Mercy Ministries California – Coming Soon!!!

I wanted to let everyone know that we are getting very close to the official opening of the new home in the Sacramento area – we are so excited!!! We hosted a fundraiser at the home last night, and we had such a great time. Three graduates from the California area shared their stories, and everyone was so moved. I thought you might enjoy getting a glimpse of the new home and our special event there last night. I also thought you might like to hear from these three awesome young women…check it out!

Kingdom Connections

I just got the coolest letter in the mail today from a young girl who graduated high school last May in Wisconsin. She actually learned about us on Natalie Grant’s website and then later on decided to go back and check us out online. Today she sent me this awesome letter with a $100 contribution, and I just wanted to share it with you. I was so moved by her letter that I asked my assistant to contact her to email some pictures so that we could put a face with the name.

I never cease to be amazed at how the Holy Spirit will connect people for Kingdom purposes. I hope this will encourage you to reach out to those you believe you have been divinely connected with. Have a great weekend.

Dear Ms. Alcorn,

I sincerely would like to thank you, your staff, and volunteers for all of the wonderful work that you do with all of the Mercy girls. I know that both the girls and their families are extremely blessed by your work, your faith, and most importantly your Savior.

About a month ago, I came across your link on Natalie Grant’s website. I had seen it before, but I had never paid much attention to it. This time, however, I was overcome with curiosity and I explored your site. I ordered your books and I can’t begin to describe how much of an impact they have made on my life. They have been such a blessing to me as I am seeking God’s will for my life after high school. The Father has been showing me, for over a year now, what true unconditional love is through different people and His Word. I am so grateful that you took the time and energy to write “Echoes of Mercy.” I was completely overwhelmed by the work that Jesus Christ did and continues to do through you because you decided to allow Him to use you. His Spirit is so radiant within you. I thank our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for giving you this vision and allowing you to have the patience, grace, love, and strength to carry it out.

May God the Father continue to bless you and His ministry to these young women. Continue always to walk in His ways.

In Christ,

Lauryssa

Natalie Grant Visits Mercy Ministries

We had a great time with Natalie Grant last week. She came and did a special concert for our girls and staff. I thought you would love to hear about it from her perspective so I am including a link to her own personal blog entry about that day. Check it out. Natalie Grant is a faithful friend and a huge blessing to Mercy Ministries. After reading her blog, feel free to post a comment thanking her for all she does for Mercy Ministries!

Mercy Ministries Girls from Around the Globe

Sometimes I think I am the most blessed person in the world getting to do what I do on a daily basis. I get messages from girls all over the world almost daily updating me on their lives and telling me how Mercy Ministries changed their life. Recently, I have heard from several girls that represent the different Mercy homes in all of the different countries who just have a great report about what’s going on in their lives since they graduated from the Mercy Ministries program. I thought it would be cool for you to read an international update from some of our former residents. We are so excited to share this great news. I hope these individual stories are really encouraging to all who read my blog.

United States of America

Dear Nancy,

When I walked though the doors of Mercy St. Louis, I found myself in a place like none other. I was used to being locked in hospital wings for the severely anorexic, monitored 24/7, shut in padded rooms, drugged against my will, force-fed through a NG tube, and stripped of every right known to man. I crossed the threshold of Mercy thinking that this would be no different - another program, another place, another failed attempt. Very quickly, however, I realized that this place was different - girls were walking and jogging outside, laughing and joking, seeming to enjoy being in this place. I was not locked in a room, or hallway, or even house for that matter. I was treated as a person and not as some case study or hopeless situation only trying to get stabilized. Mercy helped me with life - the staff poured into me when I deserved nothing short of being kicked out. This was hard for me to grasp as I desperately fought off every attempt of someone reaching out to me. With God's help, Mercy got to the root of my struggles - I was scared, alone, and walled in my own sphere of self-destruction. I wanted to die and no one was going to stop me. God had other plans.

