Needle in a Haystack

A NEEDLE IN THE HAYSTACK

HELPING IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMEONE’S STORY

WHEN JULI WAS 6 YEARS OLD HER MOM WAS SELLING DRUGS AND WAS CONSTANTLY HIGH. SCARED, JULI STARTED TO CRY ONE DAY AND HER MOM THREW HER INTO AN OPEN FIRE. SHE WAS PUT IN A FOSTER HOME, BUT THE SCARS FROM HER BURNS LEFT A PERMANENT REMINDER FO THE ABUSE THAT SHE HAD SUFFERED. WHEN JULI TURNED 12, A JUDGE SENT HER BACK TO BE WITH HER MOM. IT WAS THEN THAT SHE WAS TRAFFICKED ON THE STREETS BY HER OWN MOTHER.

JULI ENDED UP PREGNANT AND WAS ABLE TO GO TO A GROUP HOME AGAIN WITH HER BABY DAUGHTER. BUT THIS TIME SHE WAS ADDICTED TO THE DRUGS SHE HAD BEEN EXPOSED TO. SUFFERING WITH SELF-ESTEEM ISSUES SHE FLED THE HOME. OUR FOUNDER, WAS ON THE STREETS LOOKING FOR HER TO BRING HER BACK TO SAFETY, HE PRAYED “HELP ME FIND THIS NEEDLE IN THE HAYSTACK.” ALMOST IMMEDIATELY, HE CAUGHT A GLIMPSE OF HER SCARRED HAND. SHE EMBRACED HIM AND SAID THAT SHE NEEDED HELP. AT A NEARBY TACO BELL THEY SAT DOWN TO TALK AS SHE PUSHED ACROSS A PIECE OF PAPER SHOWING ANOTHER POSITIVE PREGNANCY TEST.

GIFTS OF GRACE HELPED JULI GET INTO ANOTHER REHAB PROGRAM, BUT THE ADDICTION PROVED TOO STRONG AS SHE TRIED TO RUN AWAY FROM HER PROBLEMS AGAIN. AFTER ANOTHER RESCUE, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT HER AT-RISK BABY WOULD PROBABLY DIE AND AN EMERGENCY C SECTION WAS CARRIED OUT. HER LITTLE BOY SURVIVED!

RIGHT NOW, JULI HAS LOST HER KIDS BECAUSE OF EVERYTHING THAT HAS HAPPENED. SHE IS WORKING TO BECOME THE MOTHER SHE NEEDS TO BE. WE ARE HELPING HER KIDS IN FOSTER CARE. SHE IS GETTING PLASTIC SURGERY SOON.

WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF JULI’S STORY, AND WILL CONTINUE TO WALK WITH HER THROUGH THIS TIME! SHE IS FAMILY. UT REMEMBER—THERE IS HOPE FOR HER, JUST LIKE THERE IS HOPE FOR EVERYBODY. THANK YOU FOR HELPING US BE A LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS.