Welcome back! We are talking to a group from 00:00:15.06\00:00:18.83 Teen Challenge, Teen Challenge is a ministry that works 00:00:18.87\00:00:22.30 with, and it sounds like were working with only teens. 00:00:22.33\00:00:25.73 Not true, they work with people from every age, 00:00:25.76\00:00:28.23 I think it started out with just teens and we will find 00:00:28.27\00:00:30.82 out a little bit about that later. 00:00:30.85\00:00:33.02 We will talk to Apryl one of the directors. 00:00:33.05\00:00:34.99 But now, they work with all ages and I went a few months 00:00:35.02\00:00:40.37 ago and talked with Teen Challenge group out of 00:00:40.41\00:00:43.02 Massachusetts, and I never say that right. 00:00:43.05\00:00:45.47 I don't know how to say that, but you know it is that 00:00:45.50\00:00:48.32 part of the country, but I talked with this group and 00:00:48.35\00:00:51.13 met these girls and invited them on the program. 00:00:51.17\00:00:53.74 I am glad they came, I love them. 00:00:53.78\00:00:55.78 When I met them I feel like I am talking to myself. 00:00:55.82\00:00:58.74 I am looking at their struggles and looking at the fact 00:00:58.77\00:01:03.06 that they may be have to feel and deal with the hurts 00:01:03.09\00:01:07.34 in their lives for the first time ever. They are 00:01:07.38\00:01:09.26 going to deal with whether they were abandoned by a Father 00:01:09.29\00:01:12.20 or they were loved, or their home was functional or 00:01:12.23\00:01:15.66 dysfunctional, what their anger issues are. 00:01:15.69\00:01:18.18 The fact that they acted out in certain ways. 00:01:18.22\00:01:20.64 The drugs they took, the relationships they got into 00:01:20.68\00:01:23.45 far too early and they are looking at all of that. 00:01:23.49\00:01:26.23 I'm looking at them thinking you know what? 00:01:26.26\00:01:28.78 I'm so glad you landed in a place that is going to help 00:01:28.81\00:01:32.23 you to do that safely. 00:01:32.27\00:01:34.19 That was just cool to me and I want to introduce you to 00:01:34.23\00:01:37.61 Megan, and Megan thank you for coming on and thank you 00:01:37.64\00:01:40.99 for sharing with us your stuff. 00:01:41.02\00:01:42.62 You are living at Teen Challenge now? - yes. 00:01:42.65\00:01:46.49 Did you go because you thought I'd like to go to 00:01:46.53\00:01:50.29 Teen Challenge? I was actually told that I have to go. 00:01:50.33\00:01:53.46 Whether or not I wanted to go or not, I had to go. 00:01:53.50\00:01:56.24 Really, they just said like you are going? - yes. 00:01:56.28\00:01:58.95 So tell me where you came from and then we will get to 00:01:58.98\00:02:02.72 that point where somebody said this is where you are going. 00:02:02.76\00:02:05.19 So what was your home like... Life like! 00:02:05.22\00:02:10.51 I first living with my mom until the age of 00:02:10.55\00:02:15.81 six in New York. 00:02:15.84\00:02:17.02 She was a drug addict. - your mom was? - my mom was a drug 00:02:17.06\00:02:20.86 Did you know that at six? - I didn't know until I grew up. 00:02:20.90\00:02:24.23 I didn't know what was going on and I wasn't aware what she 00:02:24.27\00:02:27.84 was doing or anything she was doing until I had grown up 00:02:27.87\00:02:31.41 and they had told me what really had happened. 00:02:31.44\00:02:33.30 So early on, even though you were living with her did it 00:02:33.34\00:02:37.98 seemed normal or was your normal just kind of crazy? 00:02:38.02\00:02:41.99 To me it seemed normal because I was younger I didn't 00:02:42.03\00:02:45.97 know what, like what she was doing. 