"God has kept me whole"

Jung began her struggle with meth at just 12 years old.

Somehow, she kept her drug use under the radar. At 18, Jung says she went "full blast" and stopped coming home. Then her mom was diagnosed with cancer and her whole life changed. It fell on Jung to drive her mom to chemotherapy treatments. Jung ended up dropping out of college to help her mom, but was doing drugs in her closet.

Her mom passed away in 2000. "I didn't know how to grieve," Jung remembers. "I didn't know how to process it."

So Jung went "full blast" again.

From one bad situation to another.

This time, Jung met a man...who turned out to be a monster.

"If I didn't do something or I got him angry, it escalated to torture. In the end, it had to be sex. I felt like a dirty, old rag, basically getting raped."

Then Jung discovered she was pregnant. Desperate to get away, she intentionally got herself arrested — and escaped. But as so often happens, she went back to her abuser after he made promises to change.

It seemed like she was hitting one dead end after another. She knew things needed to change. Then, one of her counselors suggested Orange County Rescue Mission.

Jung and her kids are on the road to recovery thanks to the generosity of people like you.

"When I walked in, everyone here was different," Jung says. "They treat you like you're their family. They want the best for you.
They make you feel like you're wanted."

Looking back over her life, Jung is grateful for God's protection. "As long as I've been doing drugs, I didn't lose myself. God has kept me whole. If God didn't protect me, I wouldn't be able to be here. I'm able to think. I'm able to work. I'm able to serve. I'm able to make a better future for my kids, to make better decisions."

You can make a difference for others like Jung!

At the Mission, not only were Jung and all of her kids accepted, but it seemed like this was where God meant for them to be.

Today, more hurting neighbors like Jung are entering into the Mission's program to restore and rebuild their lives.

Many have been stuck in a cycle of poverty and homelessness and have not been able to get out on their own. Others are struggling to break free of addiction. Still others need help healing from emotional or physical abuse.

Orange County Rescue Mission is a place where lives change through hope, grace and unconditional love. We're all about being a community where hurting people are not defined by their brokenness. Where, instead, they can experience new life in Jesus.