Maribel’s childhood home was dark and dangerous, filled with addiction and abuse. “My mom was a violent alcoholic, my father was a drug dealer and I was molested from the age of 7 until I was 13.” Maribel bore deep emotional scars, and before long, she began numbing her pain. “I turned to drugs to forget everything that had happened to me.”
Her addiction led her to the streets, where she was assaulted again and again as she struggled to survive. Then she had children of her own and their happiness became her greatest concern. She placed them in good homes and set about changing her life so that she could be a part of theirs.
She stayed clean for two years and was learning to live in a new way. Then her daughter died and Maribel’s grief brought her new life crashing down around her. “I felt like I was going crazy and I relapsed,” she says.
“I knew I needed help, but I didn’t know where to go.”
That’s when a compassionate stranger referred her to our New Life Program, and Maribel had an encounter with God that would change her forever. “I went to church for the first time in my life, got on my knees and asked Him for help.”
Since then, our Bible studies and devotions have helped Maribel grow strong in the Lord, while individual and group counseling have helped her process her emotional pain. “I’d never told anybody what I’d gone through before. But here, I felt comfortable talking about it, and that released my pain and gave me peace.”
Today, Maribel is becoming the kind of mother she longed to be, and she plans to help other hurting women find the new life she’s found in Christ. “I’m a new Maribel.”
“Now, I have hope for the future.”
With Jesus’ love in her heart and hope for the future, Maribel is grateful for your support this Easter. “I’m going to make it because I’m not alone anymore.”
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