A year and a half ago, a police officer stopped Yoana’s car at a sobriety checkpoint.
The officer asked for her license and registration, then asked, “Ma’am, have you been drinking and driving?”
Before she could respond, Yoana’s 7-year-old son, Steven, proudly proclaimed, “Nope! My mom’s not a party girl anymore. She doesn’t drink or do any drugs or anything!”
Yoana explained to the officer that she was in recovery at Hope Gardens and had been sober for a few years. The officer smiled at Yoana and Steven, handed back her license and registration, and said, “OK, ma’am, you continue doing good, OK?”
KIDS LIKE STEVEN HAVE A BRIGHTER FUTURE—
THANKS TO YOU!
“I know you’ve been through a lot,” the woman said. “But God has a greater purpose for you and He’ll get you through any storm that’s coming. You need to learn to love yourself so you can love your children.”
After the woman prayed, Stephanie returned to her car, where she shook uncontrollably and sobbed. That encounter changed Stephanie’s life forever.
From the age of 5, Stephanie experienced unspeakable emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. After she turned 18, her life was filled with drugs, alcohol, domestic violence, sex trafficking, and homelessness. Later, she welcomed three beautiful daughters, but lost custody as she struggled to care for them. Stephanie was determined to change her life. Newly sober, she came to Hope Gardens for the help she needed to bring her daughters home.
“At first, it was really hard,” she says. “I felt helpless, hopeless, broken, and defeated. I doubted whether I could put all the pieces together again. Suddenly, I was surrounded by people talking about God, but I never believed in God before.”
Slowly, Stephanie devoted herself to her classes, counseling, worship, and God. Singing in chapel often left her in tears of joy.
“I needed a lot of support, reassurance, and help understanding the Bible and God,” she says. But even as she grew and matured, doubt remained until God met her through the encounter with the woman who prayed for her at the store.
“Ever since, I feel this inner tingle,” she says. “I never thought it was possible, but I learned to love myself and I know my self-worth. I know God is with me, and I’m confident and know that nothing can stop me. That woman I met said God has a bigger purpose for me. That greater purpose is to be the best mother possible for my girls.”
Recently, Stephanie was reunited with her daughters. “This will be my best Mother’s Day ever,” she says. “Thanks to God and to the donors, I get a second chance. I get to be the mom I never had.”
