_ Hello, my name is Christine. I grew up in Brooklyn, NY and am the youngest child from a family of 8. I am now 47 years old. My father used to abuse my mother and older sisters and brothers. When I was 11 years of age, I was sexually abused. As I got older I started to use heavier drugs like cocaine, crack, and I even sold my body for drugs.

I was not able to hold a conversation with others because I did not want anyone to know I was undereducated, so I always had a drink. I was hiding my shame and embarrassment in a bottle for 17 years. I never knew that all I had to do was talk to God and ask him to help me. I wish I would have just known that He loved me. Around Christmas time last year things were getting really bad. I became suicidal and drank non-stop. I came into Teen Challenge just before Christmas, and it was the best Christmas I can remember.  Everyone I was around was sober, and that never happened to me before. I knew right then that there was no way I could give this up. That New Years Day was also big for me because I had a new start. I am reading much better and I am in GED classes. Having a relationship with God gave me more confidence in myself. God has been so, so good to me. He hears my cries and answers them. I love you Lord and I'm sorry for taking so long to give my life to you. Now we will never be apart.

Philippians 1:6 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!”

Stephanie Glover is 22 years old and from Seattle, Washington.  She grew up with an alcoholic mom.  One day her mom was driving drunk with her and her brother in the car and they were in an accident.  This caused a lot of turmoil in their home, resulting in her mom and dad separating.  Her mom soon moved out of the house and family life changed.  They stopped going to church and her dad and brothers drifted away from each other.  Stephanie started drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana to deal with the confusion and pain she was feeling inside.

When Stephanie was 16 her mom had a stroke.  It was so painful for Stephanie to see her mom in a vegetative state that she began using LSD, started selling drugs and jumping from boyfriend to boyfriend looking for love.  She was introduced to Oxycotin and started smoking the pills, along with her secret use of intravenously shooting heroin.  At this point she was completely consumed by her addiction and stole credit cards from her parents.  She sold $7000 worth of family belongings and even sold herself to prostitution.  Her dad had enough and told her to leave the house.  Stephanie had no place to go and she found herself living in a tent in the woods, weighing 90 pounds. 

After a week of being in the woods, she woke up one morning and knew she needed help.  She made a phone call to a family friend who introduced her to Jesse Owens, a friend of Teen Challenge.  Jesse made a few calls and told Stephanie that a plane ticket had been sponsored for her, and she was flying to NYC tomorrow.  Within two days of her making that phone call, her life completely changed.  She knows that this was ordained by God.

Stephanie graduated the program this year on September 30, and God has already begun to use her as a light to shine glory on His name.  At BTC she has been submersed in the spirit and has learned what it really means to walk with Christ.  Stephanie is enrolled in TCMI, and she is interested in attending a Bible college for worship ministry.  But right now she is submitting to God’s will because hers never worked out.  She thanks God for showing her that she has purpose in her life and that without Him she has nothing.