Greetings,
Kristin and I have been blessed with some free time these past couple of months. This free time has allowed us to work with the Nancy Cole Women's Home a lot more. We have gotten to know a girl named Antonelle very well. She recently told us that she knew we asked people to share their stories and wanted to know when it would be her turn. Please read and enjoy her story, in her own words below:
My life started rough. My parents never married, and since I was a baby my family has been super dysfunctional, until a man named Sandro came into our lives. He lived with my mother and accepted me as his own child. He was very good to us and I looked to him like a father figure. When I was 7 or 8 years old my uncle started touching me. It was a very tough year for me because of this. My mother, stepfather, and I went to live in Ica (Southern Peru) to get away from everything.
When we were living in Ica I started stealing from my mom; just a few soles at a time, not a lot. I also started other bad habits such as taking food without permission, lying, and I also got involved with some people in a gang. They were a bad influence on me but I trusted in them. They supported the way I was acting. They made me feel like I fit in, like stealing was the right thing to do. I later realized that they were stealing money from me.
Soon after my little sister was born we moved back to Lima. I continued with this conduct and I hated my mother. I started lying to my family and telling them that I had changed, that I was not doing the things that I used to do, that I had grown out of stealing, and that I was going to school. That was all a lie. I was continuing to steal and I was lying about going to school. I started eating all of my aunt and uncle’s food. My aunt and uncle started getting suspicious and asked me about it. I lied and said, “no, no, it wasn’t me”. Lying was becoming a worse habit than my stealing.
My grandmother would always tell me that I needed to read the Bible but I would never listen. I started reading the Bible a little and going to church. Being honest I did not care if I went or not, but my parents thought I was changing. Later on that year I robbed some kids in my school. My parents found out and they were very angry with me. Because my behavior was getting worse they decided to put me into the Nancy Cole Women’s Home. I was there for 3 months and acting like I was doing better. I was hoping that my parents would think I was doing better and take me out. When I left the Nancy Cole Women’s Home I went back to school and started doing better. My parents were making me see a life coach. I realized that I wanted to make a real change and went back to the Nancy Cole Women’s Home. This time I let God move in my life and fill my heart. I am doing so much better now. God is continuing to move in my life and show me the plans that he has for me. Being here has also made me feel loved by the people in the home and by God. I am grateful for the Nancy Cole Women’s Home because it has changed my life and helped me find what I have always been looking for- the love of Christ.
God is doing some AMAZING things in the Nancy Cole Women's Home and all over Peru. We encourage you to visit www.projectrestoration.net for more information.
Thank you all for your support! Without all of you, none of this would be happening!!
Blessings,
Michael & Kristin
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