Six and a half months into the program I graduated as a new person - I knew my identity in Christ, I no longer resorted to self-destructive patterns of behavior, and more than anything, I looked forward to life rather than abhorring it. God had changed me from the inside out and I was glad to be alive.

Has life outside of Mercy been all glorious and pain-free? No - I have struggled, fallen, picked myself up again, and moved forward. Do I still have occasional thoughts about reverting to my former behavior? Yes. Will I act on those thoughts? No. I am still human and the world is still filled with a fallen people. I know, however, that I am now equipped with the love, truth, grace, freedom, and peace of the Lord and I am excited to share that with others. That is what my recent mission trip to Mexico was all about - living out the life of Christ, sharing his love, and ministering his grace. I praise the Lord that he saved me for such a time as this.

Renee

Australia

Hi Nancy,

I would love to tell you what I have done after the program. I left Mercy Sydney in late November. In my final weeks in the program, Mercy helped me find a place to live back in my home town - Hobart, Tasmania, Aus. I came home a changed person, a person that was more interested in others and in love with God. I am also back at school and working hard in what I am doing. I love being at school again. While I was away, my mum worked out a lot of things too and me and my mum are great friends now. I also have my own great my church now, and I have been able to help with things I love doing.

In about a week’s time, I am walking in a 24 hour walk for people with cancer.

God bless,
Susie

Hi Nancy,

I am a graduate from Sydney, and I just want to say thank you so very much for making mercy a possibility for girls like myself to be able to get help here in Australia. It has truly saved my life and given me a future. THANK YOU

Katelyn

United Kingdom

Hi Nancy,

I graduated from Mercy UK last October and I am so grateful for the work you have done in beginning the ministry and your passion for seeing girls walking in freedom. Over the past year my life has been continuously transformed by developing a personal relationship with God and knowing who I am in Christ. I had experienced 14 years of trying secular health service programmes, and I can say without a doubt that true healing came only from giving my hurts to the Lord and allowing Him to come in to restore, heal, and take the control which I fought so long to keep a hold of.

My journey at Mercy has given me a real hunger and desire to work with girls in similar situations, so I plan to apply for an internship at the Mercy house in Bradford. In the meantime, I am working with adults with addictions and depression and I plan to return to work part time in nursing, which is my background.

Thank you for your obedience to God, your passion and perseverance- it has provided me with an opportunity to walk in freedom and to understand what it means to be loved.

Your sister in Christ
Pamela xo

New Zealand

Hey Nancy,

I don’t know if you remember me, but I met you in the New Zealand home when you were there for its grand opening in Dec. 07. I hope all is going well. OK well an update in my little part of the world is…well, I graduated in August 08, which is so exciting. I was able to get past some pretty huge issues - an eating disorder, self harm, alcohol addiction, sexual abuse & rape. Not that things are fully healed and perfect, but now I can actually live and enjoy my life. I'm just working in retail for the time being and in April/May, hopefully going to move to Australia to live. I don’t know what the future holds for me yet but I know it's going to be good.

Thank you for all your hard work. If not for you and Mercy, I wouldn’t be here today.

I love you heaps and respect you immensely! Thanks Nancy, love you lots and look forward to hearing from you.

Melissa

Hi Nancy,

I just wanted to give you an update and let you know that I’m working full-time as a receptionist for a charitable trust that counsels children who have been abused or in domestic violence situations. (in NZ) I love seeing the kids come in, sometimes not with a smile, but they always leave with a smile. They do play therapy, so it's heaps of fun for them.

I also recently was in the paper for the Mercy walk here in Hamilton, NZ. I appear to be the only grad in Hamilton, and my church is the one who officially runs the walk here in Hamilton. So a paper interviewed me and I shared my testimony at church, and then opened the walk on the day. It was heaps of fun. Although the enemy tried everything he could to stop me from sharing my story, but he didn't succeed! Praise God!

