Freedom Hall Newsletter
July 2014

Recently I have been gaining an understanding of God's relentless pursuit of me.  It started with finding this verse in The Song of Solomon 7:10 "I am my beloveds, and his desire is toward me." I realized that if I could get this and I could instill this verse into people that the drum beats of doom would be replaced by a song In the heart that could lead to a twinkle in the eye, It would ease loneliness knowing God is always with you, the praise of others would not send you soaring and the criticism of other would not plunge you into a pit, it will allow comparisons to others to stop and you will live with an awareness that The Father not only loves you He likes you (take a listen online to the sermon series preached on this subject at www.newbeginningsoutreach.net).  This has been crawling around in my spirit for a couple of months and it was confirmed recently as my family and I were on a much needed vacation recently. Angie and I were sitting on the beach early one morning when we noticed a mother on the edge of the shore counting her children I would watch her as she kept counting them 1-2-3-4-5-6-7 yes I said 7 under the age of 10 as I watched her do this every few minutes tears came to my eyes as The Holy Spirit spoke to me and said "Barry this is how I keep track of you and pursue you." I do not always deserve what God does for me but he continues to watch over me and pursue me with His love and blessings and I am so grateful for his relentless pursuit.

I want to say thank you for all of you that stepped up during our emergency funding crisis over the last few months. God through His people is bringing us out of this crisis and I praise Him and all of our friends for making it happen. God is doing great and mighty things here at Freedom Hall. I believe our program and success is getting better every day.

I ask to keep the finances coming as this will keep us out of emergency and crisis situations and we will continue to strive to change as many lives as possible.

Donate:

Online: http://www.newbeginningsoutreach.net/giving.html

Mailing:

New Beginnings Outreach Ministries

P.O. Box 472

Piketon, Ohio 45661

 

My name is Laura Jones. I was born July 16, 1970. I grew up in Waverly, Oh. I am blessed with two amazingly strong, handsome sons. Dalton is 18 and will be starting college in the fall. Ethan is 12 and will be in the 7th grade. I had a pretty normal childhood with a lot of family interaction, with being said my parents had their struggles that had some impact on my life. I attended church occasionally but I was not a spiritual person. In school I participated in sports and extracurricular activities. I was just average and never felt I measured up with anyone else. I struggled severely with self-esteem issues and lacked self-confidence. At the age of 16, I began drinking alcohol. At first, drinking was a way I tried to fit in with others. It soon became a way for me to suppress my emotions. Alcohol became a way for me to come out of my shell, to come out of my shyness, and a way to feel that others would like me. In retrospect, it was actually a way for me to like myself. Alcohol gave me courage and acceptance. Right from the very beginning, my drinking was out of control and I would continue until I passed out or got sick. Even though those things happened, I never felt the desire to quit drinking. Most of my teenage years and into my 20's, drinking was my only constant. I had also developed a way of hiding it. The way I looked and the way I kept myself never gave the perception I was an alcoholic. I married at the age of 20 for only a few years. As quickly as I divorced, I remarried and had my first child by the age of 25. My heavy drinking took a backseat to my new role as a mother. My entire focus was being the best mom I would be to my son. I had my second son in 2002, and by 2003, I was a single mother struggling to raise two young children. Alcohol once again came into my life it became my escape from depression, stress and financial burdens I was experiencing. In 2013, after becoming unemployed and my kids going to live with their father, I convinced myself I had lost everything, including my desire to continue living. While I was still able to give the perception that I was ok (or so I thought) my life was in complete despair. I began my most destructive alcoholic binge I could have ever imagined. Not only had "The Battle" become my only friend it also became my worst enemy. It took over my life and I knew my next step was surely death. Dying seemed much easier than living. In April 2014, by the grace of God I was introduced to someone who had been through Freedom Hall. He made a phone call and within a few days I was accepted into New Beginnings. With the support of my two boys and my father, I have been given a wonderful opportunity to get into a relationship with God. I realize that only with God in my life can I find the hope, strength, determination, and faith to feel worthy.

 

My name is Andrew Tuthill. I was born on May 25, 1988 in Columbus, Oh, my childhood was pretty normal for the most part but I can remember always feeling like I was searching for something or some way to be happy. During my high school years I started drinking and smoking weed, and I loved it. It gave me that feeling of happiness that I was searching for, but it was only a temporary fix. After high school I kept experimenting with different drugs to fill this void but as the drugs I was doing got stronger the need to do more and do them more often also got stronger, and before I knew it I couldn't go without them. My drug use has caused me to do some horrible things and hurt the people that I love the most. Almost to the point that I didn't believe that could live a normal life again, or ever be happy. Thankfully God had other plans for me and brought me to Freedom Hall, and because of Jesus Christ. I now have that happiness that I have been searching for all of these years.

