Aujanae was just 7 years old when her beloved mother died, filling her with a grief that would only grow over the years. “My grandmother took me in, but she passed when I was 13. Then my dad passed when I was 17,” Aujanae says. “I didn’t know where I belonged and I felt like a victim.”
When she was in high school, Aujanae began numbing her pain with drugs. “I was trying to cope the best way I knew.”
For the next 15 years, her addiction controlled her life, poisoning her relationships and destroying her opportunities for happiness. “I got so tired of living that way that I thought about suicide,” she says.
But along the way, she had two children, and it was her love for them that kept her from taking her own life and finally led her to seek help. “My children deserved better, so I left them with family and came to the Mission looking for hope, for a little bit of light.”
Through our Christian Life Training Discipleship Program’s Bible studies, chapel services and Christian counseling, Aujanae has grown spiritually and found healing for her emotional wounds. “My relationship with God is a lot stronger. I know He’s healed me and that He loves me.”
“Now I’m victorious instead of a victim.”
Through our parenting classes, Aujanae has also learned to be the mother she always hoped to be. Now a program graduate, she’s looking forward to getting her own place where she can create a safe and happy home for her children. Meanwhile, she’s working on our Encore Boutique staff, sharing Christ’s love with our customers. “I love greeting them and letting God’s light shine through me.”
Your generous support has filled Aujanae’s life with love, encouragement and, most of all, hope this Easter season. “I was broken, but I’ve learned that I’m worthy and that I belong to the King Most High. I’ve been restored.”