Dear friends,
There’s so much I want to share about the wonderful moments I witness as the ladies we serve grow in confidence and faith on their journeys to safety and independence. But what if I let one of them tell you? We’ll call her Renee.
“During my first mentoring encounter, Linda Wells suggested I go back to school. I told her there was no way I could go to college. This was not something that would have ever crossed my mind. I never really considered myself smart enough to go back to school. This was way out of my comfort zone and I immediately put it out of my mind, but the seed had been planted.”
Our Life Skills program helped Renee prepare for a safe, independent future.
“I got a job, and applied to receive a house from Habitat for Humanity. We moved into a small house while we waited for our Habitat house to be built. The Shelter donated furniture and household items to help set up our temporary home.”
When a legal technicality overturned her abuser’s conviction, she returned with her children to the safety of Sheltering Wings.
“It turned out that God had been in control of the situation all the time, as our abuser ended up getting deported and never walked as a free man in the US again. While we waited for the verdict, God gave me Psalms 101 as his promise that my family would be protected. Read it, you’ll be amazed.”
Renee wearied of what she saw as dead-end job, and drew upon the lessons from Sheltering Wings.
“One day I just decided it was time to remove myself from my comfort zone and go back to school. That seed that had been planted a long time ago finally sprouted into a possibility. I had all the tools to succeed, computers to use for homework, access to tutors, and to top it all off, I received a full ride scholarship for four years at Ivy Tech Community College.”
She graduated with an Associate’s Degree in Early Childhood Education and moved her children into their Habitat home. It didn’t take long for her determination to push her forward again.
“I applied to IUPUI and started classes last September. I am currently pursuing a Bachelors degree in General Studies, with a minor in Sociology. So, thank you Linda Wells for planting that seed in my mind. I’m not sure where I would be today if the Shelter had not been there for me. It saved my life, and I hope and pray it continues to do the same for women and children for a long time to come.”
Renee is just one more example of the lives that have been changed thanks to your generous support and continued prayers. Thank you for everything you do to help!
In His service,
Cassie Martin
Executive Director