00:02:46.01\00:02:48.69 I just knew that she never really paid much attention 00:02:48.72\00:02:51.82 to me. - okay. - every time I would see people around 00:02:51.86\00:02:54.89 the house and I don't know who they were, or what they were 00:02:54.93\00:02:57.78 doing, but I would notice that my mom would not even look 00:02:57.82\00:03:00.64 at me. - okay, so that you knew. 00:03:00.67\00:03:03.59 To me I just want to as a little girl, I just want to say 00:03:03.62\00:03:07.11 I'm sorry, it's almost like you, do you ever get the sense 00:03:07.14\00:03:10.60 that you just want to hold that little girl? 00:03:10.63\00:03:12.44 And say I am sorry, so your mom would have people in and 00:03:12.47\00:03:16.09 out and you had no idea who they were so you just kind of 00:03:16.12\00:03:19.70 stayed out of the way? - yes. - okay, you learned 00:03:19.73\00:03:22.78 that pretty young? - yes. 00:03:22.82\00:03:24.57 What happened at six? Did you get taken from the house? 00:03:24.61\00:03:28.41 Well at six my mom started going out of control with 00:03:28.45\00:03:32.22 drugs, and she eventually lost her apartment. 00:03:32.26\00:03:34.64 Most importantly lost her children which was me and my 00:03:34.68\00:03:38.84 older sister and older brother and she had gave full 00:03:38.87\00:03:42.98 custody of us to my aunt, because she didn't want us 00:03:43.01\00:03:46.29 to go to a complete stranger so she decided to send 00:03:46.33\00:03:49.54 me to my aunt. - okay, at least that part was good, aye? 00:03:49.58\00:03:53.94 Yeah so we were actually lucky to be with family instead of 00:03:53.97\00:03:58.30 someone who was a stranger and didn't even know who 00:03:58.33\00:04:00.70 they are. - a lot of people go to foster homes and 00:04:00.74\00:04:02.88 they don't know who they are and I hear that over and 00:04:02.92\00:04:05.69 over, I went to a foster home and didn't fit in and 00:04:05.72\00:04:08.45 they didn't know me and I didn't know them. 00:04:08.49\00:04:10.06 So I am glad that you got to go with your auntie. 00:04:10.09\00:04:14.40 So what happened with them? What was it like to all of 00:04:14.43\00:04:17.44 a sudden to have a new home and maybe people that actually 00:04:17.47\00:04:20.45 paid attention to you? 00:04:20.48\00:04:22.19 Well I started to feel that there was nobody in my life. 00:04:22.23\00:04:25.72 Like I felt unwanted, because I never had my father by my 00:04:25.75\00:04:29.70 side, I never actually knew my father until I was 12. 00:04:29.73\00:04:34.02 And she was like you're father just called me up on the 00:04:34.05\00:04:37.35 phone and wants to speak to you, and I'm like who is this? 00:04:37.38\00:04:40.45 I don't know, you sound like a complete stranger to me. 00:04:40.49\00:04:43.52 So I actually spoke to him at the age of 12. 00:04:43.56\00:04:47.74 What was he like? - he was like nothing I really 00:04:47.77\00:04:51.92 expected him to be. 00:04:51.95\00:04:53.30 Like you would want to say I love you but it was hard for 00:04:53.34\00:04:55.88 me to say I love you back because I was saying it to 00:04:55.92\00:04:57.89 a complete stranger and I don't know who you are and 00:04:57.93\00:05:00.41 I can't hug you and kiss you like a real father. 00:05:00.45\00:05:02.90 Because I don't, where were you? 00:05:02.94\00:05:06.90 Did you ask him that? Where were you all this time? 00:05:06.93\00:05:10.25 I still don't know some things that I want to know. 00:05:10.28\00:05:13.80 But he told me he went to Florida to take care of his 00:05:13.84\00:05:16.95 mom and stuff like that. - okay, one of these days 00:05:16.99\00:05:20.03 you are going to ask him those things you want to know? 00:05:20.07\00:05:22.06 Yeah. - where is mom at? 00:05:22.09\00:05:24.26 My mom now, she has recovered and she is not doing drugs 00:05:24.29\00:05:28.94 anymore and she has an apartment and now she is in 00:05:28.98\00:05:31.77 my life and I see her like anytime I want to. 00:05:31.80\00:05:34.76 Wow, so let's go back to when you were with your aunt. 00:05:34.80\00:05:40.88 Your dad comes in like age 12, when did you start having 00:05:40.91\00:05:45.79 your own problems outside of what was going on with them? 00:05:45.82\00:05:49.61 Because you know as a kid we think we are never going 00:05:49.64\00:05:53.40 to be that, I'm never going to do drugs. 00:05:53.43\00:05:55.47 I'm not going to be like my parents. 