everything I do, but more important than anything, I know who I am in Christ. I am white as snow. I am Spirit-filled. I am Spirit-controlled. I am free. I am forgiven. I am whole. I am alive. I am chosen. I am blameless. I am submissive. I am redeemed. I am hopeful. I am Holy. I am a soldier in the army of God. I am the head and not the tail. I am above and not below. I am an adopted daughter of the Most High King, created in His image and likeness. I am greatly blessed, deeply loved and highly favored. I now know that God's Word is true and it will not come back void. 

Isaiah 54:4 says "Do not be afraid, you will not be ashamed, do not fear disgrace, you will not be humiliated, you will forget the same of your youth." And I have.

Psalm 65:8 says he will be a father to the fatherless and that's what he's been for me. 

Matthew 6:15 says "But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Heavenly Father will not forgive your sins." I can honestly say I have no unforgiveness in my heart. 

This is my fifth program, five being the number for grace. I don't deserve to be here. It's only by God's grace that I am. Being a part of Mercy Home Ministries has been a privilege and an honor. I have the love and acceptance of God and my family. Before I came to Mercy Home I didn't believe God was at work in my life, but I know now without a doubt that He's been carrying me this entire time. God doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called. I know that I know that I know that I'm called to serve the Lord here at Mercy Home Ministries. 

Psalm 37:4 says "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you all the desires of your heart." And my heart's desire is to minister to women that have been addicted, abandoned, abused and broken. 

To God be the glory! Today isn't the end for me, it's only just beginning.