Stories of Hope

 “I’m so blessed that nobody gave up on me.” Growing up in the country with nine siblings and a single mom, Alfredo did what he could to help make ends meet. “Before I was even a teenager, I was harvesting crops and working in restaurants.”  Tragedy struck when the family

 “One of the most important tools I’ve learned here is how to set boundaries. I’ve discovered how to love Jesus, and I genuinely believe that He loves me in return.” My parents divorced a week after my birth. My dad was suspicious because I wasn’t a redhead like my older

 “During those dark moments, I prayed to God, asking for His help, and He delivered.” I was born in Macon, Georgia, in 1962, and from the earliest memories I can recall, moving was a constant. My mom, my sisters, and I seemed to always be packing up, heading to a

“I turned to alcohol to numb the pain of isolation. Eventually it became an addiction.” From a young age, Emma was on her own. “My dad was always working and my mom struggled with mental health. Basically, I raised myself,” she says. “I liked to be in the streets, just

“They’ve shown me the love of God.” Raised by a single dad, Nash knew his father loved him and worked hard to provide for the family. But as a child of divorce whose mother was hospitalized due to alcoholism, he knows that trauma had an effect on him growing up.

“I have found happiness around people that I know love me.” I grew up with both parents in active addiction, and they were abusive towards each other. My Dad suffered from Type 1 diabetes, and the drugs quickly shut his body and his organs down. Before I knew it, I

“I felt empty inside because I had no love in my life.” As a child, Kevin struggled with a learning disability and was bullied by his grade school classmates. Things were even worse at home. “My mother called me names and abused me because I was slow in school,” he

“I felt like I had nothing left to give.” After finding my daddy deceased on the bathroom floor from an accidental drug overdose, I blamed myself. I didn’t know Jesus and formed a hateful resentment and distorted view of Him. I felt like I was not deserving of love, and

“There was more going on that I couldn’t see” I had a good childhood until I was 16, when my mom and dad divorced. My family went through negative changes because of it. I chose to stay with my father, where I was less supervised. I started making small compromises

“Now, I’m a disciple of Christ.” Matthew grew up in a loving, Christian home and taught Sunday school for 18 years, sharing his faith with others. But he felt like a fraud. “I was wearing a mask. I said that I had my priorities right – Jesus, then family, then