00:05:55.51\00:05:57.47 Did you ever say that? Because I said that as a kid. 00:05:57.51\00:06:00.22 I'm never going to do that. 00:06:00.25\00:06:02.05 Yeah I actually thought I would never do anything, 00:06:02.08\00:06:04.38 I thought it would ruin my life. 00:06:04.41\00:06:06.20 But I started to feel angry that I didn't have my mother 00:06:06.24\00:06:10.60 or my father by my side and I felt lost and unwanted. 00:06:10.64\00:06:14.34 So I soon started hurting myself and cutting myself. 00:06:14.38\00:06:18.46 It continued until I was 15. - what did cutting do? 00:06:18.49\00:06:22.54 It, to me, really stressed an anger. 00:06:22.58\00:06:26.01 Like if you got to angry I could cut on myself, at least 00:06:26.05\00:06:30.43 seeing the blood or feeling that pain that it just gave me 00:06:30.47\00:06:34.82 a release, a sense of being present. 00:06:34.85\00:06:38.46 Because some people think, I know a lot of people think 00:06:38.49\00:06:42.28 that is like a suicide attempt, but it is not a suicide 00:06:42.32\00:06:46.07 attempt, it's just I want attention. 00:06:46.11\00:06:49.04 It's not that I don't want to feel so stressed, I don't want 00:06:49.07\00:06:54.32 to be in this much pain. 00:06:54.35\00:06:55.85 Did you feel that? It's kind of a solution to that? 00:06:55.89\00:07:00.54 Yeah I did, I felt like there was nothing I could do 00:07:00.57\00:07:05.19 to make my life better. 00:07:05.23\00:07:07.40 So I didn't want to take it out on my aunt, I wasn't 00:07:07.44\00:07:11.64 the type of person to disrespect her. 00:07:11.68\00:07:13.19 Like I would listen to her, but I felt like there was 00:07:13.23\00:07:15.97 nothing I could do and I would take anything possible 00:07:16.00\00:07:18.70 that was near me to hurt myself or cut myself. 00:07:18.74\00:07:21.80 Did you sometimes cut yourself even while somebody was in 00:07:21.83\00:07:25.76 the room? Were they didn't even know? - no! 00:07:25.80\00:07:27.96 Some people do that even, it's like nobody knows 00:07:27.99\00:07:31.30 I'm cutting myself right now, you know? 00:07:31.34\00:07:33.59 So you didn't want to take it out on her, so you took it 00:07:33.63\00:07:38.07 out on yourself. - yes. - did it work? 00:07:38.10\00:07:41.34 I thought it would but it didn't help at all. 00:07:43.05\00:07:46.54 It just seemed to make things worse. 00:07:46.57\00:07:48.01 Because I always say that because I know in my own life 00:07:48.04\00:07:51.05 that it didn't work. Just continues to get worse. 00:07:51.08\00:07:54.43 So as it got worse what does that look like in your life? 00:07:54.46\00:07:57.00 It just made like, it just made things worse in my 00:07:57.03\00:08:02.02 family, like they didn't know at the beginning I was 00:08:02.05\00:08:07.00 doing it and so one time I was in my room and I was angry. 00:08:07.04\00:08:10.58 Most of the time they would leave me alone in my room and 00:08:10.61\00:08:14.12 say she's angry and not even go into the room. 00:08:14.16\00:08:16.60 They stepped into my room where I was actually cutting 00:08:16.63\00:08:20.31 myself and they stepped in and took my arm and started 00:08:20.34\00:08:23.98 putting pressure on it. - right. 00:08:24.02\00:08:25.83 Then they knew everything because I can see you have scars 00:08:25.86\00:08:29.70 on your arms. - yes, they are just scars, never went away. 00:08:29.73\00:08:33.53 So is that why they brought you to Teen Challenge? 00:08:33.56\00:08:38.51 Well that is part of the reason why they sent me here. 00:08:38.55\00:08:44.14 But, - even thinking about that time causes you to feel 00:08:44.18\00:08:49.74 sad, doesn't it? - yeah. 00:08:49.77\00:08:51.66 What's the sadness? Where does that come from? 00:08:51.69\00:08:53.68 My family. - that it is just hard, it really is hard. 00:08:53.72\00:09:00.96 Yeah. - do you want to have a prayer before we go on? 00:09:01.00\00:09:09.98 Sure. - okay, dear Father in Jesus name, there is so 00:09:10.01\00:09:16.10 much sadness, so many broken homes, but right now I am 00:09:16.14\00:09:22.19 praying for Megan and I am just asking You for the places 00:09:22.23\00:09:27.06 that she is so hurt, she was so lost, the times she felt 