House of Restoration

I have faced many battles and hard times in my life. During my time with House of Restoration, I have learnt how to grow through faith and obedience. I have gained strength and know that no matter where you are in life or what you are going through, there are people willing to help.

Another year, another list of achievements. I never thought that I would be sticking around for this long but it has been 7 years now living and growing with House of Restoration along with the experiences, witnessing amazing life changes and inspired to be a blessing and help those around me.

During my two months at HR... I was always deeply moved and encouraged by the honest testimonies of others... They have an honest interest in each other, share things openly and accept each other. What encouraged me the most, though, was that everyone was glowing inside, they had hope and joy in life, although they don't necessarily live the 'happy life' today's society teaches us.

What a surprise!! Here I was…in my mid-20s, a full-time job, studying part-time, a great group of friends, living in my own place, driving a new sporty car and wanting to give something back to the community in the form of voluntary work. On the surface, it appears like the perfect life, one which many people aspire to.

After 20 years of life experience, I was yet to experience life with God. I had heard and believed yet I was sinking into a world I had created around myself that had become a wall to my destiny. The voice of God was washed away in a sea of alcohol, drugs, sexual immorality and a constant desire to fit in and be accepted by those I considered my friends.

When I arrived at HR I was feeling incredibly hurt, discouraged and bewildered by most unexpected, difficult and painful circumstances both in my family and in the church in which I had been involved for over half of my life. I was very warmly welcomed and quickly felt unconditionally accepted as part of the 'HR Family'.

In my life I have moved house nine times and been to four different schools. Since I moved into House of Restoration life has been more stable for me and I have changed as a person.

Myself and others were invited for a weekend by a group from Crossway to attend a retreat in Cathedral. When we got there we unpacked and put up our tents, that night we all sat outside around the warm fire talking about ministries and the LOMAR Retreat.

Never had I imagined that one day I would be playing the guitar. Singing was something I always enjoyed but I never thought that I would ever lay hands on a guitar but through it all, the experience and the outcome I knew it was my gift to sing and play, not for my benefit but to share my talents with others.

It has been an awesome year… a great man once said, a boat that makes no ripples is a boat that is going nowhere, but I want to assure you that HR this year have been making ripples and big ones. This year alone, HR has achieved great things that we thought were not possible. Our ripples have turned into waves and we have been hitting shores that have never been seen or heard of before. My main target this year is the dance ministry, which is called D’Light.

Well I have had a very busy eight months. I started a traineeship through Huston Health doing personal service assistance, where I go to different hospitals doing a variety of things (ie taking patients to x-rays, cleaning rooms, assisting the patients and nurses and working in food services at the hospitals).