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

Lucy's Testimony

My name is Lucy I am thankful to God for giving me a second chance. My father died when I was young and my mom did her best to meet all our needs. One day I asked my mom’s permission to date a boy and ran away with him. I got pregnant and had our first child. Within the year I got pregnant again. We struggled financially so my boyfriend left to find work in the United States. My world came crashing down on me when he got involved with another woman. I took my two children and returned to live with my mom and found a job.

At 17 years old, a single mom of two little ones I felt so much hatred for my children’s father.  I lived with my mom for five years. I had relationship after relationship and was really only interested in someone if he had money.  One day I met a guy and started dating him. I kept the relationship hidden as I was afraid people would judge me for dating this man.  He did not have any money or even a car. Within months, I became pregnant. I did not want to have his baby, but something inside me told me that I should go through with the pregnancy. So I started a new life with this guy. One day my partner got into a fight with one of my mom’s friends. As they fought my mom’s friend fell onto a glass table and died. I was not in the house when this happened. I insisted my partner leave. I was sentenced to go to prison for guilt by association and was seven months pregnant.

When my daughter was born, she was taken away from me. I fell in to a deep depression. I was sentenced to twenty years.  I tried to commit suicide but did not succeed. I gained a lot of weight due to the drugs for the depression. I walked around feeling like a zombie. By the Grace of God I was able to get off the medicine. People had tried to tell me about God throughout my life and I thought they were crazy.  Now I began seeking God.

I learned that my mom was seriously ill and I felt helpless as I was not able to be with her.  I cried out to God to have him take her home because she was suffering so much. Within four days she passed away. I felt horrible but found my strength in God. I accepted Christ into my heart and my life began to change. I fell in love with the Lord and my spiritual eyes were slowly being opened.  He started to remove all the hate and bitterness against the father of my children that I had stored deep within my heart: It took being locked away in prison for me to recognize that God has a purpose for my life.  I can look back at my life and see that God has had his hand upon me since I was a small child.

Now when I face trials I stand firm knowing God is with me and I'm not alone. Being in prison is the worst thing that could have happened but it was also the best. I have learned to recognize my mistakes and shortcomings.  Now I know that as a true disciple I allow Jesus to change my character, to help remove my bad habits. I have found my peace and joy in serving Him. I have learned to love my neighbors, my family, my pastor, and my sisters in Christ. I know that every promise found in the Bible is for me and I am thankful to Him for helping settle everything in my life. I have discovered to pray, fast and feast on the Word of God. It is through prayer that I fight for my family members.

Thanks to my Celebrate Recovery group and chapel services I am free behind bars.

God bless you and thank you for letting me share.

Psalm 9:1

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

Andrea’s Testimony

My name is Andrea and I am a grateful believer in Jesus Christ who is in recovery due to bad habits, compulsive and destructive behavior patterns in my life. My life consisted of sexual and physical abuse, abandonment, rejection and incest.

When I was four years old my mom went through an abortion which ended badly.  While my mom was in the hospital, my dad sold our property and went to live with another woman, abandoning me and my 2 younger brothers. We were placed in the care of our grandparents and uncles. Physical and sexual abuse started here. My grandmother was blind so she could not protect us from what was happening in her own home.  Here they practiced spiritual cleansing and other superstition and spiritualism mixed with Catholicism. 

My dad came back for us one day but after 3 years he left again.  We were living with our aunt but she did not care for us. We would often go to bed without eating, she would humiliate us. We were made to feel unprotected and very alone. My mom did all that she could to provide for us and when we were able to live with her we saw that she was a very strong woman; she never left us. Because we were sent ‘here and there’ my life was filled with highs and lows, feeling loved and being rejected.

When I married my first husband I brought codependency behaviors with me. When my husband left me I did not know how to deal with the rejection. Being unsuccessful in saving my marriage brought more uncertainty in my life. A failed marriage and a past of abuse took me to a place where I adopted a life of promiscuity. I allowed people to take advantage of me and I passed this on to my daughter. Ten years later I married my second husband where my daughter and I lived through a nightmare of domestic violence.  It was so bad that I sent my daughter away from me to protect her.  Years later I escaped with our son only to get involved in yet another toxic relationship. As the years went by I began to be filled with anger, resentment, paralyzing fear and unforgiveness.  The absence of love in my life was taking a toll on me. I sank deeper and deeper into depression.

A young woman new to the company I was working for shared the Word of God with me one day.  In 2008 I have my life to Jesus Christ.  Jesus met me as I hit rock bottom in my life.  It was here that my road to recovery began.