00:09:27.09\00:09:31.32 so abandon, I just pray Father that Your heart opens up 00:09:31.35\00:09:35.54 to her and she feels it. 00:09:35.58\00:09:37.00 I pray for healing of her heart, I pray God tell her how much 00:09:37.03\00:09:41.28 You love her and how much You adore her and how much 00:09:41.31\00:09:44.05 You have never stopped thinking about her. 00:09:44.08\00:09:47.10 You are sad about what she has gone through and let her 00:09:47.14\00:09:50.67 get a sense of where You were that whole time. 00:09:50.70\00:09:52.75 I just ask You Father that as she stands up in recovery 00:09:52.78\00:09:56.02 that she will never feel alone again. 00:09:56.06\00:09:58.13 She will never feel abandoned again and that anger she can 00:09:58.17\00:10:01.41 give freely to You and she doesn't have to hurt herself 00:10:01.45\00:10:04.93 and just can freely grab hold of the life that You are 00:10:04.96\00:10:08.41 going to offer her. 00:10:08.45\00:10:09.65 I pray for the Holy Spirit to fill her up. 00:10:09.69\00:10:11.46 I pray for healing in every part of her mind and heart 00:10:11.49\00:10:15.03 and her body and I just ask You Father in Jesus name 00:10:15.07\00:10:18.67 that as she stands up and helps the people around her 00:10:18.71\00:10:22.27 that she will heal more, and more, and more. 00:10:22.31\00:10:24.91 I pray for anybody watching and just ask You that as 00:10:24.94\00:10:27.84 people are watching the program it is hard to look at her 00:10:27.88\00:10:30.89 sadness, but we can get on the other side of it and that 00:10:30.93\00:10:33.88 is the most incredible thing about Your love for us and 00:10:33.92\00:10:38.12 I pray for You to let Your love for us, let us feel it to 00:10:38.16\00:10:41.98 the point that we don't even have to stand in the places 00:10:42.01\00:10:45.80 of abandonment and the places of hopelessness. 00:10:45.83\00:10:48.81 In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit 00:10:48.84\00:10:50.88 I just ask all of that. In Jesus name Amen! 00:10:50.92\00:10:53.99 You know I can tell just by talking to you that your pain 00:10:59.08\00:11:05.26 was very deep. - yeah. - and at that point in your 00:11:05.30\00:11:09.27 life and you are dealing with those deep hurts is that 00:11:09.31\00:11:13.25 did you finally just start to go and act out? 00:11:13.28\00:11:18.74 Did you jump into the drugs yourself? 00:11:18.78\00:11:21.22 Well, I started hanging out with people who I thought was 00:11:21.26\00:11:25.66 my real friends, but they introduced me to things, into 00:11:25.70\00:11:31.01 marijuana and I thought, they told me you will feel fine 00:11:31.05\00:11:36.33 with just doing this. 00:11:36.36\00:11:38.48 I decided okay let me just try it, it is not a big deal. 00:11:38.52\00:11:40.95 So I tried it and I felt good, I felt great. 00:11:40.98\00:11:46.75 It's nothing that I normally felt. 00:11:46.79\00:11:48.69 So I started to do that, even though I knew I was not 00:11:48.72\00:11:53.55 addicted to it and could live without it, I just did it 00:11:53.59\00:11:58.39 whenever I was angry. Thank you. 00:11:58.42\00:12:01.01 What is really interesting is that is where a lot of 00:12:01.04\00:12:03.93 people don't realize is that you have all this hurt, 00:12:03.97\00:12:07.26 all this pain and all this anger and somebody gives you 00:12:07.29\00:12:11.42 some weed to smoke and I am laughing and connecting with 00:12:11.46\00:12:14.95 people and it doesn't seem that intense and it works. 00:12:14.98\00:12:18.29 Initially it works, after a while it becomes a problem. 00:12:18.32\00:12:21.59 But at first it works. 00:12:21.63\00:12:25.02 You started to connect with friends. - yes, and they 00:12:25.06\00:12:32.03 at the age of 14 I started to go to parties and drinking alcohol. 00:12:32.06\00:12:36.45 I just wanted to have fun, and I thought that was the fun 00:12:36.48\00:12:40.64 that everybody has so why couldn't I have that fun? 00:12:40.68\00:12:44.32 That felt a lot better than cutting on yourself. 