 Jessica
Flick
Before I came to Harvest Time Ministries, I was
very hurt and confused. At the age of eleven, I began using
drugs and alcohol. Around this time, I was being used by different men,
and I really didn’t know how to handle it.
I didn't know what to do. I thought maybe that was just what happened to little girls. I felt so worthless. Soon I started to cut myself and burn myself.
I did anything I could find to do to ease the pain of what was happening to me.
At the age of twelve, I started using any hard drugs I could get.. I began shooting up, snorting pills, and anything
I could find to try to ease the pain. My mom didn’t know what to do for
me. She didn’t understand what was happening to her little girl. She tried everything she could think of. She put me in rehab
and took me to a psychiatrist who put me on medication. The medication didn’t
work, though because I didn’t want to change. My mom then found Harvest
Time Ministries. Shortly before coming to Harvest Time, I was at a party where
I was one of the only girls there. I remember being raped by several guys that night. I felt so dirty and worthless.
I didn't really trust anyone, or feel loved before coming to Harvest
Time. The staff showed me that I could trust them and that they were not
going to hurt me. It was through the staff, and seeing the love of God that I
was soon able to give my whole heart to Christ and let Him do what He needed to do in me.
Since then, He has shown me that I am worth something and that I have a purpose for my life. He has shown me that I can do things that I thought I could never do.
I think differently now, and I act differently; Because so much has changed in my life, I don’t even recognize
the person that I once was. I recently graduated in June, 2007, and I have dedicated to work at Harvest
Time for one year as an intern, and after that go to Bible college.
Kristen James
Before I came into Harvest
Time, my life was going in all the wrong directions. Around the age of 7 , roots
of rejection and anger were embedded into me. I never felt good enough or intelligent enough, so I began to lie about
things to make them appear better. Although I had been raised in church and attended all the youth camps and conventions,
my heart had just grown cold. I basically avoided all spiritual conversation. When I started junior High, my dad started a brand new job traveling all the
time, and my brother whom I was extremely close to, had just graduated high school, and was working constantly. I felt
that my security and protection was totally ripped away, so I began to try to fill this void with guys, drugs, and alcohol.
Going into my 10th grade year of high school, I became a huge pill user. If I could “pop-pills”
I was “happy”. I took anything I could get my hands on, including Loratab, Valium, and Prozac. I had
also become sexually active. Even though my world seemed perfect on the outside, on the inside I was constantly tormented
with guilt because I knew right from wrong. I felt I had no hope, and that I couldn’t turn to anyone, so I decided
to commit suicide by taking over 30 anti-depressants. By God’s grace, I just vomited and passed out. I decided
to shift away from pills and try alcohol. I was 17 and sleeping around with guys my age wasn’t good enough.
I had to have guys in their mid-20's. Finally, towards the end of my senior year of high school, my parents couldn’t
handle my anymore, so they began looking for placements. They found Harvest Time and I agreed to come, but my attitude
and motives were wrong. I basically just wanted a break from my parents, and I felt that I was mature enough to handle
everything. I had a horrible time getting along with the other girls, because I didn’t feel that they met up to
my standards. I thought I was way better and more mature. But, Rev Shawn enlightened me. She told me that
I was the one with the pride issue, and that I needed to get my heart right. I gave my heart to Christ in July of 2004,
and since then I’ve chosen to embrace God. I’ve learned that Christianity is not a game that you can pick
up one day, and lay it down the next. It is NOT about rules and regulations, but it is a relationship with a passion
and fire that burns from the deepest part of you.
Kristen graduated
the ministry and stayed on to work as a staff member for 1 year. Upon fulfilling her committment, she returned home.
Kristen is currently enrolled in college, teaching a young teens class at her church, and also involved in a mentorship
program, helping to mentor at risk youth.
Emily
Pender
As a child, I grew up hating myself. I had a very low self-esteem.
As I got older my self-esteem sank lower and lower. During my teen years,
I developed an eating disorder and began cutting myself. I was so out of control
that I usually cut myself so badly that I would often end up in the emergency room.
For three years I was in and out of more than twenty-five institutions. It got to the point that the state was wanting to place me in a state facility for the rest of my life. I had everyone convinced that I was crazy. I also attempted
suicide, yet survived by the grace of God. The real turning point in my life was when I
turned my life over to God and decided to come to Harvest Time. I knew my
behaviors had to change. Before coming into the ministry, I was very untrusting. I quickly learned that the staff were godly people who could be trusted.
They stuck to their word and never stopped loving me, no matter what I did. It
was through the daily classes and the help of the staff that I began to see myself the way that God sees me. I began to build a new and strong foundation for my life based on the Word of
God. God has done a major work in my life. I am a totally different person now. I don’t even think
the same. I am full of joy and excited to wake up everyday. Since graduating the ministry, I have committed to stay here at Harvest Time as an intern to further my
training, and to be a help wherever I am needed. I want to continue giving back
to God and this amazing ministry that I am so blessed to be a part of.
Kristi Thompson
I became very rebellious as a young teenager. I began looking to guys for love and became sexually active at the age of thirteen. Around this time, I became very violent at home- fighting and arguing with my family all the time. My mother sought help for me and had me placed on probation. Shortly after that, my bahavior caused me to be sent off to boot camp.
After boot camp, I continued to be placed on probation and eventually found myself at a mental and behavioral center. It was there that I remembered a place called “Harvest Time Ministries”. I thank God that my mother was able to get me enrolled in Harvest Time. God has done so many wonderful things in my life since coming here. I
have learned so much from the Bible classes and the staff. I have especially
learned how to submit to authority. I
am now full of joy and compassion and have hope for my life. I know that God
has a wonderful plan for my future. I graduated from high school and the ministry training
program in January and have committed to work here at the ministry as an intern. After completing my
internship, I plan to go to college, and continue following the plan of God for my life.
Back to top
|
