A Modern Day Miracle
“My name is Elizabeth. I was referred to the Faith Partners program by my county case worker in hopes to improve my position, being a down and out single mother of two sons. Robert was five and my older son, Jarred, was just returning to my household after having difficulty with his father in Arizona. I had legal troubles stemming from my struggles with alcohol addiction and felt lonely and depressed. It was a difficult for me at first to make the commitment with Faith Partners, but they stuck with me. They never gave up on me and always called me to motivate and support me."
"I was partnered with my mentors: Sherrie Scott, Carolyn McDole, & Lynn Bippus. My mentors have been there for me every day when I’ve needed them. We've spent many afternoons together - Sherrie has taken my son and me to Garden of the Gods and many other places during the summer - including Uncle Wilber, my sons favorite! My mentors helped me when I needed it - finding school supplies, preparing Thanksgiving dinner, and countless other times I needed help. It seems that when times are at the worst for me, I get a phone call from one of the ladies. Another Christmas has gone by and once again Faith Partners was there for me with open arms."
"I have resolved my legal issues and my struggle with alcohol. I could never have changed the path I was on if I hadn’t been so sure I would always have my mentors to lean on when I needed more strength. Their support has truly changed life for me, and they have changed the lives of my children. My children now have a mom they can count on and they love the ladies of Faith Partners. I am so thankful for our experience with Faith Partners - we consider them no only our mentors, but also our friends.”
Mentors' Testimony
We chose Elizabeth and her family to be our featured family this month because Elizabeth truly exemplifies the essence of the reason we at Faith Partners believe mentoring can produce “Modern-day Miracles”. She had extreme challenges, but the biggest one we could see was that she was trying to draw the pieces of her life back together without a stable family support system.
The time we spent with Elizabeth was almost instantly rewarding, as truly she did most of the work on her own, but was always so grateful for anything we were able to do for her. As she herself reported all she needed was a couple mentors at her back. These mentors were not perfect; they were busy people, their schedules were filled, and they had their own challenges in life. The consistent things they provided for Elizabeth were encouragement, unconditional love, and respect. Elizabeth used to try to muster enough hope to make it through the next day; today her dreams are coming to fruition.
Elizabeth has her own home with her two boys and their day to day routine is established. Though her arthritic condition would allow her to remain at home, (she has SSI disability) Elizabeth is looking into re-training, because she desires to give back to the community. This is her goal for her last semester with Faith Partners. We are sure that you will agree with us that Elizabeth and her family are the expression of another Faith Partners "Modern Day Miracle."