00:12:44.35\00:12:48.42 And I don't want to sound like I am saying that was 00:12:48.46\00:12:52.73 a great choice, but I'm saying the choices you had was 00:12:52.76\00:12:56.99 that I am alone and cutting on myself or I'm angry or I'm 00:12:57.03\00:13:01.22 out having a great time with my friends and just 00:13:01.26\00:13:03.16 drinking and forgetting everything. 00:13:03.19\00:13:04.97 And so for you it sounds like I found something that 00:13:05.00\00:13:10.61 works. - yeah, so the reason why I started to leave 00:13:10.64\00:13:14.99 the house when I wanted and started going to parties and 00:13:15.03\00:13:18.72 stuff like that because my aunt never really thought 00:13:18.75\00:13:22.46 I was old enough to be with friends and go out to places 00:13:22.50\00:13:26.17 that I wanted to, she kept me from all that. 00:13:26.21\00:13:29.12 So I decided to just leave, I start running away and 00:13:29.15\00:13:33.31 it made things worse. 00:13:33.35\00:13:35.93 Because you were running away and staying at different 00:13:35.97\00:13:38.04 friends house, staying wherever? 00:13:38.08\00:13:39.68 Whenever I ran away I would mostly run away to be with 00:13:39.71\00:13:43.50 a boyfriend. - okay. - but I would actually stay 00:13:43.54\00:13:47.38 with the boyfriend the whole day but then go to my moms and 00:13:47.42\00:13:50.79 stay with my mom. I always wanted to live with my mom. 00:13:50.83\00:13:54.90 I use that as an excuse for my running away but that 00:13:54.94\00:13:58.98 wasn't the main excuse why I ran away. 00:13:59.02\00:14:01.48 It was mainly to be with friends? - your boyfriend? 00:14:01.52\00:14:04.18 Was her mom still using then? - no! - okay so 00:14:04.21\00:14:07.49 at that point she had stopped? - yeah I was 14-15. 00:14:07.53\00:14:12.21 Okay, so who said enough? I mean who said enough? 00:14:12.24\00:14:16.88 We have got to get you some help? - my aunt. 00:14:16.92\00:14:20.69 Okay. - she at the time she knew I was in a bad 00:14:20.73\00:14:24.43 relationship with my last boyfriend before I came here. 00:14:24.47\00:14:28.51 Because he was 18, so she thought no this can't be. 00:14:28.54\00:14:32.04 This was illegal, anything I was with, the stuff that 00:14:32.07\00:14:35.54 was illegal she was not for at all, of course. 00:14:35.57\00:14:38.45 So she said I can't see you destroy your life and go 00:14:38.48\00:14:42.43 even further in destroying your life so she decided, 00:14:42.46\00:14:45.52 Megan I'm going to send you to a boarding school. 00:14:45.55\00:14:48.34 So I am thinking it's just a boarding school where we 00:14:48.38\00:14:52.07 could talk on phones, go on the Internet. - surprise. 00:14:52.11\00:14:57.16 Yeah, but the day I woke up and I was in my mom's house 00:14:57.19\00:15:02.87 because before I came here in September she let me stay 00:15:02.91\00:15:08.55 with my mom to see if I would do better with her. 00:15:08.59\00:15:10.53 But instead of taking it as my last chance to turn my whole 00:15:10.57\00:15:13.96 life around and I continue to do whatever I wanted to do. 00:15:14.00\00:15:17.50 So she said Megan you are going to Teen Challenge and 00:15:17.54\00:15:21.84 I was shocked, and she actually told me that was going 00:15:21.88\00:15:25.56 to happen. - before you went? - that day she told me. 00:15:25.60\00:15:29.45 There's no Internet, no phones and you are not going 00:15:29.48\00:15:33.30 to be around friends for a while. 00:15:33.33\00:15:35.49 You can't even contact your family at first, because 00:15:35.53\00:15:38.48 they really don't want, they want you here's the program 00:15:38.51\00:15:41.43 and they really want you to do the program. 