Brittney – 2017 Graduate

I was seven when my father flew me to live in another country without a goodbye to my mother. I had no contact with my mother until three years later. During those three years, I was sexually abused by a close family member. This continued for six years until the age of eleven. Finally, I moved into my mother’s house. She was my safe haven. When I was a junior in high school, she moved in with her boyfriend, and I was considered “homeless” until I graduated. I was told by a family member not to speak to my little sister anymore. This caused me to struggle with depression and anxiety.

I learned about Mercy Multiplied through a group of women from church. They had invited me to go to a Mercy event. After becoming severely depressed and anxious from losing my sister, I applied to Mercy. I applied in desperation to find freedom from my negative thoughts about life and about myself.

My first turning point while at Mercy was identifying my inner critic and where it came from. I was able to link my self-criticism to abusive words from my family that always tore me down. Once I could identify that, I was able to show compassion on myself and release myself from those terrible thoughts.

God has completely changed my life. He has breathed life into my very soul. I had it all wrong before Mercy. I thought all things would just come if I followed the rules, but if I failed at any rules, then I deserved everything that came my way. This isn’t the case, because that’s not Jesus. I have built a mutual relationship with my Lord Almighty by learning more about who He is and who I am through Him. I have learned that purity doesn’t just mean sexual intimacy, but rather it means watching out for what I put into my mind and heart. I’ve learned that Jesus Christ is my prince charming but also my redeemer. Anything can be redeemed through the Lord.

After Mercy, I will continue working on my bachelor’s degree in elementary education. I plan to pursue a master’s in counseling. The Lord has promised to restore the innocent years I lost in elementary school from abuse. He has promised to give me the gift of discernment to point out the used and abused within my own classroom. I also plan on writing a book about the restoration God has done in my life.

Mercy donors, thank you so much for your support. Without you and your obedience to the Lord, it would not be possible for me or any other girls to experience this freedom. Some of us walk into the doors of Mercy thinking “this is my last shot,” and some walk in with no money in our pockets. You are making a difference in this world, and you are helping restore our hope in others.