~
A Tale Of Two Sisters ~
Elaine’s
Tragedy Brings Joy...
Greetings
in the name of Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior. I am a graduate of Youth
Challenge Mission for Women. I was introduced to Jesus Christ, sixteen
years ago, and Youth Challenge was the source of my relationship with
Jesus Christ. God has blessed me tremendously in these past years. I have
obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Services and currently I am
pursuing my Master’s Degree. Only with the help of the Lord giving
me a sound mind was I able to complete these goals.
The Lord also saw fit to bless me with a husband, Luis A. Guzman, who
was a wonderful man of God. He was a coordinator of The Youth Challenge
Prison Ministry. Luis and I became homeowners. At the age of 40
years old the Lord blessed my womb. We named our son Isaac James.
Doctors had said that I could not have children. The Lord proved the doctors
wrong, but it was all in God’s plan for my life. One Sunday morning
my husband felt ill while participating in a church service at one of
the correctional facilities. Three days later, Luis went home to be with
the Lord. My husband died on the battlefield! The Lord loved me so much
that He gave me my son, Isaac, so I could see my husband daily. I
have gone through much blessing and much sorrow, yet I know that I am
truly loved by God. He will see me through my pain.
I am excited to see what the Lord has planned for Isaac and me, now and
in the future. Because of my husband’s death, my sister, who is
also a graduate of Youth Challenge, came back to the Lord after being
in a backslidden state for five years. Truly the Lord knows what
he is doing in our lives. Every promise He has for us He will keep.
Youth Challenge has taught me to be a warrior. Without this ministry,
I do not know what I would have done when all the trials came to my door.
Thank you Youth Challenge. May the Lord bless you, and bless you, and
bless you!
Jeanette’s Turnaround...
I am forty-five years of age. I was born in New York City, and grew up
in Spanish Harlem. I come from a very loving, warm and supportive family;
but my father was an alcoholic and little did I know I would follow in
his footsteps. My mother and father separated and divorced when I was
twelve years old. My chemical dependency problems got too much out of
control: use of heroin, crack cocaine, smoking cigarettes, and drinking.
In 1990 I voluntarily entered the Youth Challenge Mission for Women in
Hartford, Connecticut, which is a faith-based program that helps women
with drug addiction and life controlling problems. I graduated from the
program eighteen months later and remained at Youth Challenge Mission
for Women for an additional eighteen months as a staff member. During
this period of time, the Lord blessed me mightily; I enrolled in a two-year
college with the goal of obtaining a degree in Social Services.
Sadly, four years later I picked up drugs again and lost everything, so
I went back to New York. Homelessness was the latest entry to
my life’s resume. I admitted to myself that my life had
gotten even worse than it was before. I had truly lost every wonderful
and good thing that I had accomplished through God. I didn’t
lose my hope. I didn’t know what God’s plan was for me, but
I knew this wasn’t it!
In February of 2002, my brother-in-law, Luis passed away and my younger
sister, Elaine, was left alone with her two-year old son, Isaac. I decided
to come and stay for only a couple of weeks at her home in Hartford to
help and comfort her in some way. Well, weeks turned into months and into
a year. I now have a job and an apartment with my husband. I also went
back to college and will be graduating in 2004. I am once again serving
the Lord and I am an active member in my church, Glory Chapel International
Cathedral. I am working at the Youth Challenge Mission for Women, getting
a first-hand experience which is applicable towards my degree in social
work. Thank God - it’s never too late! It’s not over
until God says so!!