Fabiana’s Testimony –
My life has been full of ups and downs. Although I have struggled, I am thankful that God has brought me back to His way. When we are going through difficulties in our lives, as teenagers or even as adults, our first thought is to disappear or run away and thus it was with me. There was a time when things were so difficult that all I could think of was to disappear. I asked my mother to take me out of the city and to take me to live with a relative because I thought that getting away from where I was and from my friends, I would be able to turn my life around. To change my life around meant abandoning addictions, stop drinking, smoking and using drugs such as marijuana and cocaine. There was also a need to change my behavior, personality and character upheavals which led to attitudes which created serious problems for my family and for myself.
I arrived at Lily of the Valleys on April 6th, 2004 and was determined to turn my life around. This caused the treatment to be more effective, because our liberation depends first on our God, together with our faith and determination and also on the angels of God in our lives — those who worked at Lily of the Valleys — which at the time included a marvelous psychologist name Lúcia, a wonderful and used-by-God coordinator, our sister Lourdes and other workers and volunteers at Lily of the Valleys. I got to know other wonderful women and I remember each one fondly.
Jesus is the center of my life. Walking with him makes for a happy and secure journey. When I surrendered my life to Him, everything changed. God transformed an irresponsible and rebellious teenager into a strong and perseverant woman — a vessel to be a blessing to others. God gave me a wonderful family and blessed children. No one believed in us, however, God specializes in the impossible.
Lily of the Valleys in Catanduva, Brazil, cares for women recovering from addiction. This innovative program assists women in their recovery by engaging them in Bible studies, teaching them job skills and allowing them to take an active role in supporting their community. Women are taught baking and craft skills that allow them to obtain employment once they leave the program. Women work in the recovery center garden which helps feed the program participants. Lily of the Valleys knows that only in Christ can these women find freedom and life.
You are invited to come and hear more stories of the Lord’s grace in the lives of the women at Lily of the Valleys at the annual Oakseed Banquet on Saturday, September 21st 2019.