We are so beyond proud of Crystal we just had to share a little of her recovery journey with you! Crystal came into our program at the Freedom House after graduating from a local inpatient treatment facility! Today Crystal got her front teeth fixed and she is now able to smile without shame and with a new confidence because of what God has done in her life! Look at that beautiful smile.. Crystal is learning who God says she is and who she is in Christ! We get so excited to do weekly room checks and read crystals affirmations she posts on her mirror of who she is in Christ! In just under 2 months we have enjoyed watching her grow in her relationship with the lord! She says, she loves to go on walks now and talk to God! We have loved watching her grow in our weekly bible study and she has committed to getting plugged into a local church where she is is getting support! She starts a new job next week so, be praying for her as she begins the transition back into the community! One of our greatest joys is watching the ladies transform into that beautiful butterfly that God intended them to be. From our hearts to yours the Hope and a Future Team.. to edit. Restoring Shattered Dreams… Leila and her daughter’s reunification… Dreams do come true After serving 3 years in prison being reunited with my daughter is one of the greatest miracles God has done in my life! We are rebuilding our relationship. Every Sunday is our family day where spend time together catching up on the time we lost. Hiking, picnicking and making new memories... I am so thankful for the second chance at being a mom... On mothers day we are exploring the Oregon caves together and making new memories. God is restoring the broken and shattered dreams we lost! Dreams do come true! I am grateful for a safe place at the Freedom House as I transition back into the community. Since my release from prison in March: I have found a home church, I am rebuilding a solid support system with other believers in the community, obtained a job, learning new life skills budgeting and saving for my future. I am also working on getting my driver’s license. He has given me hope again and I now look forward to the future god has for me! Leila We at Hope & A Future believe that every life has value no matter how many times they fall! " As Long as there is breath there is hope" Elizabeth found herself in a jail cell once again and facing 30 months in prison. Her letter reads… Well as you know I am in the county jail again and yes, I am going back to prison for 30 months… Going back to prison has given me a second chance to fulfill my God given dreams. My addiction brought me lower than I ever wanted to be. I would cry alone and remember the words you spoke to me and how God had a plan for my life! (Jeremiah 29:11) Rachelle you have been by my side no matter how many times it takes. You have taught me how to have a true relationship with God! Thank you for not giving up on me! Daily we see the effects that alcohol and drugs has on women, their children and families that is why we are making it our mission to reach as many as we can so that not one more life will be lost to addiction. News from our ladies at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility
Learning to live again Housing is an issue that many former inmates face during their reentry back into our communities. Often times the women get clean behind bars. But once they are released, they have to learn how to live without depending on drugs and alcohol. Stable housing and finding healthy support in the community is crucial for them to stay clean, reunite with family, repair reputations, seek employment and keep a job. Nichole who is serving a 2 ½ year sentence At one time I had no hope for anything but misery. Now I know what ever I hope for God will supply me a way to reach it. God's love is greater than I can ever imagine. His love gets me through day after day, hour after hour. I just wanted to be clean in the eyes of the Lord. Recommit myself to Him. I can remember feeling so alone, so lost, desperate for something. A chance to rise out of the ashes of my addition. I would call Rachelle for support for years. I'd become homeless, abused, depressed and broken. I'd survived many things from my father dying, kids being adopted, going to prison, just to name a few things. Without God's will for my life I would undoubtedly be dead. He brought me to prison so I could gain inner strength, confidence and a hope for having a successful future. Nichole Leila who is serving a 3 year sentence The Lord has given me a place that only comes from his grace. He has reunited me with my daughter. He has given me hope again with His love. I'm able to forgive myself. I feel worthy of His love. The ladies of Hope and a Future love me. They have accepted me with open arms any time I've needed them. I feel the love through their visits and prayers! I am preparing to be released this year and I am so grateful for a safe place at the Freedom House while I transition back into the community. Leila Yolanda who is serving an 1 1/2 year sentence You brought tears to my eyes when I received your letter. It feels good to know I' am in your thoughts. You are my only friend besides our Lord All Mighty! I am thankful for the opportunity to parole to the Freedom House when I am released from prison! You are a great support for me; I really want to grow and do well and get my children back. I have realized that there are still good people out there who really care! Thank you so much for reaching out to me. Sincerely, YogiJ I wanted to share a powerful testimony from one of the ladies I met with during my first visits at the clatsop County Jail three weeks ago.. This was a jail I was in and out of in my addiction over 18 years ago..God is so good and I want to give God all the Glory! Taking back what the devil has stolen from me and the ladies...
Who would have ever thought that 30 years later I would meet a women who was a freind of mine when I was in my addiction, that our lives would cross p...aths again in a jail where I caused so much devistation. As she walked into the visiting room at the jail our eyes met and she said do you remember me, I said yes of course I do, at that moment my heart broke for her and I knew it was a divine encounter from the Lord a set Up from the holy Spirit.. We talked about what life was before our addictions! She shared that she had lost all hope in the programs she had sought help from in the past and was struggling emotionally, mentally and lost all peace…She didn’t want to talk about God and said she didn’t know if she could believe. I felt the Holy Spirit rise up in me and say, I will believe for you! I believe in Miracles! I told her my story and what God did in my life and how he set me free over 18 years ago and told her that God wasn’t done with her that he has a plan for her life to give her a good ending! The lord told me to pray the peace of God over her (the shalom) over her and she went back to her cell…the next few ladies I saw thanked me for coming because she was now calm and not disrupting the whole cell…WOW, I am so thankful for the lord touching my friends life and honored to be apart of a mracle of a changed life! Please keep praying for all the ladies as we are reaching out to in probably one of the darkest times of their lives! I absolutely love bring the message of Hope to the Hopeless. Founder, Rachelle |
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April 2024
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