Six Graduates Are Celebrated from St. Louis and Monroe!

Mercy Ministries celebrated graduations in both the St. Louis and Monroe homes this week! This was an exciting celebration of the lives that have been transformed by the love of Christ. Here are their stories:

St. Louis

Natasha

“I came to Mercy Ministries struggling with an eating disorder, self-harm, depression, promiscuity, and a distorted understanding of life that led to several suicide attempts. I had tried other programs, but couldn’t find freedom. My Pastor gave me the book Mercy for Eating Disorders and after learning more about the Mercy Ministries program, I applied and was accepted.

Since being at Mercy, I have learned that true freedom is accessible to all who seek it. I have come to understand that God loves me and I do not need to seek worldly things to gain approval and acceptance. I have gained the tools needed to daily choose life and freedom in all situations and I have come to understand the real meaning of truly surrendering my life to God.

I am going to finish my Social Work degree and attend Master’s Commission so that I can go into full-time women’s ministry. I want to help other women understand that God has a plan for their lives and that they too can walk in freedom. Eventually I would like to become a Life Coach.”

Monroe

Aeron

“I came to Mercy Ministries after struggling for 8 years with an eating disorder, self-harm, depression, and anger. I grew up in a family that had a hard time dealing with emotions, so I had a difficult time expressing my emotions in a healthy way. I used my destructive behaviors to numb the pain from the circumstances in my life. I was a perfectionist and never felt good enough at anything. The eating disorder had become my way of escape and comfort. I went to several treatment facilities over the course of 6 years and always left without any hope. When I came to Mercy, I knew it was my last chance for true freedom.

From the moment I walked through the doors of Mercy I felt an unconditional love from God that I had never allowed myself to feel. Before Mercy my identity was wrapped up in my eating disorder. Since then, God has shown me who I am in Christ. I am His beautiful daughter. I have joy and freedom through Him. God’s Word is becoming truth in my life, and feeling God’s love has caused the shame and anger that used to engulf me to be lifted. I have found a hope and a future in Christ that I had deemed impossible before I came here. I have found that what is impossible with man is possible through Christ.

After Mercy, I plan to live in Princeton, Iowa with my grandparents. I am going to look for a job and consider going to college. I have found a wonderful church to get plugged in to and can’t wait to get involved.”

Emily

“I had spiraled down into a life of major depression and suicide attempts after years of battling with an eating disorder. I was living in terrible torment, feeling condemned, and hating myself. I loved God so much, but was living in absolute defeat. For the past couple of years I have rarely been able to function and felt like I failed at every part of my life: work, school, and relationships. I applied to Mercy Ministries after hearing about it through a family member.

Since I have been at Mercy, I have come to truly believe and accept the love that God has for me. Praise God for His truth! I have the true knowledge of who I am in Christ. I have learned to live by the truth and not my feelings. I have also traded my self-righteousness and torment for the cross and rest. God has revealed His grace to me and I have learned how to take responsibility to make wise Godly choices. Honestly, I came to Mercy looking for treatment, recovery, and a magical healing. Instead, I had an encounter with God that has truly changed me from the inside out!

After Mercy, I plan to move back home with my family until I can save enough money for other living arrangements. I will be taking classes at my local Community College and want to finish my Associates Degree. I plan on getting involved with my church and am mostly excited about building Godly relationships and walking in the light with other believers.”

Kendra

“Desperation is what drove me to Mercy Ministries. I was completely bound by an eating disorder. I was covered with shame and tormented by demonic oppression. Fear consumed me and I lived for the approval of others. I was trapped by the walls I built to protect myself. I was without hope. My brother told me about Mercy and I applied to the program.