God bless,
Jules xoxo

Canada

(Natasha is from Canada, but she is actually a graduate of our St. Louis home. Her life is truly transformed, and now she is helping the Mercy staff in Canada get our first Canadian open – it is scheduled to open this spring!! Natasha has been encouraging girls who are on our waiting list and she has also mentored several girls who have struggled with the same issues she has found freedom from!)

Hey Nancy,

I wrote this email yesterday, my 1 year since graduating, but didn't have a chance to get Internet to send it...so a day late, here it is!!....

I sit here so in awe right now. I question why I even took time to put on make up this morning because I have cried it off over the course of the hour. I am alive! I am not holding on by a hair either, I am alive, set free, joyful, loving life and excited for the future. A year ago today I graduated from Mercy Ministries and the dream of walking out a life of complete freedom in Christ was a hope. I knew that it was a possibility, but also knew that trials would come. Where was my foundation? I knew it was in Christ, but was entering a new stage of life in faith that I would continue to choose freedom.

Well I did choose - I chose life and life more abundantly each time the trials came. It has not been an easy road, but because of the tools I learned while in Mercy, and our faithful Father, I have been able to stand firm on the Truth. I am overwhelmed. I honestly did not expect to be alive in anticipation of my 23rd birthday; before Mercy I lived my life literally trying to die and today I live it more alive than ever.

During worship this morning I was brought to my knees. Just 2 years ago I tried to end my life, the very gift that God created personally for me. He formed my inward parts and chose me as His own, yet for so many years I rejected who He created me to be and tried to null His workmanship – me! Praise God for Mercy Ministries. Nancy, I know I keep telling you how grateful I am, but today it is more of a reality than ever. I have been running in freedom for a whole year! I used to strive to have one good day, and now I am sitting on a year of amazingness. I am stepping into who He called me to be and am seeing Him work through me to bring others the same freedom that He so freely gave to me. You helped equip me to, not only walk it out, but to also take the beautiful Truth to others.

I love you so very much and do not have the words to describe how I am feeling. I AM ALIVE!!! THANK-YOU.

Natasha xo

Peru
(FYI – Giovy is from Peru, but she is actually a graduate of our Nashville home. She is one of the greatest miracles we have ever seen, and now she is super involved in helping us get our first Peru home up and running!)

Hey beautiful Nancy!!!...How are you guys doing? I am finally back home, in Peru land…and I wanted to let y’all know how awesome God has been so far.

Ever since I left Mercy, God has been proving Himself faithful and His goodness keeps blowing me away…starting with my relationship with my parents. God has totally done more and beyond what I could think, dream, or imagine. It’s like I am living a dream, one of the wildest dreams that I thought was too much like a fairy tale to be real.

The tools I learned there at Mercy work and there’s no way I won’t use them. It’s like having a present in front of you given to you, and you not wanting to open it….HOW RIDICULOUS! God is so good and faithful - teaching me new things every day and allowing me to go through different situations so that I can grow as a person, in my faith, my character, and in my relationship with God. I’m determined not to compromise

Ok…so I came back home and as I said it before I'M LIVING A DREAM…I never thought I could love life so much and that life could be so enjoyable…I wouldn’t change this for anything. So I got to Peru and had some job opportunities. I ended up getting a job with World Vision, which is awesome….just translating some stuff but I can do it at home….which works perfectly because I don’t have to miss any of my church meetings or Mercy meetings. Yesterday I was asked to go to the Mercy Peru staff meeting and share some of my Mercy experience and my heart….it was so awesome….God totally knit my heart with Mercy Ministries and it was like something clicked and complete peace came to me all during that meeting. When I was hearing the plans for the home in Peru and the staff talking, my heart got more and more passionate for Mercy and I want to be part of it here in Peru!! I still have a couple years to get my degree in psychology which I’m starting next year here, but I’m already doing whatever is necessary at Mercy to help so we can open sometime soon… in Gods timing. So I go to Mercy on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays and they are going train me. Maybe when the house opens I can volunteer while I’m still in college….I don’t know….Ill do whatever God wants me to do because I know that in His will I’ll find happiness and its going to be the perfect thing….but I’m excited for the days ahead.

