Ruth’s family loved Jesus and gave her a strong foundation of faith. From children’s choirs to church events, God was all around her. But even though Ruth knew about God, she didn’t build a personal relationship with Him.
At the same time, as a first generation Kenyan-American, Ruth struggled with who she really was.
Ruth responded like many young people do… by rebelling.
“I started drinking at age twelve,” Ruth remembers. “It led me down the path of just not making the wisest choices and not hanging out with people who would be beneficial to my life.”
At nineteen, Ruth became a single mother of twins. After they were born, the constant drinking continued… until Ruth hit rock bottom.
“For the first time, I reached out for help,” Ruth shares.
Wanting her to get the support she needed, Ruth’s family looked for programs for her. Her mom and dad discovered Hoving Home, which felt like just the right place for Ruth to figure out who she is and heal.
From the moment Ruth walked in, it felt familiar.
“I just knew the presence of the Lord was there [at Hoving Home],” Ruth says. And it compelled her to stay!
Facing her past was difficult, but Ruth persevered. God even opened a door for her children to stay with her at our Lioness and the Lamb Home, too!
With vulnerability, Ruth came to terms with decisions that hurt her and her family. But God blessed her humility and showed her the power of surrender.
“It’s a consistent dying to self every day,” Ruth expresses.
Since graduating from our program, Ruth has been working full-time and plans to take her state board exam in cosmetology. Her relationship with her children and her family is “the most beautiful it’s ever been.” Best of all, Ruth shares…
Ruth knows that God uses our supporters to help ladies at Hoving Home experience the joy of transformation—and the excitement of graduation! “Thank you for your compassion,” Ruth shares to our ministry friends.
Because of our Hoving Home supporters, not only is Ruth’s life changed, everyone around her is impacted, too!
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As a little girl, Patricia remembers when her dad started drinking. It disrupted their home life and forced Patricia’s mom to work more hours to care for everyone.
Spending more time away from her mom, Patricia endured horrific abuse from an adult she thought she could trust—deepening her growing feelings of low self-worth.
As she got older, Patricia’s insecurities grew along with her.
After marrying a man who physically abused her, Patricia had the courage to leave. Sadly, she sought acceptance in the streets, which cost her what little self-worth she had left.
While Patricia thought she was worth nothing, God thought she was worth everything.
Time and again, He sent staff members from Hoving Home to visit Patricia on the streets. They pursued her relentlessly, assuring her that she could have a safe place to rest and learn about a God who could heal her brokenness.
But hearing promises like “You are cherished” and “God loves you” were hard for Patricia to believe. Her past gave her every reason not to trust anyone’s promises, not even of someone who said they cared.
Then Patricia had a realization.
We’re so thankful God guided Patricia to Hoving Home!
For Patricia, knowing she was loved, even at her lowest, spoke to her heart.
“The thing that helped me most was being accepted,” Patricia shares. “Growing up, I went through so many times of rejection. At Hoving Home, I was welcomed. Mom B and Dad B kept telling me ‘we have a bed for you.’ And because of that, I’m here today.”
In addition to helping Patricia break free from the drugs, Patricia learned how to turn to God. She learned to pray, read Scriptures and talk with others when she felt sadness, regret, loneliness, and all the other feelings she tried to numb through drugs.
“The Hoving Home offers so much more than just a roof over your head and food on the table and clothes on your back,” Patricia adds. “It teaches you the principles that God instructed for us. It offers a foundation for you to live by.”
Through applying proven tools and Scriptural wisdom, God empowered Patricia to escape her life of drug use.
And here’s the amazing news…
She’s enjoyed decades of living with God as her comfort, turning to Him in the ups and downs, and enjoying the blessing of restored relationships she once thought were severed forever. The Lord also provided Patricia with a great job until retirement.
“I cannot thank you enough,” Patricia says to friends who support Hoving Home. “We can say ‘I care,’ but not do anything. Your giving is tangible.”
