Kelleye awakened in the Fresno Burn Center, frightened and confused. She had no memory of starting a fire in her apartment or being overcome by carbon monoxide. “I found out that, while I was intoxicated, I’d set a box of cleaning supplies on the stove and accidentally lit the burner.”
It wasn’t the first time drinking had landed her in trouble. She’d been struggling with addiction for years, relying on family to support her, and gradually, giving up on every dream she’d ever had to do something meaningful, to make a difference in the world.
But as she lay there in the Burn Center, she had a moment of clarity. “I found out that my neighbor had saved my life and I realized God must have a purpose for me,” she says. “I decided it was time to get sober.”
Kelleye entered our Christian Life Training Discipleship Program, where Bible studies, faith-based addiction recovery and Christian counseling led her to surrender her life to Christ and taught her to lean on Him each and every day.
“My life is so good with God in it!”
Meanwhile, life skills classes and job readiness training equipped her to live a productive, self-reliant life. Her family is overjoyed with her transformation. “I prayed for God to restore my relationships with them and He did. He’s been so good to me.”
Now a graduate of the program, Kelleye has a place of her own and works at Adventist Health, helping ICU nurses care for their patients. “Now I have a purpose,” she says, proudly. “And I’m no longer relying on my family to support me. I’m doing it by myself and it’s a good feeling.”
Kelleye is excited to celebrate the restored hope she has been given this Christmas – and wants YOU to know just how grateful she is. “Before I came to the Mission, I was lost. I had nothing. But now I’m a child of God.”