Recovery Connections Network

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Merry Christmas

During this holiday season, we'll send you some of the student's stories. You'll see how much they have changed and we hope you understand how important your gifts are to their recovery.

As the year winds down we like to look back on the thousands of lives that have been touched through Adult and Teen Challenge. All of the frames above hold precious photos of Adult and Teen Challenge graduates and their families. You play a vital part in this ministry with your gifts and prayers, and we give God the glory for changed lives!

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Changed by God

My baby and I detoxed together

My name is Morgan and I’m 22 years old. I grew up in a loving family, but my parents were also addicts - different addictions, but the same goal. When they could not take care of me, my Grandparents did. They raised me up in church, my Granddaddy being a preacher, a real man of God. I was back and forth from their house to my Mom’s house and my Dad’s house on the weekends.

My Mom and I started partying together, becoming more of friends than Mother and Daughter. I ran from that and got into a relationship with a guy who I loved, but he did not feel the same way. After 3 years living with him, putting up with the cheating and violence, he left me. I knew exactly where to go after he left me; down the street where all my other “so called friends” went to hide from their pain. During that time I shot heroin for the first time. That first time led to addiction and I was not myself anymore. I became a thief, a fake, a liar, a manipulator, and selfish.

I was never in trouble before I tried heroin. Quickly I picked up 8 felonies and was on my way to jail. I did not care. Amazingly, family stuck with me. When I was released, the only thing about me that was good was that I made sure my drug tests were clean when I had to see my probation officer. I stayed with the same people, doing the same things, which led me to an abusive relationship. That relationship resulted in me getting pregnant. Because of my addiction, I gave birth to an addicted baby boy, both of us detoxing at the same time.

Fortunately, God made a way for my Mother to go through Adult and Teen Challenge so she was there for her grandson. As soon as my son detoxed, I had to sign papers giving my Mom rights to be his caregiver. Even that was still not enough for me to seek help. Through my addiction, I was trying to take care of myself and my son, which did not work. I had to make a choice. I was broke financially and emotionally.

I came to Adult and Teen Challenge as a broken, confused, lost, and abused person. But God turned all that around for me. I can smile now, not just because I am sober, but because I have been delivered. I have joy knowing I want God's will for my life. My son is healthy and perfect in my eyes.

I have support from my family and from the staff and students at Adult and Teen Challenge. I am no longer hard-hearted and bitter. I am blessed to have been given, by God, the chance for a new life. I want so much to be an example to everyone in my future of what God can do. I want to help mothers recover from their addiction and draw close to God.