She has thirty-plus years of faith-filled living to prove it.
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Growing up on a farm in New York, Amanda remembers a normal childhood. Her family went to church and Amanda believed in the Lord.
Deep down, Amanda always desired to explore, to adventure, and to pursue an independent life. Unfortunately, Amanda’s dream to be on her own came as a result of her parents’ divorce.
Her mom moved away and her father worked all the time, so Amanda and her two younger siblings were left without supervision. It didn’t take long before Amanda started to push the boundaries and try new things, including drinking and smoking marijuana.
Amanda remembers getting into so much trouble, she ended up in foster care for a period of time. But she got kicked out of there, too! With no guardrails around her life, Amanda plummeted into addiction as a teenager.
Becoming a mom began to give Amanda clarity, but she didn’t know how to stop her drug use. After two DUIs, Amanda’s girls went to live with their dad and Amanda went to rehab.
While she was in rehab, a pastor gave Amanda a Bible. “I really couldn’t stop reading it,” Amanda remembers.
For five years, Amanda teetered between recovery and relapsing. She wanted to get well, but the stronghold of addiction was so tight.
God answered Amanda’s prayers through a memory her aunt had of Hoving Home’s choir visiting her church twenty years ago!
Amanda called and the door Jesus opened led to her freedom!
Amanda finally had the structure her life desperately needed. She was able to look back on her childhood and mourn her losses and also acknowledge her mistakes.
Most important for Amanda, she began to work on healing her relationship with her daughters.
“Every phone call I got, I would call them,” Amanda shares. “I would write them every week just to tell them I love them.”
During a chapel service, Amanda received a jar with a mustard seed in in and began to write down things she thought would be impossible. Amanda wrote down that she wanted a full-time job and for both of her daughters to live with her in a house.
Of course, with God, all things are possible! And in time, Amanda saw those impossible prayers answered!
Within a year of writing down those “only-by-faith” requests, Amanda became an intern at Hoving Home. Then, we hired her as a business office manager!
Next, Amanda moved to her own home and both of her daughters came to live with her. She knows she can’t ever get back the time she lost with them, but she is determined to make the most of the time she has now.
Today, Amanda is not only there for her daughters. She’s also back to being a big sister and daughter who can be counted on for support, guidance, laughter and hugs! As Amanda’s own mother shares: “Since [Amanda] came to the Hoving Home, I watched her grow so much … It’s a true testimony to the grace of God and what He can do for you … [Amanda] has a charisma that lights up the room, and I’m so happy to see it back!”
Amanda stands on the promises of Romans 8:28, that “God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.”
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There’s no way to make sense of abuse when you are seven years old…
With a single mom who worked and traveled all the time, Elia and her siblings often stayed with an aunt and uncle steeped in gang life. For four of those years, Elia was sexually molested. And nobody believed her.
At just fourteen years old, Elia ran away from home, searching for love and comfort in all the wrong places.
She endured living with an abusive boyfriend. She tried to find purpose in strip clubs. Then she drowned out her pain through drugs and alcohol.
“My life turned into a vicious cycle to numb the pain I felt as a kid,” Elia shares.
Deep inside, Elia knew there was a God. She just didn’t know how to connect with Him. So she humbly took a first step, got down on her knees and begged Him for help.
It turns out God answered Elia’s prayer by shutting down Hoving Home’s air conditioner! Elia’s brother is the repairman who came to fix it. Then he told Elia about our program for women in need.
“I was very lost, and when I got here I felt loved,” Elia expresses.
“Hoving Home provided me with things I’ve never known,” she continues. “They’ve shown me how to live a sober life and that it wasn’t my fault what I went through.”
Here, Elia has gained the personal skills, emotional tools and spiritual foundation to build a healthy future! And she is eager to use what she’s learned for the Lord!
Elia’s redemption story is a beautiful reminder that our past doesn’t define us. God can take the broken pieces of our heart and make us a new creation in Christ!
