Mercy Came Home

Priscilla is just one of the women whose lives have been changed through Nancy Alcorn’s Mercy Ministries. Five years ago, she opened up to us about her troubled past and how she eventually turned to Christ through her time at a Mercy home. To read Priscilla’s entire story click here and to read our entire interview with Nancy Alcorn click here.

 ^“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

Priscilla reflects on how a series of events and choices lead her to a life of drugs and an abusive relationship.

“Social services placed me in an orphanage during my early childhood due to my biological father not being in the picture and my birth mother’s neglect. God send me foster parents who took me in at the age of six but my adoption wasn’t finalized until I was 13 years old. The legal battles and emotional confusion left my heart very disillusioned. We moved to America soon after but my teenage years exploded with rebellion. At 19, I ran away from home and got married in order to get away from my parent’s authority. My marriage was nothing but dysfunctional fights and naïve irresponsibility. This left me with deep wounds of mistrust due to his adultery. At the age of 21, I went through a nasty divorce because he had gotten his mistress pregnant. I lost all respect for men and fell into a deep depression which quickly turned into a battle with anorexia. I started hanging out with a rougher crowd and was encouraged to lead a bi-sexual lifestyle… I started dating a car mechanic who was a bouncer at the strip club I worked at. We moved in together but I was naïve about who this really was. I realized too late that Johnny was a white supremacist who’s main occupation was a pimp.

Shocked and horrified, I tried to leave our volatile relationship…He had branded his prison number on me. The reality of sex trafficking hit me hard. The next several years were filled with drug overdoses, brutal rape, and my self-harm coping mechanism. This is when God stepped in and threw me a life-line in the midst of my despair. I was finally able to escape with severe injuries but still alive. My parents helped me find a domestic shelter for battered women in St. Louis where I stayed for several months as the police went after Johnny. God vindicated me with Johnny’s incarceration.”

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:18-19

While Priscilla had a wake up call, she still hadn’t completely submitted her life to Christ. Consequently, she found herself having to decide whether to keep her baby, give it up for adoption, or have an abortion.  She shared with us how it ultimately helped her to turn her life to Christ.

“No longer was my life my own. I had an innocent baby girl forming inside that depended on me for survival. With the birth father being AWOL, I chose to go back home and beg for help from my parents. They accepted me with open arms and it was their gentle guidance that led me to put my daughter up for adoption. I knew that I didn’t want to add murder to my long list of sins…God responded to my sacrifice by giving me a second chance at my own life through Mercy Ministries. I wanted healing from trauma but they introduced me to the gentleman of all gentlemen. While in this transformation station, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior and was baptized with the Holy Spirit. The tools of God’s word helped me rise up to become a victor! I learned that it’s my honor to eat, exercise, and sleep well in order to be the best steward of the life Jesus died to give me.” 

Risen Reflections

Help set others free. If you have the ability to open up a recovery home, do it! For others, helping set others free, might look like donating items to a recovery home, helping a friend or family member walk through the process of checking into a counseling program, or even donating your professional services to help others. Pray and ask God to show you how He wants you help others with what He has entrusted you with.

Turn to God. Whether it is drug addiction, self-harm, or a promiscuous lifestyle, today is the day to turn to God. He loves you and wants to help you. There are churches, programs and people that can help you break free from sin and addiction. Remember that God loves you and sent His only Son to die for you and your sin. Cry out to Him and He will hear your cries and answer you.

Pray for the prodigal. Each of us has someone in our life that is like Priscilla. They’ve wandered away from a family or group of friends that loves them. They have believed the lies of the enemy and the world. But God and his power are much bigger than those things. Take time this week that the Holy Spirit would work in the life of your friend or loved one to return to Him. Pray for conviction, healing and resources to get help. Ask God to soften and prepare your heart to receive the prodigal.