Testimonies — Meet Brenda
Prison, drug abuse, violence, hopelessness, guilt
and shame… these are no longer a part
of Brenda’s life. To
meet Brenda today you would never know
that she had once lived a life on the
streets, doing anything she could to
get drugs and just survive. Brenda
was known on the streets of Dallas
by the name Re-Gee-Ah, something she
has not been called since September
2003.
While still in prison, Brenda was referred to Reconciliation
Outreach (RO) by her prison counselor.
She was accepted into the program and
was assigned a bed in the single women’s
house where she remained for one year.
That year was hard but Brenda knew she could not go back to her
old lifestyle. She attended all the classes, followed the rules,
listened to the counsel of the staff,
and let God work in her life. In 2004,
Brenda successfully graduated from
Reconciliation Outreach’s program.
When the time came for Benda to get a job she was fearful that
she would be rejected because of her
past. She constantly
worried about the felony that was sure
to show up on her record whenever a
potential employer ran a criminal background
check on her. Finally,
Brenda found an employer who would
hire her in spite of her criminal history.
She worked in the kitchen of a small
restaurant; grateful for the opportunity,
but this was only a stepping-stone
that God had provided for her. “I’m
so glad I’m not a part of the problem
in society anymore… one
of my favorite things about RO was
the way they took time to guide us
through every facet of the program,
and if some of us needed special counseling
or attention they gave it to us…” says
Brenda. While
Brenda celebrated, God was continuing to make
a way for her. He had another job for
Brenda, one that would enable her to
be a living testimony to other hurting
women
After Brenda graduated, she chose to remain in the single women’s
house. She had become friends with
one of the staff member’s
wives. They had many conversations
about Brenda’s future and her job at
the restaurant. Brenda
expressed an interest in getting a
job that would allow her to be an encouragement
to other women. It
just so happened that the person Brenda
was confiding in was the Human Resources
Director for a very large social services
agency. Brenda
was encouraged to fill out an employment
application and apply for a position
in the domestic violence department.
She interviewed and was offered a position, and then the thing
that Benda feared most happened.
When the agency did a criminal background check on Brenda it
came back showing the felony conviction
from only a few years earlier. Brenda’s
friend wrote a letter on her behalf
to the headquarters of the agency asking
that they overturn their decision not
to hire Brenda. After weeks of waiting,
Brenda got the news. The
agency had reconsidered and hired her
to work in the domestic violence department
where she is still employed today,
giving hope, and encouragement to women
and children who had fled from abusive
relationships.
“I’ve learned to let go of the pain in my life
in order for God to create a new woman. I don’t
walk in shame, guilt and condemnation as I once did. I’ve
also learned a respect for people and life, like I’ve
never had before, through the positive role modeling of the
leadership and staff at Reconciliation Outreach. I’ve
learned to live as a godly woman lives, not just on ministry
property, but outside of it as well. I want to thank
Dorothy Moore for her vision for Reconciliation Outreach because
without her courage to act upon that vision I would not be
here today… I
would never have met the many others that have shared
their love and God’s love for me.” Brenda