With God’s help, Elia has overcome the shame of her past and fully trusts in God’s unfailing love.
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Grieving the death of a loved one can overwhelm anyone. Noraleesha knows firsthand.
By age thirty, Noraleesha had lost her step-sister, mother and the father of her oldest son.
Not knowing how to cope, Noraleesha did what so many do: she turned to drugs. A physically abusive boyfriend even introduced her to crystal meth.
Out of control, Noraleesha left her children to different family members. It all came to a head when her boyfriend tried to throw her off their roof.
In desperation, Noraleesha called her father and brother who rescued her from harm … a miracle in itself since she didn’t have the best relationship with her family. Looking back, she sees God’s hand at work. Just ten days after escaping her abuser, Noraleesha came to Hoving Home as our last guest before the COVID-19 stay-at-home order.
For the first time in Noraleesha’s life, she has had time to rest, grieve and consider how her choices have affected her now teenage boys. She also discovered the very best support system she has ever found… God!
Noraleesha also gained practical skills at Hoving Home to help her as a daughter, sister, friend and mother.
“Parenting classes have helped me respond to my neglect toward my kids,” Noraleesha wisely expresses. “I’ve come to grips with learning a better way to parent. I’ve also learned there is a Redeemer, and it has created a sense of hope.”
Noraleesha’s work on her own heart has helped her take small steps to restoring her relationship with her sons. Since coming to Hoving Home, Noraleesha has written her sons letters and given them the time they need to respond.
Now, she and her boys talk regularly over the phone—a blessing Noraleesha is thankful for since COVID-19 has kept them physically apart.
Just over a year ago, Noraleesha had just quit a rehab program and relapsed. Today, she is getting ready to enter our Emerging Leaders Program as God continues to guide her forward.
She is grateful for the time and support she’s had at Hoving Home as she grows in her faith and restores her relationship with her children!
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Growing up in Pennsylvania, Vicky’s childhood was unstable.
The only thing kindergarteners should have to worry about is learning how to read. But when Vicky was a little girl, she remembers being worried about being alone… a lot… after her parents got divorced.
After graduating from high school, Vicky felt like life was heading in a good direction until she was introduced to painkillers.
Vicky’s dependence grew to the point of stealing and eventually developed into an addiction to heroin.
Thankfully, Vicky heard about Hoving Home and for a brief period of time, she stayed with us. She began to learn about Jesus and started to make better choices. In her mind, Vicky thought she was recovered. But when she left, it didn’t take long until hardships lured her back to her familiar coping mechanism … drugs.
“I was basically homeless. My car was broken. I had nowhere to go to,” Vicky shares vulnerably.
Knowing God and kind mentors at Hoving Home were here to help, Vicky returned to our doors. The knowledge she gained about Jesus made its way to her heart and that has made all the difference!
“I have a real relationship with Jesus and it’s better than I could ever imagine,” Vicky expresses. “I have a full time job now. Everything that I’ve ever prayed for, God has given to me. He’s so faithful.”
Today, Vicky knows that God’s grace runs deep. He doesn’t expect us to be perfect. He wants us to keep turning to him with humility and turning our lives and our desires over to His will.
Through hard work, patience and perseverance, Vicky graduated from our program. Her faith has deepened more than she could have thought possible as she continues to entrust her life and future to Jesus.
Vicky is now equipped to use her gifts through her work and in the community. “The learning center has really helped me with different problems,” Vicky shares. “I’ve learned how to address underlying issues, really dig into why you are the way you are, and figure things out.”
Today, Vicky is a full-time employee, she just purchased a car, and she is looking for her own apartment. She is renewed and secure, eager to walk into the purposes God has for her.
“I’m going to be moving out into the real world, which can be scary,” Vicky says. “But I’m excited, because I know God is by my side.”
“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
– Lamentations 3:22-23
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