The past few months of my life have been so awesome. There have been many ups and downs, but the Lord's hand has been at work. My family has been a huge part of the roller coaster my life has seen this past year. After being released from the hospital last year, my mother remained sober for almost 6 months. This was a huge accomplishment. Over the summer, my mom, Mark, my brother and I would get to spend time together and relationships were being rebuilt. I was astonished at how much progress she had made. Halfway through my first semester this year, things started taking a turn for the worst. I began noticing her behavior was reverting back to her addict personality and I knew something wasn't right. Within a period of 3 weeks, she was back to all her old ways and so was Mark. Our relationship started going back downhill and it was really hard not to be angry with her and Mark. My brother and I spent Christmas with our grandparents and the rest of the family. After dinner with the family on Christmas night, I got a call from my neighbors/best friends that there was an ambulance at my house. Within 5 seconds, I was out the door and at my moms house. We spent the rest of the night in the hospital and the next few days. After being detoxed and receiving fluids, she was released and went home. It wasn't long until she was back at the alcohol and drugs. Within 2 weeks she had landed herself back in the hospital and this time things were not looking good. Quite frankly, her liver is pretty shot. The lifestyle she has been living will not allow her to live much longer if she continues. Those days she was in the hospital were not easy for her. The last time she was in the hospital, she was unconscious while her body was shutting down, but this go around she was awake for everything. Her experiencing all the pain and realizing what was going on has led her to where she is now. She no longer wants that horrible lifestyle. She is currently living with my grandparents while her body fully regains its strength. Once she reaches that point, she will going to a 3 month christian rehab facility in Alabama. Praise God for His faithfulness and continuous comfort through this journey. I am so proud of her for the decisions she has made and am praying that she has the strength to follow through with all that she says. But enough about the sappy family drama..
I cannot believe I am in my second year of college. It seems like yesterday that I was entering my senior year of high school! I absolutely loved my classes last semester, especially anatomy. It really reassured me that I am pursuing the right career path. I am still involved with Cure at UGA and YoungLife at Cedar Shoals High School. YoungLife has been so much fun. I love getting to hang out with the high schoolers every week and going to Sharptop Cove with them a few weekends ago was definitely a highlight of this school year. Cure at UGA has opened so many doors for me, including a 7 week internship at the hospital in Kenya this summer!!!! God has been so faithful through the entire process. I was able to meet some of the Cure International staff when I went to a conference with them in Atlanta and through an exchange of a couple of emails, I got the internship! Getting to go back to Kenya brings me so much joy. The children at the hospital are not only getting physically healed, but they get to hear about a Savior who loves them regardless of their imperfections and died so that they could spend eternity with Him. I cannot wait to be apart of this and see how the Lord plans to use me while I am over there.
If you are interested in finding out more about Cure International, go here:
If you would like to help me get to Kenya, you can go here:
Or checks can be made to:
CURE International
Memo line: Haley SandersPlease Mail to:
701 Bosler Avenue
Lemoyne, PA 17043
Please do not give if you do not feel compelled to. I do not write this blog because I want your money, I just want to share how the Lord is working in my life. Thank you for reading :)