I always wake up with great expectancy to see God’s hand over my life in that new day….He s soooo flipping cool! I love HIM!

Anyways so this is what’s been going on so far…and I wanted u guys to let u know….Thanks for helping me realize who I really am in Christ and for being that instrument God used to get the victory in my life…I’LL be forever thankful to God for putting you in my life. I LOVE YOU SO SO MUCH!

Giovy

Encouragement from our first-ever UK Graduate!

I’m sure that you are excited it’s Friday, and I just want to be one of the first to tell you to have a great weekend!!

I thought a great way to close out the week would be to highlight one of the stories I have received of one of the girls from one of our international homes. I just got this amazing update and pictures from Kirsten, our first ever graduate of Mercy Ministries in the United Kingdom. Kirstin graduated exactly two years ago in March 2007 – here is her story...

My life before Mercy Ministries is best described as hopeless. I was always striving for happiness and love, perfection and control, but was never able to attain any of it. I spent so much of my life trying to fix everything including myself, but the more I tried, the more out of control everything got until eventually I gave up trying. I allowed the depression and addictions that were controlling my life to take me over. Yet despite it all, there was always something inside of me that could not give up. I now know that was God.

I found out about Mercy Ministries during a time that I spent in Australia. Just reading about the program began to spark that sense of hope that lay dormant inside of me. I wanted to apply in Australia, yet being from the UK it would not have been possible for me to enter the program there. I figured that was it. I had no idea that they were even thinking about opening a house in the UK. Of course God knew. He knew all along what was best for me and the right time. As soon as I found out that there was a home opening in the UK, I knew that it was the right place for me.

Kirstin with her friend, Thandazile, whom she met
on a recent mission trip to South Africa

Mercy was literally my last hope. I was accepted into the program before the house was ready for girls and I called the staff up regularly, wanting to know when I could come. I knew that this had to work. I was at a point in my life where I had had enough. I knew that things had to change; that I had to change. I had tried it every other way, now I had to try it God’s way. Upon entering the program I learned that with God’s help, I had the power to make choices that would, step by step, take me out of the darkness that I found myself in. It was a time when I was able to intensively soak in the truth of God’s word and learn His thoughts towards me.

Being the first UK Mercy graduate is a privilege. It still completely overwhelms me how amazing God is that He has directed the course of my life despite me. Even when I gave up on myself, He never did. When I look back, I see his fingerprints throughout and I realize more and more how much He loves me. Now I am excited for the future. God has used Mercy to give me my life back and more. I have learned that by giving God the control, I no longer need to worry. I used to be petrified of being on my own, but now I know that I never really was and never will be.

God is so cool! There is no time or distance in the Spirit and He is all about setting people free, regardless of where they live!

Have a great weekend!

Love to all,
Nancy Alcorn

Happy to be Alive!!

Today I received an email from Kristin, and it absolutely made my day!! Kristin has given me permission to share what she has written with you in the hope that it will encourage your heart and give you hope. Mark 5:25-34 tells the story of a woman with the issue of blood - it says that she spent everything she had at the hands of many physicians, but instead of getting better, she just kept getting worse. That account was set back in the Bible days, but Kristin’s story is a modern day version of a very similar story. I can’t improve on her words, so I’ll just share them with you. I hope you are as uplifted by this as I was…

Dear Nancy,

Today is a very special day for me, I am celebrating being alive. A year ago I hit rock bottom and was admitted to a psychiatric hospital on suicide watch. I had no hope to live. I was suffering from a life-controlling anxiety disorder, self-harm and an eating disorder. I didn’t think I would ever find freedom from my issues. I had gone to secular doctors and counselors, but even with their help, my life never improved. They never gave me solutions; they only gave me “coping mechanisms”. I had concluded that I didn’t want to just “cope” with life, so in the psychiatric hospital I cried out to God for a solution. His solution was Mercy Ministries- I am now a Mercy Ministries Graduate!

