Rebekah – 2015 Graduate

Although I grew up in a Christian home, I kept my struggles with depression to myself. I quickly started to see the hypocrisy of some “Christians” and thought that living life was knowing and saying the right answers, but not living by them. I felt like I had to appear as if I had it all together in order to be accepted. I turned to men to meet my desire to be known. Very quickly my relationships with men became abusive and hurtful. This caused my depression to worsen, so the next step was drugs—any kind I could get my hands on: opiates, cocaine, crack, heroin, molly, etc. The addiction became so bad that I started stealing and reselling to be able to pay for my habit. I became an escort and sold my body whenever I could. Drugs were the only thing that helped me numb the pain.

I found out about Mercy after searching online for faith-based programs for drug addicts. I felt like Mercy was my best option and quickly applied. When I got to Mercy a huge sense of relief washed over me. I was really ready for change and dove into my assignments. I wanted to learn everything I could. From the first day I felt open to the whole process of the program. I knew God was the only way and the only one who could restore my life, so I pressed into Him as much as I knew how.

While I was at Mercy, God completely softened my heart. He taught me to see myself and others through His eyes. He restored my relationship with my family. Now I am able to hear from Him and rest in His presence. He has also shown me that I have power over what I’m thinking about and that the enemy has no authority over me.

After graduating from Mercy I’m really excited about my dream to go back to school for Christian counseling. I plan to live with family and work to pay off all my debt. I want to get to a place where I can help hurting women that have gone through the same kind of things that I have.

Words can’t express how grateful I am to Nancy and the supporters of Mercy. It is only because of their obedience to God that I am now able to experience freedom. I will forever treasure this experience that they have made possible.