Kiara first contacted FOCUS Ministries last fall when she and her five-year old daughter, Ellie, were living in their car because they had recently escaped from the abuse of Ellie’s father. She and her daughter came to our office to talk about how life was very very difficult for them. Her daughter was very sweet and quietly colored a picture while Kiara told her story. We were blessed to be able to give her gift cards to help with food and gas in her car.
Besides the physical and emotional abuse, the abuser had used the court system against Kiara. She had endured many hearings in a nearby county, trying to obtain an order of protection against this dangerous man. Finally she received the order of protection, after much perseverance and the Lord’s intercession for her.
This young woman of faith has seen the hand of God all over her circumstances these past six months and her faith has grown tremendously because of His goodness and provision. She attended our support group and found the other women in the circle were very understanding and prayed for her. She told us stories of childhood abuse from members of her family who were involved in witchcraft and the cult of freemasonry.
She connected with a shelter program for victims of domestic violence and was placed in a rental property with friends donating furniture and beds and food and necessities of life with a five-year old. She enrolled Ellie in school and found employment at the day care department of the school so she could be close to her daughter.
Then Kiara got very sick.
She couldn’t come to our support group and could barely talk on the phone. She stopped attending the local food co-op. We learned that Kiara was suffering from the effects of a broken furnace which was leaking carbon monoxide into the air of the home as well as gas leaks from the hot water heater. The landlord was unresponsive to her requests for maintenance. The domestic shelter program was also unresponsive.
One day, she could only lie on the floor of the townhouse and cry. Her daughter was also crying. With strength that could only come from the Lord she raised herself up off the floor and got Ellie and herself outside into the fresh air where she called 9-1-1.
For weeks following the near death experience, Kiara and Ellie lived in her car and at different shelters and hotels. Miraculously the Lord arranged for her to be baptized at a local church and make connections with a personal injury lawyer to fight the legal battles against the dead-beat, neglectful landlord.
Last month, Kiara moved to another state where she lives with a friend of a friend who needed a roommate. Within twenty-four hours of arrival, she had registered her daughter in a good school and found ample employment for her new life.
All along the way, GOD has been faithful to Kiara and Ellie. She sees it in her miraculous recovery from carbon monoxide poisoning. She sees His deliverance when she escaped from abuse. She sees it in the sweet faith of her little girl. She sees His faithfulness in friends who stepped up when she had nowhere to go. She sees His tender hand in every provision and protection in her life.
Kiara sees that trusting the Lord doesn’t guarantee a trouble-free life, but He promises to care for us and to never leave us in our darkest times. It is a blessing for FOCUS Ministries to help and serve and support women like Kiara and her precious Ellie. May the Lord bless and keep you today and always as you come alongside our ministry and moms like Kiara.