 

My name is Lynn Zaph. I am 39 years old born on July 18, 1975 at Scioto Memorial hospital in Portsmouth Oh. I was raised by my mother. She struggled to support my brother and I as a single mother. She worked long hours and was rarely home. When I was 3 years old my mom separated from my father and moved our family to Cinncinati. At 5 years old I was sent to a Baptist private school where I was punished often I spent a lot of time with my brother at the babysitter. As an adolescent I played sports. I exceled at them and often wondered why my mom was never there to cheer me on. When I was 14 I was introduced to hash oil and marijuana. I got involved with drugs in order to be accepted. When I was 15 I began huffing Rustoleum. It was the cool thing to do in my neighborhood. On one occasion my brother Joe was asleep on the couch and I was huffing in my bedroom the police were knocking on the front door. I let them in and had them follow me to my bedroom. Shut my bedroom door behind them and set on my bed until they called my mom. All the while I had paint all over my face and body. At this point my life tumbled down hill at a fast pace. My mom sent me away to boarding school. I spent the next year there and was kicked out for leaving with people in the town to get high. My mom refused to come get me and she had me sent home on a greyhound bus at 15 years old. She sent me to live in Portsmouth with my uncle. I rebelled at this house as well. I felt like I was being tossed around. At 23 years old I had my beautiful daughter Dakotah. I had left her father while I was pregnant. I then started bartending to support her and I met my second wonderful daughter's father while bartending I had Addison when I was 25 years old her father had passed away due to a massive heart attack caused by addiction. When Dakotah was seven years old her father passed away due to a tragic work accident.  A year after I lost Dakotah's father I met Brad and my life went to hell faster than I could have ever imagined. He displayed all the characteristics of an abuser. He was extremely controlling insanely jealous, mentally as well as physically abusive. I became heavily addicted to the painkiller oxytocin as well as heroin which I used intravenously. My brother Joe had been trying to get me to Freedom Hall for about a year. I kept telling him I didn't need help. I wasn't a spiritual person and I surely didn't need 9 to 12 months of treatment. In 2012 I had overdosed on heroin and decided to come to Freedom Hall. I didn't believe in God or the devil at that time. While I was here I found Jesus Christ my lord and savior. I didn't complete the program and was only here for 6 months. The time I spent there I was holding on to the reservation that I could drink alcohol. Three months after I left here that's exactly what I did I was deeper than I have ever been before. It led me to my second overdose. I had shot up an obscene amount of heroin and woke up on my bathroom floor surrounded by my own bodily fluids I'm pretty sure all of my muscles shut down, I immediately knew that I had survived an overdose. I had cleaned up everything so my girls wouldn't discover the truth. I began screaming almost demanding God to save me, and he answered my prayers. I re-entered Freedom Hall on April 3, 2014 where I have been thoroughly taking a look at myself. I absolutely love Jesus Christ. I know now he defiantly has purpose for me and He is not done with me, he loves me so much that he gave me that breath that woke me from my overdose, to come back here and be obedient to his word and to share the word with others. I was baptized on Memorial Day and I am now in phase 3 working on obtaining my education and re-establishing a healthy relationship with my two beautiful daughters, and I will continue to thank and praise Jesus Christ my savor every day for the rest of my life.

 

My name is Lee Davis I was born June 15, 1981 in Denver to Mary and Lee Davis. I have 3 older brothers and a younger sister. My dad left my mom and we moved to Cleveland, Ohio and I was raised there. My mom remarried when I was 5 years old and I felt like something had to be wrong with me for my father to leave us. My stepdads father lived with us and would babysit me and my sister as my mom and stepdad where at bingo. At seven years old my sister told me she was being molested by our step grandfather and this broke my heart along with my dad walking out. I think this is when the fire of hate began in my heart. My step dad told my mom to throw my step grandfather out but she let him stay and I could never understand that. My mom and stepdad gambled a lot and were never home so I ran the streets and did what I wanted. I started getting high at 11 years old and by 14 I was doing drugs and drinking on a regular basis, selling drugs, breaking in houses and stealing cars. When I turned 15 I bought a pair of Jordan's the first day I wore them south I got robbed at gun point and my mom found out and sent me to Colorado to live with my father and 6 months later I found out my brother Larry was stabbed to death outside a bar in downtown Cleveland and it turned my world upside down. So my drug habit got very bad and I was getting high or drunk every day. Then I started doing heroin and it was all bad. Since I got to Freedom Hall my life has changed dramatically this place saved my life and brought me back to God and taught me so many things. I am forever grateful for this place and they should have Freedom Halls all over the world.

 

 

For Information and Sermons from New Beginnings Outreach Ministries:

www.newbeginningsoutreach.net