“This morning God told me...don’t be afraid”
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You are on Lupita’s list of blessings this Thanksgiving! She’d like to say,
“Thank you for the clothing, the food, the programs...that’s all I can say. Thank you!”
The experiences Lupita has had in her 26 years could have left her bitter and traumatized. Instead, her voice has the soft strength that comes from surrender. She’s given her pain to God, and He is using it for a purpose. “Finally I found love and peace, strength and joy,” she says. Originally from Odessa, Texas, Lupita was 3 when she and her sister were taken away from their alcoholic mom. For 9 years, they lived “back and forth” between a children’s home (where she was molested by older boys) and her grandmother’s home (where a cousin not only molested her, but introduced her to drugs and alcohol). “I just had to leave,” she says. She met a girl who told her if she would move to Dallas, she could have a job detailing cars. Before she was 16, she was out on her own, working full-time. But when a boy named Tomas “...took me in,” trouble was brewing.
A fatal attraction
Lupita soon found herself living in Omaha with a violent abuser. Yet she stayed with Tomas—until the day he pinned her to the floor, threatening her with a knife. “All I remember is I just called to God that day,” says Lupita, her voice quivering. “And the cops showed up.” Finally Lupita found the strength to leave. She worked in fast-food places, got her own apartment, and entered the Job Corps. But when her sister begged her to be guardian of her 3-year-old nephew, she says, “I ended up giving up everything and going back to Odessa to take care of him.”
When Lupita came back to Omaha, she slipped back into drinking and using pot. She lost her job and apartment, crashed her car, and was living in the South Projects. “And I wasn’t paying attention to my nephew,” she says. It was a disaster waiting to happen...and one day it nearly did. While Lupita slept in a drunken stupor, her little nephew wandered outside, alone and unsupervised. Her voice breaks when she says, “I’m thankful it happened that way. My nephew wasn’t hurt...and it could have been worse. I got locked up for 28 days...and I forced myself to the Bible and asking God to save me.”
When a friend told Lupita about Open Door Mission, she said, “Something tells me I’ve got to stay there.” She did, and as she says, “It’s changed me a lot. I’m not aggressive. I’ve completely quit smoking and drinking.” Best of all, Lupita gets to see her nephew twice a week, and she’s making plans to reunite with her family when the time is right. “I want to graduate. That’s my goal,” she says. “This morning God told me...don’t be afraid.”