00:15:41.46\00:15:43.50 Well we were allowed to get letters from my mom and my 00:15:43.53\00:15:47.29 aunt, but I wasn't supposed to send letters out or like 00:15:47.32\00:15:51.04 on the phone or anything until my month was made. 00:15:51.08\00:15:54.28 So that time in Teen Challenge I felt like I didn't want 00:15:54.32\00:16:01.00 to listen to anything, I felt angry, I didn't want to. 00:16:01.03\00:16:07.68 - you're not telling me what to do. 00:16:07.71\00:16:09.48 I don't want to stay here. - but I just thought go along 00:16:09.51\00:16:13.64 with the rules and soon I just came out of control and 00:16:13.68\00:16:17.83 started to not even listen to what they did and stayed in 00:16:17.87\00:16:22.69 bed and eventually received my consequences which was a 30 00:16:22.73\00:16:26.48 day restriction which means I can't have any phone calls 00:16:26.51\00:16:30.07 or any mail from any of my family until 30 days are over. 00:16:30.10\00:16:33.62 You know your are going to laugh at this. 00:16:33.66\00:16:35.68 There is a program in Idaho and is called Project Patch. 00:16:35.71\00:16:39.43 And I love the program too, but they if you don't do the 00:16:39.46\00:16:43.15 program, they give you a tent and a can of beans or 00:16:43.18\00:16:45.82 something and a can opener and you can just stay out 00:16:45.86\00:16:48.46 on the property in a tent. - wow! 00:16:48.50\00:16:50.49 So they say if you can't follow the rules in the house 00:16:50.52\00:16:53.12 here you go, and the person is like you are not going to 00:16:53.16\00:16:55.73 make me stay in a tent? Oh yes! We are. 00:16:55.76\00:16:57.94 To me it is a brilliant because it is like, you know, 00:16:57.97\00:17:01.57 then they always come and say okay I will follow the rules 00:17:01.60\00:17:05.47 but it is like that sense of, I think in our own anger and 00:17:05.50\00:17:08.82 rebellion and all that kind of stuff, at least for me in 00:17:08.86\00:17:12.50 my life, is I didn't know how to deal with authority. 00:17:12.53\00:17:15.92 I didn't know how to let people be in those positions 00:17:15.95\00:17:19.30 over me because it would just make me mad. 00:17:19.33\00:17:21.57 It's like somebody has to teach us again how to allow 00:17:21.61\00:17:26.52 people to be an authority without getting mad. 00:17:26.55\00:17:29.05 That takes a while. 00:17:29.09\00:17:31.01 - yes. - so for you it took a while. 00:17:31.04\00:17:33.61 Yes it took a while, but I am only actually two months 00:17:33.64\00:17:40.19 in the program. - that's it? - that's it. 00:17:40.22\00:17:42.11 After that 30 day restriction I realized I'm not leaving 00:17:42.15\00:17:47.02 this is probably what God has called me to do. 00:17:47.06\00:17:50.46 You knew that in your heart? - in my heart. 00:17:50.50\00:17:53.87 - I'm so proud of you. - thank you. 00:17:53.90\00:17:58.29 Last month, February, I accepted God in the church which, 00:17:58.32\00:18:04.55 the church I love and feel comfortable in. 00:18:04.58\00:18:07.96 God I just am sorry for every- thing I've done, I don't want 00:18:08.00\00:18:12.17 to go back to anything I have done and just that my whole 00:18:12.20\00:18:16.34 life over, and just be with You and know that 00:18:16.37\00:18:19.61 You are there for me. 00:18:19.64\00:18:20.95 Did you sense His forgiveness? - yes. - yeah. 00:18:20.98\00:18:23.56 You know that is what I think is amazing to me. 00:18:23.60\00:18:26.14 God says I am so glad you are home. 00:18:26.18\00:18:28.12 It was hard watching you get hurt, and it was hard 00:18:28.16\00:18:30.96 watching you hurt yourself. 00:18:31.00\00:18:33.52 I'm proud of you, and I'm proud of God. 00:18:33.55\00:18:35.53 So you turned it over, and pretty quick, you turned it 00:18:35.57\00:18:39.40 over and you are going to stay and do the program and 00:18:39.43\00:18:43.23 you get your life back. - yeah. 00:18:43.26\00:18:46.54 When I was there and talked about does anybody want to do 00:18:46.58\00:18:50.39 ministry your hand went up. - yeah. 00:18:50.42\00:18:52.03 So your hand went up and you do want to do ministry. 