Lupita wishes she had never met the man who is now her ex-boyfriend. What she thought was love soon turned into a toxic relationship – destroying her health through drugs and abuse. “He offered me drugs and I got hooked,” she says. “It was the worst mistake ever. I felt my whole life just fall apart in front of me.” Her family had suspicions that something wasn’t right, and Lupita tried to cover up the bruises and hide her pain. But eventually her sister found out about the abuse and addiction. “When my sister told my parents, I was mad. But then it was the best thing ever because I actually started getting help… I was no longer just in it by myself.” When a woman from her church told Lupita about the Mission, she knew it was where she needed to be. “God opened that door for me,” she says, smiling. She entered our Christian Life Training Discipleship Program, where Bible studies, Christian counseling and classes helped her overcome addiction and heal from past trauma.
Lupita graduated from the program and is in our transitional housing while she looks for a job. She’s taking college classes for the first time and saving money to buy a car. She encourages anyone who is lost and hurting to come to the Mission, saying, “Don’t let fear overtake you. That step of faith will ground you in God’s love… everything will be okay.”
Lupita is beyond grateful for this second chance in life – and says it’s thanks to the love you’ve shown for a neighbor like her. “I didn’t have self-worth, but now I can tell myself I’m beautiful. My father, God, loves me no matter what.”