Just wanted to share a sweet testimony from a client at shelter.   She is a powerful woman who is thoughtful, well-spoken and very grounded in her faith.  This woman was able to participate in our work stipend program for a week before finding an employment opportunity in her field.  She and her child have been an inspiration to me and it has really been a blessing to witness a liitle piece of their journey!  Hearing stories like this are what make me so thankful to have the opportunity to do this work! These stories also make me a little misty eyed 🙂 
                                                                                        -Jessica

“What can I say about the Bluegrass Domestic Violence Project? Since I arrived at the beautiful forty acre campus the experience has invigorated the essence of my soul.  The exodus from my eight year captivity leads me to liken the facility to a type of ‘paradise’.  My many tears Yah has collected in his glass have been balanced with joy and pain.  I began to see a transition from the latter to the former as I embarked on a quest to self-dscovery through participation in a host of programs and groups offered by BDVP.

Time was the most precious gift I received from the program: Time to study my bible and fellowship with loved ones, allowing me to draw nearer to Yah and grow in my faith.  Time to explore my creative niche and unearth talents I was unaware I had.  Time to delve into heart issues, some that had craftily permeated my being.  Finally, time to restore order to my life and the life of my precious baby boy.  By the way, he has determined he never wants to leave the ‘Gate House’, as he calls it.

The highlight of BDVP for me is the garden.  I was able to contribute briefly through the stipend program that provided the program participants the opportunity to earn some income, while learning to give back to the earth.  It was a place of safety for me, my temple, where I went to meet Yah, my place of Shalom!  Although I still have a meager knowledge of gardening, I have an appreciation of  the life there is outside of what we breathe and the love and the diligence that is necessary to sustain it.  I was able to harvest some of the healing herbs grown and use them to make lotions and oils and facial scrubs.  I also witnessed how to blanch and freeze many of the vegetables, as well as how to create great recipes.  All I can say is it was a real honor and a blessing to be part of something greater than myself.

To the staff, I pray Yah’s blessings, may He prosper the program richly and increase what it lacks.  I have no doubt that He brought me to BDVP to rescue me and to fulfill His promise that I would have life and have it more abundantly!  To Him I give all praise, glory, and honor for allowing such a program to come to fruition.”
                                                                                                    With Love,
                                    (to protect confidentiality her name will not be posted)