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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Help provide the life-changing resources that make these transformations possible.
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