Thanks to friends like you, Teresa has a new-found life in Christ and hope for a healthy future.
For most of her life, instability was all Teresa had ever known. “My mother was a drug addict, and my father was an alcoholic,” she says. “It seemed like we were always moving. I went to sixteen different schools. I didn’t graduate.” She battled drug addiction for over a decade and spent many years in and out of jail.
When Teresa’s husband passed away, the safety she had in their life was suddenly gone. “I didn’t have a backup plan for myself,” she says. Grieving, alone, and unable to walk due to a serious hip condition, she lost her home, her belongings, and any sense of security. “I was asleep in front of our home in my truck because I couldn’t get in one night,” she remembers. The next morning, she was taken to jail on an old warrant. It was the beginning of seven more months of waiting and uncertainty.
She felt that God had forgotten about her.
But He hadn’t.
After eventually completing a treatment program, Teresa had nowhere to go. For a week, she bounced between motels, praying for a lifeline. Then, her parole officer dropped her off at MRM. That day — because of donors like you — changed everything.
At the Mission, she rediscovered faith, community, and dignity. Through chapel services, classes, prayer, and support from staff, she began to feel God’s presence again. “He’s the One I turn to every day,” she says. “He really does take care of us.”
Today, after three-and-a-half years in a wheelchair, Teresa finally has a surgery date. She’s attending every class the Mission offers — from anger management and life skills to Microsoft Office — and discovering a new confidence. “I’m happy,” she says. “I sleep at night, and I don’t feel alone … I have hope.”
She dreams of stable housing, a part-time desk job, and walking again soon. Because of people like you, those dreams are within reach.
“This is the best thing that has ever happened to me,” she says gratefully.
