Ashley: Growing up I was raised in a good home. When I turned 9 years old, I found my adoption papers and my heart broke. I felt rejected and betrayed, so I started to act out. My behavior caused a lot of strife in the home and eventually my parents got divorced. They blamed the divorce on me and I fell into a pit of depression. My dad became physically abusive after the divorce and I was cut off from my family.
At the age of 16, I was raped behind a church by my brother and his friend. After this happened, I decided to move in with my biological mother in Mississippi. Everything went well for the first 3 weeks but then I had to have an emergency surgery for a ruptured appendix. After this, my biological mom started to become verbally and physically abusive. I ran away a few times, but every time I found myself going back to them.
When I was 19, I joined a witch coven and practiced witchcraft because I was mad that God let me go through all of that. I met my fiancé around this time and played the double life. I was a Christian around him, but a witch around everyone else. He got deployed on February 16, 2020, and 7 months later I found out that he was killed in deployment. My heart broke and I started drinking and gambling.
I was ready to take my life, but God met me in that moment. God gave me a clear word and I knew that I needed to seek help.
I drove to Pensacola Teen Challenge where I completed 11 months. I was part of the ministry team where we sang at churches and was a big sister to girls just entering the program. I felt God was calling me to Tennessee but didn’t know how it was going to happen. About a week later I was called into an office and was asked if I wanted to transfer to the Adult and Teen challenge in Livingston, TN. I spent another 6 months in the program there and was also on their ministry teams.
I am currently out of Teen Challenge and living in a shelter until I can find a place to live. If I have learned anything by being in Teen Challenge, it is that all things work for the good and if God wants me to do this then I need to trust that He knows what He is doing.
By God’s grace, I got a job as a shift manager at Wendy’s and I am grateful for it. I am currently enrolled in Bible college and doing well. I plan on majoring in Christian Music to be able to go into the Christian Music Industry to help set stages and run media. That’s my end goal and I know God will open the doors to make it happen because He calls us, then He equips us. My life is forever changed!