The Celebrate Recovery program has helped me open my heart and free myself of the heavy burdens that have enslaved me.  Through the program, I have come to understand that God loves me and that He has the power to cleanse and restore me to be the woman He created me to be. I identify with Principle 3, which says: "Consciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christ’s care and control." In the past I unconsciously made foolish decisions that only brought sorrow to my life, but now I have consciously decided to put my life under the care of God as I have experienced that His grace frees me and enables me so I can do what He wants me to do. God has freed me from the lies and darkness and called me into his marvelous light. Now I have the firm hope that I'm not alone.

Thank you for letting me share.

*all names have been changed to protect their identity

Anger

Road to Recovery - Christmas 2017

With the end of the year fast approaching, we would like to take a moment to look back at another fantastic year for the Recovery Ministry. It took a while for us to get back on our feet after Rod went home to be with Jesus, but we continue to see God’s hand upon this ministry changing lives around us one by one.

We’d like to share with you a testimony from one of our Celebrate Recovery participants; her name is Karlita.

~ Karlita was born to a homeless drug addict young woman. The sexual abuse started when she was just six years old. She would watch her mom disappear into the night to prostitute her body in order to feed her children. As a young mom with a small baby, Karlita followed in her mother’s footsteps. Early one morning while counting her money, Karlita saw a bible and opened it.  Her eyes focused on Proverbs 8:17 NLT I love all who love me. Those who search will surely find me. This was the beginning of her quest to finding out more about this God who had just spoken to her. ~

Karlita joined Celebrate Recovery filled with shame of her past life filled with abuse. She has found herself drawing closer to God and has been set free from the bondage of guilt and shame.  Karlita chose to surround her and her family with a community of people who support and love her.  So that others can also be set free from the bondage of their past, Karlita loves sharing her story with others who are just starting their journey of recovery.

Week after week our team hears these kinds of stories from people receiving the healing they so desperately long for.

Here are some things we’ve been up to over this past year:
 

In 2017 we …

~ launched Celebrate Recovery Step Studies for the female youth in the Tijuana Youth Detention Center
~ were able to send 12 of our CR leaders to the CR Summit training at Saddleback Church
~ trained more facilitators allowing us to launch more CR Step Study groups
~ prepared monthly CR meals to bring in the lost and broken
~ hosted our 3^rd Annual CR Information Seminar and so much more.
 

While we look back and remember all that has happened we are overwhelmed at everything that was accomplished
while serving together.

 

As you know, every event that we host, every training session we run, every meal that is served, costs money.  Our greatest need in the New Year is to find more monthly and one-time donors so we can continue to see lives change. Become a Financial Partner and you too can be part of changing a person’s life for eternity. Every donation is truly appreciated and those received on or before December 31st will be eligible for a 2017 tax receipt.

We would like to say a special thank you to each one of our Recovery Ministry partners whether you are a Prayer Partner or a Financial Partner – your support allows us to do the work God has called us to do week after week. 
 

Thank you for being a part of our Recovery Team.

 

Christmas is a joyful time for many but it can be a difficult time for those who are still struggling with their hurts, habits and hang-ups. We are seeing people’s lives transformed as we use the Celebrate Recovery materials as a means to bringing hope into the lives of God’s people.

On behalf of the Recovery Ministry team we would like to wish you a peace-filled Christmas and a Blessed New Year.

Much love,
The Recovery Team

 

 

 

Information Seminar Update

God wants to bring healing and hope to the people of Mexico; He sees first hand the depth of their suffering. Levels of stress in the family are associated with violence, abuse, hunger, depression, victimization, neglect, poverty and the list goes on. We believe the Celebrate Recovery program can be used as a tool to help transform Mexico from a nation filled with oppression into a nation of hope in Jesus Christ.

Many people think that recovery is only for drug addicts and alcoholics - people whose lives seem out of control; but that's just not true. We've all blown it, we've all made mistakes. We've hurt ourselves, we've hurt other people and others have hurt us.

Celebrate Recovery is a biblical based recovery program. The goal of the program is not simply to recover from past sins and hurts but to become Christlike in our character.

October 14 was the 3rd annual Celebrate Recovery Information Seminar. Our Guest Speakers Cesar and Olga Villarreal were fabulous!  The information given, the testimony shared, the questions answered ... all of it made for a great day. Thank you Cesar and Olga for spending the day with us and sharing what God has taught you over the years. We look forward to October 2018!!

Many sets of hands were involved in the planning and preparing of this event.  Welcoming table, Information table and Food table ... all were important, all were appreciated.

~ The Celebrate Recovery worship team opened the day and brought us to the foot of the cross where true healing happens. ~ Cesar walked us through our handout and explained how to set up a Celebrate Recovery program in our local church. ~ Olga gave her testimony and shared how Celebrate Recovery has been a tool for her in overcoming her past. ~ Thank you to Sergio and Karla for translating throughout the day.