Now, life is better than I could’ve ever imagined! The things that I learned at Mercy impact my life everyday. I learned how to eat healthy, exercise and take care of my body. But most importantly, I learned how to be led by the Spirit and not by my emotions and how to give God my anxieties. God used Mercy to change my life forever. Currently, I am in college with a major in biology and the desire to continue on to medical school and become a doctor.

Thank you Nancy for following God’s call and starting Mercy Ministries- my life has been changed!

Love,
Kristin

In closing, I just want to mention that at Mercy Ministries, we have great psychiatrists and medical doctors that work directly with us in monitoring and adjusting the medications of the girls as needed. Often times, as in Kristin’s case, by the time they work through their spiritual and emotional issues, they no longer need medication. I thank God for trained counselors, psychiatrists, and the entire medical profession, but at the end of the day, the ultimate healer is Jesus Christ. I hope this is encouraging to you, whatever you may be facing in your life. Kristin is a perfect example of what God spoke directly to us in Jeremiah 29:11 – These are the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you hope and a future. Kristin’s hope has been restored and her future is bright. That scripture was not written to a few, but to all who choose to believe it.

Have a great day.

Nancy

Encouraging words from Rebecca

I never cease to be amazed at the variety of talents and gifts that are in the young women who walk through the doors of Mercy Ministries for help. So many of them have been trampled on by the circumstances of life, and they actually feel that they are worthless and have nothing worthwhile to offer. However, we are helping them to receive the emotional healing that they need and to believe in themselves once again.

A few weeks ago, we made the decision to have a Creative Arts Director come in and do classes with the girls twice a month. These creative gifts are being unwrapped so they can be a blessing to the world. The Internet is one way I can share with you some of what is happening. There is one young girl named Rebecca that has only been here a very short period of time, yet already she is greatly blossoming, and it is so cool to see how a smile has returned to her face. With her permission, I wanted to bless you with one of the creative pieces that she wrote recently about what has been happening to her since she has been at Mercy Ministries. She already feels the need to take the encouragement she has received and encourage others with it (2 Corinthians 1:3-4: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God).

I can see that you are discouraged
I understand your confusion
But to allow Me to heal you
Believe that I’m not just an illusion.

I’ve seen the tears
That have stained your face
And I long to hold you
In My warm embrace.

You’ve got to see for yourself
That I can rescue you
From all the feelings that torment
The precious angel I see in you.

My darling, My angel
Open your heart
Welcome Me in
That’s where you should start.

I love you dearly
I hope you know
That I want to hold you
I want to see you grow

My fragile flower
You’ve been trampled and broken
But see for yourself
That I am what I have spoken

I love you just the way you are
And you can’t even see
That to Me you shine more radiantly
Than the brightest northern star

I made you with flaws
With hopes and dreams too
I know you better
Than you think I do

So please stop running
And hiding in shame
Just reach out your arms
And call out My name

I can sense that you’re hurt
Can be too much to bear
But lean on me, My Darling
And know that I care

You don’t understand My ways
No one ever does
But believe that you can triumph
Because you have My love

I will walk with you through the desert place
And guide you through the darkness that may come
But believe Me when I tell you
I love you more and then some

So let Me light your path
Let Me lead you through
Just follow Me and realize
I will always stand by you

Just think of Me
When you’re feeling gloom
And realize you’re more beautiful
Than a rose in it’s springtime bloom

Follow My voice
Watch where I step
And I will lead you
Out of your blackest depth

I see where you’ve been
And where you are
So if you ever forget
Just look at My scars

Know that I will guide you
And if you follow Me
You will always end up
Right where you need to be

So think of Me when you’re down
Or ever feeling blue
And rejoice in the fact
That I love YOU!

--Rebecca

If you took the time to read this, it is my prayer that the same work that God is doing in Rebecca will also be done in you.