2015 December Newsletter – A Peaceful Home for the Holiday

Michelle and Joey’s Story

Michelle and Joey couldn’t take the verbal abuse any more. The young couple and their infant son were living with family and trying to get back on their feet, but the turmoil in the household was too much.

“It was to the point where I’d be crying every day,” Michelle recalls.
“We were spending every last penny that we had not to be home, and that was defeating the purpose of staying there.”

Once the stressful environment started affecting the baby’s
health, it was time to go. “He wasn’t sleeping and wasn’t developing the way he was supposed to. There was no way we could stay. It’s bad enough to be bullied to ears yourself but it’s unacceptable when it starts hurting your baby.”

Seeking a safe place for her family, Michelle searched “family emergency housing” on the web and found several shelters for her and the baby, but it wasn’t until she came across O.U.R. Mission Home that she found a place that would take the entire family.

Joey wasn’t interested at first. “I was too proud. I didn’t want to consider myself homeless,” he says. “But things got to the point where Michelle packed up the van and we had to go somewhere. I realized we needed help and couldn’t do it alone.”

The couple applied at the Mission. Within days they were accepted and moved into their own private room.

“Our first night here – I don’t think I’ve ever slept so well in my life,”
Michelle recalls. “Finally we’ve got the help we need and these people genuinely care about us. It was such a relief.”

“Finally, we’ve got the help we need and these people genuinely care about us. It was such a relief.”

Neither Michelle nor Joey were Christians when they arrived. After years of rebellious living and the resulting consequences, both were
questioning whether God exists and, if He does, why wasn’t He making their lives easier?

During regular biblical counseling sessions at the Mission, they came to realize that God had been with them all along and protected them during the most difficult times. “I realize now it is all
because of Him.”

“He was there the whole time, giving me what I needed while I was complaining about Him not giving me what I wanted. “Biblical counseling has had an impact on Joey as well: “I’ve definitely grown a lot spiritually. I’m thinking in different ways. It’s not always about me anymore.”

Michelle and Joey are working part time and saving their money as they look for full-time jobs. They credit the Mission with getting them back on their feet and pointing them in the right direction. “I honestly don’t know where we’d be if not for the Mission – probably in our van, going from parking lot to parking lot. The Mission saved
us from that and gave us so much more.”