Testimony from Cesar, our main speaker at the Information Seminar: My name is Cesar and I am a faithful believer in Jesus Christ who struggles with addiction to drugs and sex. My childhood was fairly normal or at least it was in my eyes. My father was a hard-working man who was easily frustrated and quick to explode in anger and violence.  My mother was our protector as she wanted to prevent us from going through the same violence she was witness to growing up.  I was insecure and had low self-esteem. I learned that pleasing my parents meant I would not be screamed at. It didn’t matter what I wanted to do, pleasing others became more important as it made me feel accepted and loved.  At age 12 a close relative much older than me pursued me. At first he talked about women, sex and pornography, but eventually he started to touch me inappropriately. I was totally confused; I did not understand what was going on or why.  I was afraid to talk to my parents and I did not have the courage to say NO to this family member. I was 14 when I started attending church with my mom. Church was just another place to wear another mask. My life was still the same, watching pornography, receiving visits from this family member and looking for personal satisfaction. In my second year of college, I met the woman who is now my wife. We started dating in October 1994. I thought that with a stable relationship my wounds and bad habits would end but I realized that I could not stop living my double life and tried to end our relationship. She asked for an explanation and all I could share was part of my past; she accepted me and encouraged me to move forward together. In August of 1999 we got married. We had our own business and after a couple of years our first daughter was born and a few years later our second; but little by little our relationship grew colder. I went to work while she took care of our daughters and the house. Every day I was looking for excuses to stay in the office longer and spend less time at home. I thought I had control over my life; I had my own business, provided for my family, and did what I wanted. Although I had given my life to Christ at 14 and attended church, I was not willing to yield my will to Him.  My thoughts were on the things that selfishly satisfied me. One night in 2007 while I was coming home from “working late”, I spotted a young woman on the side of the road. I offered her a ride and she offered me sex for money – I accepted and we went back to the office.  She offered me a drug called Stone Cocaine. I tried it. This was the beginning of a horrible nightmare for my family and I.  After just 2 months of experimenting with the drug, I was an addict. I could not hide my problems anymore and my wife confronted me. I finally recognized that something was wrong. My wife began to seek help and insisted we speak to our pastor.  It was a long process where we tried everything but nothing worked. After spending 2 months in a rehab center I left and went back to using drugs. . My wife took our daughters and moved out. I tried to fill the empty void but all I managed to do was continue on with my self-destructive behavior.

2009 brought a glimmer of hope. After sending in an application for a job, I was called for a position out of the city. I went to see my wife and talked to her about the opportunity to start over. She was willing to try again.  It wasn't easy as I relapsed a couple of times, but little by little our relationship was restored.  We joined a church and got involved in ministry.

Without a doubt restoration took time, time for our personal recovery and for our marriage to be restored, but it was worth it. Three years later we were blessed with the birth of our son. I was growing deeper in my relationship with Jesus and felt that God placed in me the desire to serve him full-time; I just didn't know how.  In early December 2012 I received a job opportunity in Mexico City; it came with better pay and the opportunity to grow in an international company.  After much prayer I declined the offer only to receive the news that the plant where I was working would be closing in less than 2 months. We moved back to our original home town at the end of January 2013. When I arrived at church, I spoke to the pastor about my past life and about the desire to serve God. He told me about some materials called Celebrate Recovery that he had and that he had been praying for a couple of years for someone to take the lead of this ministry.  My wife and I read the materials and knew that this was what God wanted us to do. God used Celebrate Recovery to change our lives. In September 2013 launched our first general meeting. Our walk in CR has been incredible. We have been able to see God's love and mercy working in the lives of many people. After almost two years of CR meetings, God opened the doors to work with our city's judicial system. In January of 2016 we began receiving in our CR group people sent with an order by the Judge to work on their recovery. God is great! We had to open additional Step Study groups because of the growing number of people being sent to us. In October 2016 we made the decision to leave our secular jobs to be involved full time in the ministry that God has entrusted us, it has not been easy but we have seen God move all around us. This was not an easy decision. We have gone through many different crises from time to time and my insecurities continue to surface and my fear of not doing things right haunts me. I know I'm not perfect, there are still many things that I have to work on, but I also know that the One who started the work in me will conclude it. I know there is hope in Jesus Christ, for anyone who feels that his life is lost. For the one who has lost all hope, God can use even the most destroyed life if we just let him work on it. I am grateful to God for the opportunity to serve and share this testimony with you, Thank you for letting me share.

Thank you to all who were able to attend the Information Seminar - it was a great day!   A new session of CR step studies will be starting again soon at Calvary Chapel Rosarito. Please contact Karla  664-407-7086 for more information. Celebrate Recovery is growing and we are so excited to have you join us.

Celebrate Recovery Information Seminar

Pastors and Church Leaders:
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.