Fall Tour, Day 2
December 5, 2011(Thursday, December 1, 2011)
Today, we went to the Dream Center. It is an apartment building where women go who want to get their lives together and get rehabilitated. It is a strong Christian organization. It was a very interesting process to experience, and there were a lot of things that the women said that reminded me of Bible College.
There were 7 or 8 of these women I believe, and I found each of them to be a blessing to encounter, even though I will be focussing on 3 of the women in this blog entry. When we first got there, we really didn’t know what to expect, and did not really know much about the Dream Center, or what they did. I was under the impression that it was a prostitute rehab center, but it was clarified quite quickly that it is actually women who want to be rehabilitated from any type of addiction they have: drugs, drinking, shopping, etc.
After meeting all of the women, Leah started playing worship music on her guitar, and I joined in on my violin. We did that for probably an hour altogether. It was a great time to just fellowship, and worship our God together. At one point, Ronda, one of the women, got up, ran to her room, and came back with the chords to a song that none of us had heard before, but she asked (or told, more or less) us to play and sing it for her.
The girls struggled through it (and I added a few notes on my violin here and there) and managed to get through the whole song. It was very much out of their comfort zone, and instead of just shutting it down and saying “no, we can’t do it” they embraced the challenge and did their best. Ronda almost started crying, and explained that this song was significant to her because someone had sung it to her (and over her) a few years ago when she had been in a different rehab place. It was really beautiful to be able to bless her in that way.
Then Sharleen took over, and shared a little bit about her life, putting the emphasis on how scripture had impacted her and become real to her amidst her struggles. From there, other women started to open up. There were a couple of women whose stories really stood out to me.
Michelle:
She shared that she struggled with depression, and had a really difficult time in life, being a single mother and raising her child. Life got so bad that one morning she attempted suicide, by swallowing a bunch of pills. As soon as she did, she regretted it, and prayed out to God, asking Him to send someone to save her. Her daughter had just left for school, and wasn’t meant to be back for the rest of the day, but as she was getting to the school, she felt this urge to turn around and go back home. So, thinking that she forgot something, she went back home, rushing her mom to the hospital just in time to save her life. What an amazing story. Since then, Michelle has been doing everything she can to get back on the right path, and has been enjoying her time at the rehab center.
Ronda:
She was the one I mentioned earlier. She has been clean for maybe 2 months from crack. She started doing it when she was about 9, thanks to her older brother. She was off and on for most of her life, but about 10 years ago, her husband killed himself (her son blamed her, because their marriage was unstable) and she started to devote her life to consuming cocaine. What a heart-breaking story of a woman who is just trying to get by in life. She was sharing with us a bit of her story since being at the Dream Center, and how she just recently started to believe in God, and in what Christ did. She is the oldest woman there, and the most raw of all of them. It was a heart-breaking story, one which made me wish I could get to know her better.
Michelle (Bella):
Two of the women had the same name, so everyone referred to this young woman as Bella – meaning beautiful. She was the youngest there, and had a son who was maybe two years old. She had recently gotten him back, as he had been in foster care for a while, because she was too unstable to take care of him. I cannot remember what her specific issue was, but she was sharing about how much she’d grown since coming to this place.
It was such a blessing to hear the growth and the positivity surrounding the women here. It also felt like there was such a Spirit of God surrounding the entire building; so thick, you could almost taste it. I loved just hanging out with them, sharing stories, and hearing their stories. It reignited the passion I have to write a book that is entirely about peoples’ stories, their struggles, and how God got them through it. I cannot wait to start that book – if only I had the time while at school!
After the morning session, they showed us around their apartments, and wanted us to all see their rooms and such. It was cool to feel so included, like they wanted us to be a part of their lives. We got to hang out with them for lunch – which was wonderfully tasty – and then had another session in the afternoon. We sang Christmas carols, and Amy shared a poem that God had put on her heart to write. Then I shared the Woman at the Well slam poetry piece that I had performed earlier this semester at LYFE retreat, and almost everyone in the room cried. One woman asked for an encore, so I did it again. It is a very well written piece, and I was blessed to be able to use it to bless these women who had been broken and abused, to show them how much God loves them.
It was a powerful day, and I was so thankful to be able to be involved in their lives for a moment. I came away so incredibly blessed by them, and by their stories. They are stronger women than most of us, having the willingness to go to a place like the Dream Center, and allow it to completely change their lives, instead of simply remaining where they were at, like so many people do. After a short conversation with one of the staff members, I am considering doing my internship there – prayer for this would be greatly appreciated.
That evening we went to the mall, and I got to hang out with my brother Ben for a while. It was really lovely to see him, and a perfect way to end the day. He’s kind of fantastic I’d say.
