We’re so excited for the three newest graduates of our New Life Ministry! Tina, Barbara, and Ashley completed the yearlong addictions recovery program at Shepherd’s Door this past weekend and will be moving on to amazing things! All three ladies will be sticking around for another year as service residents, where they will work here at the Mission, gaining valuable job and ministry skills.
Here’s what they had to say at Friday’s graduation:
Tina
Tina: “Graduating tonight is amazing. I don’t even know what to say. I used to believe that I was a failure, that I couldn’t follow through with anything. Now I believe I have a future and a hope for myself. I have self confidence. I just want to say thank you to the staff here. They really had my back as I learned to trust and open up. It’s so hard, but when I finally let those walls down, amazing things happened in my life.”
Barbara
Barbara: “The Mission has meant more than words can describe. I wish more people out there knew about this place and the blessings it has for men, women and children. Graduating tonight means a brand new chapter of my life. I’ve learned so much about myself over the past year, and now I have the tools I need to be able to give back to the women here. I’ll be working in the kitchen doing menu planning, shopping, and cooking. I’m very excited about it.”
Ashley
Ashley: “Tonight means that I accomplished the goal I set out to accomplish a year ago. I wanted to overcome my addiction, gain new life skills, and grow in relationships with people and Christ. I’ve done that. I’m also excited to get back to doing the things I used to love. I play piano and I’m just starting to lead worship, which is something I’ve never done before. I’m also getting back into dance, and now I get to teach it. I’m using it as a ministry, where I get to also share my testimony with women, because there are so many women in that dark place of homelessness, addiction, and domestic violence. I look forward to working with them and showing them there’s a way out.”