00:18:52.07\00:18:54.87 What is it going to look like? Do you have any sense 00:18:54.91\00:18:57.68 of what you would like to do? 00:18:57.71\00:18:59.41 Well my brother had done something like that, but he had 00:18:59.44\00:19:03.58 went to Nicaragua where he helped people and build houses 00:19:03.62\00:19:07.45 and I was like he showed me pictures of stuff like that 00:19:07.48\00:19:11.18 and that sounds really cool and interesting so I wanted to 00:19:11.21\00:19:14.87 help people, not only just because I know how it is, 00:19:14.91\00:19:19.07 but to help people who are struggling in any way. 00:19:19.10\00:19:22.25 In anyway, because you know what is interesting is that 00:19:22.28\00:19:25.99 somebody will say that the things you did as far as your 00:19:26.03\00:19:29.62 acting out, as far as your anger and drugs or whatever, 00:19:29.65\00:19:33.84 that the core issue for you, because we are looking at 00:19:33.87\00:19:38.02 this whole season one core issues. 00:19:38.06\00:19:39.90 The core issue for you is you didn't feel loved or cared 00:19:39.94\00:19:43.56 for or wanted, and that is kind of a universal thing. 00:19:43.60\00:19:47.03 I mean that is every country you can find kids that 00:19:47.06\00:19:50.23 nobody is taking care of, so it sounds like your heart 00:19:50.27\00:19:53.40 is really for those kids. - yeah. - wow! 00:19:53.44\00:19:56.93 So as you stand up, as you do your recovery God can open 00:19:56.97\00:20:00.58 up the world for you as far as to help someone else. 00:20:00.61\00:20:04.46 Yes! - are you excited about that? - I am, I just 00:20:04.49\00:20:08.16 want any opportunity I get I want to do it right away. 00:20:08.20\00:20:11.84 You want to help God. - yes. 00:20:11.87\00:20:13.12 I want to talk with Apryl, because Apryl is your director 00:20:13.15\00:20:17.07 for the house that you are in. 00:20:17.10\00:20:18.43 So I want to just talk and say you know Apryl that she 00:20:18.47\00:20:23.09 just won my heart, she just won my heart and I think she 00:20:23.13\00:20:27.71 won the heart of people all over the world. 00:20:27.75\00:20:29.40 Just that sincerity of wanting to come back to God and to 00:20:29.43\00:20:33.62 do the right thing and stand up. 00:20:33.65\00:20:35.59 The understanding that she was so forgiven, but I know 00:20:35.63\00:20:39.50 that you are the director of the Teen Challenge she is in 00:20:39.54\00:20:43.24 so I want you to say a little bit about that facility and 00:20:43.28\00:20:46.95 about the girls that spoke today. 00:20:46.98\00:20:49.32 Well Cheri our program, we have programs all over the 00:20:49.36\00:20:52.76 United States, but our program which is located in 00:20:52.80\00:20:56.14 Fitchburg Massachusetts is a 15 month minimum residential 00:20:56.17\00:20:59.84 program. - minimum? - minimum, so for many it takes 00:20:59.87\00:21:03.23 more than the 15 months and over the long term that is 00:21:03.27\00:21:06.60 where you see the real change. 00:21:06.63\00:21:08.41 And it is unfortunate that it has to be so long but really 00:21:08.45\00:21:12.26 that is where we have seen the greatest changes in those 00:21:12.30\00:21:16.08 final months when they do begin to take that 00:21:16.11\00:21:19.19 responsibility and put it into action at home, on visits, 00:21:19.23\00:21:23.17 seeing their families, and as their old patterns are 00:21:23.21\00:21:26.43 falling away even in their old scenarios, even in their 00:21:26.46\00:21:29.25 own environments, when they are back in their own bedroom. 00:21:29.28\00:21:32.67 The fact that Megan is not going to go to her room and cut 00:21:32.70\00:21:36.05 anymore is going to be a place of sanctuary for her. 00:21:36.09\00:21:38.78 It is going to be a place where she can go get rest 00:21:38.81\00:21:41.85 instead of being a place of unrest and a place where 00:21:41.88\00:21:45.13 she took matters into her own hands, she will be able 00:21:45.17\00:21:48.38 to give thanks to the Lord there. 00:21:48.42\00:21:50.00 That is where we see so much of the change coming is at 00:21:50.04\00:21:55.12 the end of the program. 00:21:55.15\00:21:56.70 But just like here, you have Megan who is so new in our 00:21:56.73\00:22:00.88 program, God can get a hold of a heart just like that. 00:22:00.91\00:22:04.86 So it is such an amazing privilege to be able to work 00:22:04.90\00:22:08.77 with young ladies just like these girls that are here today. 