During my time at Mercy, God has touched my life in a major way, and I have been equipped to live the transformed life. I have found a life of freedom and now it is my choice to walk it out. My time at Mercy has been priceless--a true gift to be set apart specifically to seek God and receive from Him. I have no words to describe what I have been given, but my gratitude is beyond measure. I am free to choose. The shame has been exposed, healing has taken place, and I have found my identity in Christ. God has restored many of my relationships too. I am truly blessed. Our God is the God of the impossible things. He can bring healing and restoration anywhere on the globe. If you are desperate for help, Mercy provides the opportunity of a lifetime. At Mercy, I found that God is the source of my ultimate freedom.

I plan to return home and finish my Associate’s Degree. My prayer is that God would open a door for me to either further my college education, or to begin full-time ministry.”

Michelle

“What brought me to Mercy Ministries was hope that there would be more to life than the pain that I was experiencing. I had a childhood full of verbal, physical, and sexual abuse. I started using drugs and alcohol at the age of 13, and by the age of 19, I had a serious addiction. I also became very promiscuous, began to self-harm, and even developed an eating disorder. I had been in counseling from the age of 15, been on many different medications, and at the age of 22, I found myself in a drug rehabilitation program. I had been through all of these programs and was an active member at my church, but nothing was working.

I would hear “once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic” everyday and was told by all my doctors that I just needed to manage my issues because I would always struggle with the effects of my abuse and addictions. I was given no hope and started to become suicidal. I saw purpose for my life and I would pray to God to either give me the courage to kill myself or help me find a way to live. I heard about Mercy while at an Extraordinary Women’s Conference where Nancy Alcorn spoke and a graduate gave her testimony. It was then that I knew that Mercy was God’s answer for me.

While at Mercy, I have discovered that my life is not just about surviving each day. It’s about a life of hope and abundance. I learned that even though God’s will wasn’t for me to be abused or for me to turn to different addictions, He can turn it around and use it for good in His Kingdom. I no longer identify myself as an alcoholic, drug addict, cutter, etc. I have learned to see myself as God sees me and have determined not to let my past dictate my future. I now have a hope for my life that I never had before, and I have a real relationship with God that I never thought was possible. God used Mercy to teach me so many tools to live a life of abundance and my life will never be the same.

Mercy doesn’t work because of any type of formula or special counseling technique; it works because you meet God here. No matter who you are, where you have been, or what you’ve done. The staff members are amazing and will help guide you to your Heavenly Father God who can heal and restore anything you bring to Him. He is a God of mercy and love, waiting and wanting to bless His children.

After Mercy, I plan to go to Bible College to help other young women find the freedom I found at Mercy.”

Kim

“I had been dealing with depression and suicidal thoughts off and on for the past 11 years. I also had been dealing with issues of abandonment, low self-esteem, and low self-worth. During my sophomore year in college, I really hit rock bottom and I decided one morning that I was going to end my life. When it didn’t work out, I was released from the hospital and decided that I really needed help. I found myself crying out for help one day because I was tired of the way I was living. No matter what I did, God would not let me go, and I cried out to Him and told Him I would go wherever He wanted me to go and do whatever He wanted me to do. It was the next day when I saw Nancy Alcorn on TBN with CeCe Winans and knew that I needed to come to Mercy.

Since I have been at Mercy, God has shown me that He has always loved me and has never pulled away from me. I was the one who pulled away from Him, but even in the midst of that, He still loved me. Everything I need comes from having my own personal relationship with God. He has also shown me that I don’t have to keep trying to pay for my sins that have already been paid for by Jesus’ death on the cross. The most important thing He has shown me is that I was not an accident or a mistake, I am not a burden, I am not useless, and I am not what the world says I am. His Word says He created me and knew me before my parents even conceived me. I was chosen and set apart for His glory. I am a child of God!

After I graduate, I plan to go back to school and finish my degree in sociology. I plan on becoming a children’s social worker, but until then I will find a part-time job working in a children’s group home for the Department of Human Services. I would like to take the things that I have learned from Mercy and share them with other women especially the youth.

If you are applying to Mercy, come expecting God to do a work in your life. If you allow God to truly work in your life, He will heal you and make you whole. Give God a chance and He will not fail you.”

Congratulations girls! We are so proud of each of you!!