While other little girls were reading fairytales, Trine was living a nightmare. Molested by a family member when she was nine, she spent the rest of her childhood trying to escape the pain it caused.
“I remember the first time that I got drunk, the feeling that it gave me. I was numbed of all the hurts that I experienced in my life. And from that point on, I chased that feeling to not feel.”
But the relief never lasted, so Trine moved on to harder drugs.
“When I got into junior high, I started experimenting with harder drugs like LSD and cocaine. Back before I got into methamphetamines, I used speed. And then at about 19, I really started getting more into my addiction with methamphetamines,” Trine says.
The Horror of Homelessness
Addiction led to places Trine never imagined she’d go, including the streets.
“I slept more during the day than at night because it’s safer to be awake during the night and be moving around,” she says.
Finding food and staying clean were daily battles.
“I lived in a park for a long time and so I would use the park bathroom and water fountain to shower and brush my teeth, that kind of thing,” Trine says. “I have panhandled. I did that for quite some time, and I would use that money both for my drugs, but also to buy food. . . Just thinking back on it, it’s horrible. I felt the Holy Spirit, and I realized He’s been planning this exact moment for me to be here.”
The horror finally ended when Trine came to the Mission after being court ordered to a treatment program.
“I’ve always believed in God and Jesus and had strong faith,” Trine says. “But I had to unlearn a lot of the things that I had learned in the church that I was in.”
Hard, Healing Questions
The pastor at the Mission walked with Trine through her questions and constantly brought her back to the Bible. Now she knows who God is and how much He loves her.
“It has been a lot of work, but it’s been amazing as well,” she says. “I wanted so much to have a good life and to do things differently. And I have three children who I’ve been absent a lot of their life and just really wanted to make some changes. And it’s been amazing.”
Trine was baptized here at the Mission and since graduating in January 2023, she’s been through our Servant Leadership and Ministry Training Programs.
She now works as a case manager in the RAP program at the men’s Transforming Lives Center and more than anything else wants to keep helping other people find the healing and freedom that she has.
Thank you for changing Trine’s life and making it possible for her to help other people transform theirs!
“If I hadn’t come here, I’d either be back in jail, or prison, or dead,” Trine says. “Without a doubt, the Mission saved my life.”
