A Place of Rest – CLC Highlight: Christine’s Story

When Christine thinks of the Mission, Matthew 11:28 comes to mind: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Christine knows what it is to feel weary. Once she became pregnant, she dropped out of high school. Despite several attempts to complete her degree, a cycle of long hours, low funds, and costly childcare for her three daughters always impeded her.

By 2021, Christine’s older daughters lived elsewhere, and she and her daughter, Harmonie, were homeless. Fortunately, a wrong turn brought her to the Mission. “I’m saying the wrong turn, but that was the right turn. The Lord knew what He was doing,” Christine asserts.

The Mission provided a room for Christine. For once, her obstacles in pursuing education were removed. She limited her work to part-time and enrolled in the accredited high school program at the Mission’s Career Learning Center. Meanwhile, Harmonie received free preschool at the Youth Learning Center.

Christine’s journey proved difficult. First, she contracted COVID-19. Then, within two weeks, her aunt and brother passed away. Her grief felt crippling. “One day I just got up and walked out of class,” she remembers.

Her teacher, Ms. Tannika, motivated her to persevere, “She saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself.”

In July 2022, at 44 years of age, Christine received her high school diploma. Next, she plans to enroll in the EKG and Patient Care Technician program at Valencia.

Christine thinks of donors like you as her guardian angels. You “truly provide a place of comfort and peace of mind for people that are genuinely trying to find themselves and their way.” Her load lightened, her spirit lifted, and her cycle of weariness overcome, Christine feels refreshed. God brought her to the Mission, and just like he promised in Matthew 11:28, He gave her rest.