Through it All, God Made a Way

Becca is not addicted to drugs or alcohol.

She has never shunned work and her life goal is to get her law degree. Transplanted from the streets of Bogota, Columbia, to the United States when she was a toddler, she’s faced many forms of adversity and has become stronger for it. Becoming homeless has been just one more trial to overcome.

Becca’s adoptive mother died when she was only 8 years old. From there, she moved through the foster care system. To cope, she created a black and white world with specific rules to live by, and she grew more and more determined to have an education and a home of her own.

When she was a young adult, Becca married and later began classes at Drake University in Des Moines. She and her husband separated in January 2007, and Becca, now with a newborn baby boy, continued to pursue her bachelor’s in sociology.

At first she stayed with her brother’s family, but soon family problems prompted her to move out. Becca moved from emergency shelter to shelter, all the time doing her best to keep up with her coursework. Finally in January, Becca and her baby boy, Desemes, were invited to live at Hope Family Center, our long-term residential and life recovery facility.

“Through it all, God made a way,” Becca says, looking back.

When she first came to Hope Family Center, Becca, now 28, often set herself apart from the other mothers because she didn’t have issues such as abuse or addiction. “I had ‘fogged clarity’ when I came here,” she says. “I thought I was different from the others, and my own thinking and attitude got in the way.” Her case manager, joAnna Russell, counseled Becca about loving others instead of judging them.

“Our H.E.A.R.T. recovery program provides life recovery from whatever you’ve been through, no matter what road you are on,” says joAnna. “Becca needed to see that it’s important to apply God’s Word to all issues of right and wrong and fairness.”

True to form, Becca has diligently worked to change her attitude through daily surrender. “God is everywhere in my life now.

He represents everything I am, everything I’ve accomplished and everything I desire to be.”

As this newsletter goes to print, Becca has completed phase one of her goal to become a lawyer by receiving her bachelor’s degree from Drake University. She admits being a single mother is a daily struggle but being at Hope Family Center has helped her heal emotionally, bond with her son, grow in her faith, establish a support system and continue to pursue her education.