What New Mexico Women’s Graduates Past Residents Say

“I grew up in a very loving Christian family. I was very involved in church. During my senior year of high school, I started to hang out with the wrong group of people. Once I entered college, it got worse. One drug consumed my life, OxyContin and any pain pill I could use. I lived for this drug day and night. My husband and I started to use this drug together. Even when I found out I was pregnant, the drug use worsened. I was so depressed I had no hope. Eventually, I overdosed and ended up in a psych ward. We both decided to attend the Adult & Teen Challenge, and God has completely changed our lives. I am not depressed anymore. I have such a hope and future. I know that my son’s going to have godly parents now.”

–Jessica

“When I was fourteen years old, my uncle kidnaped me, raped me, and many other horrible things occurred during this time. At fourteen, I began smoking crack and using cocaine to cope with life. I became addicted to Methamphetamines and a lot of other drugs. I was caught trafficking drugs and was facing 15 felonies and a lot of additional charges, but instead of getting help, I turned to a legal drug — alcohol — instead. I thought I had finally gotten my life together because alcohol was permitted. I started going to college, but I could not stop drinking. Then, I ended up overdosing on cocaine. The last thing I remember was my friends talking about dropping me off at the emergency room and leaving me there. It was the lowest point in my life.

” Someone told my parents about the Adult & Teen Challenge, so they brought me there. I was reluctant at first, but eventually got with the program. Here, the Lord saved me from my addiction and destruction and crowned me with his loving kindness and tender mercies. I now have “peace that passes all understanding “and joy that ever floods my soul. I never had such a great love for God and others as I do today, even though I may face prison. I have peace. I came into this program with a heart full of bitterness and hatred, but God exchanged that hatred for love.”

— Kelly

“God has delivered me from the bondage of addiction, anger, fear, depression, and self-loathing. Adult & Teen Challenge enabled me to lift my head with real hope for the future. I used to depend on the bottle in my hand for survival, but now I’ve thrown the bottle away, and I’m holding on to Jesus.”

–Tori

“I was not brought up as a Christian. Intelligence and education were stressed as the most essential things in life, so I became an outstanding student and had big goals for myself. At age 13, however, I was sexually assaulted. I became rebellious and started experimenting with drugs, which became my lifestyle. By age 24, I started using heroin, leading to a 20-year addiction and many psychological problems. My dreams faded away, and I was dying of addiction. I lost my will to live and was completely broken.

At age 44, I hit rock bottom and decided to attend the Adult and Teen Challenge. After a few months there, my life was permanently changed. I finally felt God’s presence there and accepted Christ into my heart. Today, I never wake up sad or depressed. I’m happy to be alive and have dedicated my life to serving Christ.”

–Lisa

“I was lost. I had no direction in life, no meaning. The life I knew was failing me. The things I loved to do became useless. I had begun selling myself as a prostitute to support my addiction. Accepting nothing but abuse my whole life, I knew I was worthless. I was searching, experimenting, and finding nothing but hurt and self-affliction, so I covered it up with the drugs. After coming to the Adult and Teen Challenge, I am filled with the joy of the Lord. I know my stains are wiped clean. Surrendering completely to Christ has been the best choice I’ve ever made. Everything I ask Him for help with, He has taken care of… most of all, He has restored me.”

–Callie

“I grew up in a blessed home with parents who loved and supported me. When I left for college, I rebelled. I wanted to be accepted so badly that I did anything to fit in. My priorities went down the drain, and I failed my first year. So, I joined the Coast Guard to escape my problems, but I got arrested twice and fell harder into my addiction. I moved back home and got into a toxic relationship; two months later, I found out I was pregnant, and the father fled. I was so lonely and lost and never thought I could have joy again. But I was wrong. I came to Adult and Teen Challenge, and now I have a relationship with God. He has shown me His faithfulness and is restoring my relationship with my family. I can now say that I have hope and a new outlook for the future!”

–Melinda

“I was adopted literally and figuratively. First, at the age of 3, I was in a family that I felt never really accepted or approved of me. I felt different, unwanted, unloved, and unimportant. I thought of myself as a mistake and never good enough. My mother was never pleased with who I was. Everything she tried to force me to be or do, I did the opposite. I started making bad decisions and fell into partying and drug addiction. Then, one night, as I was crying in my bed, feeling sorry for myself, I heard the Lord speak to my heart, telling me that I am more than this. After coming to Adult and Teen Challenge, I live and breathe for God. I have a reason to get up in the mornings. Now, I am a woman with a purpose, and that purpose is to live for HIM. I need his approval because on Christ the solid rock I stand.”

–Natalie