Devanie

Growing up, I knew my parents loved me, however they had some of their own mental issues that they had to deal with. Meanwhile, I began to get involved in inappropriate activities in my neighborhood. At fifteen, I was raped for the first time which led me to start doing drugs. A year later, my dad committed suicide and I was left angry and hurt. I turned against God and did not care about my life anymore. Soon after, I started working some dangerous jobs, which led to more drug use and bad situations. That’s when I heard my mom had also committed suicide. I did not want to live anymore, but I cried out to God and asked Him to save me. In an attempt to live right, I moved back home and tried to be happy and live a normal life. Then there was a sexual harassment situation at my new job, and I slipped back into old habits. I felt worthless and hated my life.

I heard about Mercy through a woman I met. She told me that I was choosing death, and that God loved me and wanted me to choose life – so I applied.

I was so angry at God for the first few months at Mercy, and I told God that I just wanted Him to leave me alone. But one day God spoke to me and told me He loved me. This broke through my anger and I learned about how kind and patient the Lord is, and that He cares about all my feelings.

While at Mercy, God has shown me about His character, and about who I am and my identity in Him. I also learned that I’m not the one to blame for the death of my parents and that I’m not a bad person because of who I used to be.

After I graduate, I’m going to apply to jobs that interest me like working with plants, animals, or even at a restaurant. I also plan to spend time with my accountability partner and get to know her more. Later in life, I hope to be a wife and a mom.

To all those who donate to Mercy, thank you so much for being a part of my healing and the healing of so many other girls. Thank you for letting God’s love flow through you, because it is so powerful.