00:22:08.81\00:22:11.83 Who are making the change, God is making the change in 00:22:11.87\00:22:16.67 them and so our program has school element enrollment, 00:22:16.70\00:22:19.77 you know they are in school with us while they are with 00:22:19.81\00:22:23.25 us, and they are also receiving counseling by a licensed 00:22:23.29\00:22:26.41 Christian counselor while they are with us at the program. 00:22:26.45\00:22:29.53 Then you have dedicated residential staff members who 00:22:29.57\00:22:32.80 are there to be able to meet the needs through out the shifts. 00:22:32.84\00:22:36.78 Whether they be in the evening, the daytime, 00:22:36.82\00:22:38.92 over the weekend, we have very dedicated staff 00:22:38.96\00:22:41.03 who are there as well. 00:22:41.06\00:22:42.98 And so it really is our program in a nutshell, and it 00:22:43.02\00:22:46.04 really is a privilege to be able to work with Young ladies 00:22:46.08\00:22:50.28 whose hearts are being changed and it is such a privilege. 00:22:50.32\00:22:54.49 What an incredible job, I think what a lot of 00:22:54.53\00:22:59.40 people don't get to see in their own job is that a life 00:22:59.43\00:23:03.52 change, where you know that this person is not only have 00:23:03.55\00:23:06.60 they changed, but they are going to make a difference in 00:23:06.64\00:23:09.65 the community they are in. 00:23:09.68\00:23:10.65 When they have their families, their families are not 00:23:10.66\00:23:13.08 going to have the same dys- function, or the same heartache, 00:23:13.12\00:23:15.95 or the same junk and I just love what you guys do. 00:23:15.98\00:23:20.24 I love what you guys do. 00:23:20.28\00:23:21.64 I am blessed by your journey so far and I know that, 00:23:21.67\00:23:27.53 how old are you now? - 15. - you're just 15 00:23:27.57\00:23:30.79 so you're still a baby, but you are still a baby 00:23:30.83\00:23:37.97 and I am so excited. 00:23:38.01\00:23:39.46 We are going to go ahead and take a break and come back 00:23:39.50\00:23:44.53 and I would like for you to come back and also for Mylynda 00:23:44.56\00:23:49.54 to come back and talk about a little bit about what you 00:23:49.57\00:23:53.75 want to do in ministry, but Megan I would also ask you 00:23:53.79\00:23:57.90 to when we come back I want you to say a few things to maybe 00:23:57.93\00:24:03.19 somebody that is listening that has that heartbreak and 00:24:03.22\00:24:06.51 they don't feel like anybody sees them or loves them or 00:24:06.54\00:24:09.79 that kind of thing. 00:24:09.83\00:24:10.80 What would you say to her and what do you know now that 00:24:10.81\00:24:14.10 you didn't know then that you could just encourage them 00:24:14.13\00:24:17.84 with? And Mylynda, I know you talked about your dad in 00:24:17.87\00:24:21.19 the different things that you have gone through and we 00:24:21.23\00:24:24.17 come back I would like to talk a little bit about how you 00:24:24.21\00:24:27.65 are dealing with the pain of his death and your recovery. 00:24:27.69\00:24:30.60 Because you are doing a lot of things all at one time. 00:24:30.63\00:24:33.51 I would like to find out that. 00:24:33.54\00:24:36.24 So we will be right back and as we take this break think 00:24:36.28\00:24:41.34 about in your own life, these girls are looking at some 00:24:41.38\00:24:45.32 painful issues and they are looking at them not because 00:24:45.36\00:24:49.52 it is fun, not because they don't have anything to do but 00:24:49.56\00:24:52.98 because if they don't get rid of these issues, if they 00:24:53.01\00:24:56.55 don't unload these core things they will be tripped up the 00:24:56.59\00:24:59.54 rest of their life and the next generation will have to 00:24:59.58\00:25:02.50 do the same battle. 00:25:02.54\00:25:04.28 Right now they are brave enough to do the battle not only 00:25:04.32\00:25:08.01 for them, but for generations to come. 00:25:08.05\00:25:10.69 I just think it's just too cool. 00:25:10.73\00:25:13.04 We will be right back, stay with us! 00:25:13.08\00:25:15.52