My childhood was rough. My dad was verbally abusive to me and left my family when I was very young. My mom was a foster mother, and I began taking care of my sisters. When I was 12, I was sent to a program for self-harm. My second week in the program, I became involved with a guy who was physically and verbally abusive. Shortly after, my mom moved my two sisters and me to another state. During my freshman year, I started dating a guy who later broke up with me on my birthday. I became so depressed that I began cutting myself daily. I was so angry that I began verbally abusing my family. I was disrespectful to my mom and threatened to run away multiple times. A friend eventually saw the signs of my self-harming and reported it to the school deputy. When my mom found out, she didn’t know what to do. She pulled me out of school and took me to live with my grandparents. I was pulled into further chaos, making it harder to want to live.
I found out about Mercy from my youth pastor, who knew a former resident of the program. I decided to apply to Mercy when I came to the end of myself. I knew there was so much more to life than pain and heartache. When I arrived, I was so angry at the world. I didn’t want to make any friends, and I didn’t care about anything.
One of the major turning points for me at Mercy was a particular speaker who spoke truth and purpose over my life. I hadn’t realized that God had HUGE plans for me and that they were for good. After that, I was ready to press in and let God complete the work He had begun.
At Mercy God healed my relationships with my family. He has even begun providing a way to have a relationship with my dad.
After graduating from Mercy I plan to finish high school. I want to get a job and spend more time with my family. I plan to go on to college and have dreams of opening up my own bakery!
Because of the support of Mercy donors, I have been set free. They have provided me the means to stay here while Mercy equipped me with the right tools. I will never be able to thank them enough.