Road to Recovery Newsletter - September 2017

At the beginning of a school year I am often reminded of "going back to the basics".  Some of you may be new to Celebrate Recovery and haven't been introduced to the 8 Principles of the program; while others of you may need a reminder to "go back to the basics". These 8 Principles are based on the Beatitudes found in Matthew 5.

SUMMER FUN: Friends, Food, and Fellowship

At the end of July we had a team of ladies come into the prison with us to share the Good News of Jesus. We were blessed by our St. Albert Alliance team!  Thank you for loving on our ladies in such a way that it will never be forgotten.

pictured from Left to Right: Sherry, Cindy, Arlene and Melissa

 

Sherry and Karla sharing the Word with our girls on the inside.

 

Cindy and one of our girls on the inside - food, fun and fellowship makes for a memorable day. 

A testimony from one of our Recovery Ministry Leaders: Karla

My name is Karla and I am a grateful believer in Jesus Christ who struggles with insecurity, anxiety and fear.

I grew up in a traditional conservative family where I am the youngest of seven. My parents were very loving and they always made us feel that we were unique and special. They strove to make us feel safe, protected and loved.Over the years, I realized that my parents were having problems between themselves and the situation began to worry my older sisters. In their innocence, my sisters sought help through a person who read Tarot cards; they even invited the card reader to our house. Let me tell you, the spirit world that these people enter through reading these cards is not good. The card reader said that my father had a very strong spell of black and red magic on his life and the goal was to drive him crazy, destroy the family and lead to conflicts of all kinds in our lives. We were terrified. The card reader recommended a friend who was a "white witch". He told us this was not a problem, that this was of God and that God had placed these white witches on earth to help people like us.
That same week the white witch came to our house. This was the beginning of the nine year nightmare my family lived being involved in witchcraft. It was our family secret. We were ashamed. Being involved in witchcraft changed my character and my personality; I became suspicious, fearful, and anxious. I lived a quiet lifestyle as I did not want anyone to know what was going on.
One day my aunt shared with us about Jesus and what He did for us at the Cross of Calvary.  Because of the emptiness we were experiencing and the horror we were living none of us could resist the Good News.  As a family we left the world of witchcraft and entered into the Family of God. I thank God for His infinite mercy and unfailing love that lead us to Him.
My life changed as I experience the reality of God's forgiveness but I found it difficult sometimes to accept the promises of God as I felt unworthy. I was still struggling with fear, insecurity, anxiety and trust.  I knew I needed to talk to someone but I did not have the courage. It was easier to pretend that everything was fine but it was a lie.  God brought me to Celebrate Recovery and used this program to experience His healing power.

I experienced freedom and healing being a participant in the Celebrate Recovery program. It has allowed me to know God in a more personal way.  I continue to give my fears and anxieties over to God and in doing this I have learned that strength comes from Him, forgiveness and healing comes from Him, and He not only wanted to forgive me but to walk with me through the journey of recovery.  My shame and guilt has been turned into a song of praise and thankfulness. Victory is ours!
Thank you for letting me share.

Would you like to know more about Celebrate Recovery?
Check out our CR Newcomers 101 video:

 

October 14 is the Celebrate Recovery Information Seminar. If you are in the Rosarito area PLEASE set this day aside to join us.  Guest speakers for the day are Cesar & Olga Villarreal.

Cesar Villarreal is the Ministry Leader in his local church and is the first Celebrate Recovery State Representative of Mexico. He has been married to Olga Rangel for over 18 years.  Together they have served in Celebrate Recovery for more than 4 years.  In October, 2016 Cesar & Olga started serving full-time in ministry working as missionaries training leaders and pastors through out Mexico.

~ our upcoming Information Seminar on October 14
that people would come and learn about this incredible tool God has provided

~ strength and wisdom for our leadership team
we are on a battlefield in an active war against satan

~ that God would raise up Monthly Supporters
He is our Provider and we trust in Him to meet our needs through supporters

 

1 Thessalonians 5:18

Christ lives in me

A testimony from one of "Our Girls on the Inside": Beatrice

My name is Beatrice, I am a believer in Jesus Christ in recovery and I battle with anger, sadness and doubt.

Before my recovery I had a lot of resentment towards my family because I was rejected due to my disability.  My self-esteem was low because I did not received love or protection and didn’t understand why God made me this way.

I married a man who loved and treated me good; he even let me go to church.  I didn’t know God and was easily dominated by the things of this world and that is why I failed.  Not only did I fail God but also my husband as I had an affair. The lowest point in my life was when I neglected my daughter to the point that she died. Her death is the reason I am in prison.

Today although it doesn’t make sense I thank God for being here because I have been able to really get to know Him. I was invited to the Celebrate Recovery Program and I realized I wasn’t the only one suffering, I identified with all the participating inmates.  I have been able to forgive and the communication with my family has gotten better.  I have learned to trust and know God, I know He loves me and I am important to Him.  Principle 2 says “Earnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to him, and that he has the power to help me recover.”

I thank God for the Celebrate Recovery Program because my heart is being restored little by little.  I thank God for my group and the sisters from YUGO because they come with lots of love not only to share the lesson but because they strive to provide us with our basic needs.

Thank you for letting me share.

Recovery 101 video

Road to Recovery Newsletter - June 2017

We would like to take this opportunity to introduce to you Mitch and Joy Vincent, the newest addition to our Recovery Team.

Mitch and Joy met and fell in love doing Ministry to the down and out on Skid Row in LA.  Since that time they've been in full-time Ministry working with those who have struggled with addictions. They have been serving in Recovery Ministry for the past 10 years and bring with them that wealth of experience. Joy has a BA from Azusa Pacific University in Christian Ministries and a minor in Psychology and Mitch has a Masters degree from the School of Hard Knocks. Both Mitch and Joy have a heart for people.  Especially those who are striving to overcome the obstacles in their lives to walk in submitted obedience to Christ and enjoy helping and loving them on that path.

 As our dear friend Rod would say, "Celebrate Recovery is the best place to be on a Thursday night." And we couldn't agree more.  



Please join us as we work through our hurts, habits and hang ups and receive healing.

 

It is a privilege for us to share a testimony with you of a married couple who attends Celebrate Recovery.  Their story is a testament to God’s unfailing love.
Their names are Miguel and Lorena.

 When Miguel and Lorena were first married Miguel had very high expectations of Lorena and felt frustrated and confused when his way of leading his family didn’t work. Over the course of time their discussions turned into disagreements which turned into arguments. Their problems grew bigger and if you were to ask Miguel he, at the time, would blame Lorena; he would refer to her as a trouble maker. He realized later that his own pride was stopping him from recognizing his own fault and failure.
Their physical and verbal abuse towards one another was affecting their son. They ended up separating and during this time Miguel realized that while he was able to hide this part of his life from those around him, he could not hide from God. God was working on his heart and he knew he needed to repent.
Lorena was a new believer and did not understand the meaning of a wife submitting to her husband. She was an independent woman with a good job, her own home and she was successfully raising her son as a single mom. The word ‘submit’ was not a part of her vocabulary.  In her new-believer mind she thought that marrying a Christian would make life easier but the changes were difficult. She did not know how to depend on a man. The power struggle lasted four and a half years. She made it very clear to him that she and her son did not need him. She did not respect Miguel.
The couple moved to Rosarito and started attending Calvary Chapel.  Their Pastors along with brothers and sisters in the Lord tried to help but they were rebellious and chose to mask their problems. They pretended that everything was good until they were unable to keep it hidden. They were on their way to a divorce.
Miguel’s pride in not wanting to recognize that he was wrong held him back from leading his family well. Christian brothers from church starting holding him accountable and as much as it hurt to admit the truth he couldn’t hide his sin anymore.  At the encouragement of friends both Miguel and Lorena started attending the Celebrate Recovery program. Miguel was convinced that he didn’t need the program for himself but insisted that they both go so that he could make sure Lorena was attending – she was the one that needed to change, not him.
Lorena started attending so that people would see that she was the victim in their marriage. She wanted people to see that she was the one that moved away from family and a good job to endure a dysfunctional marriage. Going through the step studies of Celebrate Recovery she realized that she was not just a victim but also a victimizer. They were both at fault. They were both prideful and hard-hearted. They treated each other wrong and did not honor God.

 

Miguel and Lorena are not perfect but they are walking the road of recovery together, hand in hand; it is painful at times but definitely worth it. God is restoring their marriage and it is because of His unfailing love and mercy that they are able to share this part of their journey with us.

 ~ Please continue to pray for our sister in Christ, Cheryl, as she learns to live life without her partner in ministry, Rod.

~ Please pray for our team as we continue to realize how many different 'hats' Rod wore and as we learn to walk forward filling in where he used to be.

~ Praise God with us for bringing Mitch and Joy into the Recovery Ministry, for equipping them with the tools needed to help lead this ministry. Pray that they will be used by God to further His Kingdom.

~ Pray for those within the program who are working on their hurts, habits and hang ups that they would feel the love of God being poured out on them as they find healing in Him.

We would like to take this opportunity to invite you to our Third Annual Celebrate Recovery One Day Seminar at Calvary Chapel Rosarito. This bilingual event will take place on Saturday, October 14, 2017 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.  Special Guests will be Cesar and Olga Villarreal.

If you or someone you know is interested in raising funds for this event to provide the meal and the materials for the day please click on the button below to make a donation.  Any church or family teams interested in coming down that weekend to help us set up, serve and clean up would be appreciated; please connect with us on FaceBook or via email for more details on where you would be able to serve.

Thank you for your love, your words of encouragement, your prayers and your financial gifts. Thank you for walking the Road to Recovery with us.

A testimony from one of "our girls on the inside": Alli

My name is Alli and I am a grateful believer in Jesus Christ. I am recovering from drug addiction and struggle with resentment, the need for revenge and the fear of rejection.

Growing up I felt rejected by my family so I chose to isolate myself from people. I was quiet, scared and had low self-esteem.  I felt ugly.  My parents were not around much so my grandmother ended up raising me.  At 15 I met the man who I married and we had 2 children together.

Although we didn’t have God in our lives, our marriage was good.  Good, until one  day my husband started using drugs and ended up cheating on me.  When I found out I didn’t know how to respond; so I chose to follow his lead into the drug world hoping that this would make him leave the other woman and stay with me. I thought I could help him but the drugs ended up destroying my life.   All I wanted was to get high and I didn’t care how I achieved it. I began stealing, prostituting myself and selling drugs. I got involved with people I never imagined I would be around.  I saw and did horrible things and I didn’t care.  The lowest point in my life was when I had my kids involved in selling drugs.

I was charged with homicide and was sent to prison.  When I arrived here I thought my life was over but little did I know it was just beginning.  I was invited to join a group called Celebrate Recovery. God is restoring my life through this program.  I have discovered God’s love for me. I am behind bars but I am free because of God and His love for me.  Through Celebrate Recovery I have learned to give God my hate, resentment and pain.  I am no longer a slave to sin and in my heart there is peace and joy. 

God bless you and thank you for letting me share.

Alli