A House Called Hope, episode 107

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Welcome to the When You Love a Prodigal podcast.

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If you love a prodigal,

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you can discover, help,

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and hope for your wilderness journey right here at When You Love a Prodigal.

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And also help and hope for your own life journey.

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And as I always say,

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remember to write down any ideas or thoughts or words from God or things you might want to do.

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As you listen.

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Because if you're like me,

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and most people are,

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if you don't write it down,

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you won't remember.

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So be sure to do that.

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Now I have two very special guests today.

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I'm going to introduce them in a minute.

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I'm going to give you a little background.

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At the age of 14, our prodigal,

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Josh, whom if you've listened to this podcast,

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you have probably heard him as well as heard a lot about him.

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He went to a place for troubled teens called House of Hope.

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It's here in Orlando.

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It was early in our long prodigal journey with him,

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but it was a very important step on the difficult road.

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We had hoped it would be over quickly,

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but it took him a long time to put in life

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the things that he experienced and learned there.

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As he explained in episode 50,

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if you haven't heard him yet,

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he met Jesus at House of Hope,

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the most important thing that happened to him there.

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But he also learned about rules and consequences,

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made some good friends,

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grew in many areas of his life.

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He did well when he came home for most of the year,

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trying to walk with God.

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But then he wanted to go back to school

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instead of homeschooling, which we were doing.

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So he did.

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It took him about three weeks to find his old friends.

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That's when our wilderness journey really began.

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But even today, he is a strong,

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hardworking, loving husband and daddy.

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Things he gained at House of Hope are still serving him well.

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And I think you'll find that they will serve you well

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and your prodigal as well.

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So I have with me Sara Trollinger,

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the founder of House of Hope,

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and Karla Mathis, the president

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of this amazing residential program

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and other benefits that they provide.

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So welcome, Sara and Karla.

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Thank you very much.

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What a blessing to be with you.

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Yes, thank you, Judy.

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Well, it's definitely my pleasure and honor to have you here.

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So I have a few questions to ask you.

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I want us to get a little history and understanding

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of House of Hope and then some up-to-date things as well.

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So it is a program.

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House of Hope is a program for teens,

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I think, 14 to 18?

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13, 17.

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Oh, you've gone down some.

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Okay, 13.

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I assure you, my listeners,

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even if your loved one is no longer a teen,

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you will hear some valuable helps for your journey

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with your prodigal.

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So, Sara, why don't you give us a little of your backstory

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and the backstory of the founding of House of Hope?

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My backstory is I taught school in the Irish County schools

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for 25 years, and I ended up teaching behind bars

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at Juvenile Detention Center.

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And it was there that I saw a desperate cry of parents

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and teenagers that were not getting help.

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And it was like a revolving door,

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the same ones coming and going.

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And so one night, in my distress,

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I'll cry out to the Lord and say,

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what can I do to help these hurting teenagers?

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And parents.

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And in a still small voice, he said,

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I want you to start a place and call it House of Hope.

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So the next day, I was so excited

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because I had friends that had a heart for teenagers, too.

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And we got together, we had $200,

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and we started House of Hope.

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$200.

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Well, we wrote a grant to...

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I'd never written a grant.

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I wrote a grant to the Edith Bush Foundation,

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and as for...

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We had no property, we had no resources,

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but we had a passion to do this.

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And so we asked the Lord how much we should ask him.

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The Lord said, $95,000.

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So we sent it in, and you know, grants very seldom hit us wrong.

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But we got a letter back saying that we're happy to tell you

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that we're giving you the $95,000.

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And so we found...

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Did you have a pretty big praise party after that?

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Probably did, so we found two little houses,

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and they were asking $117,000 for it.

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And the lady was so touched by what we wanted to do.

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Well, she said,

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let me and my husband grab at it,

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because we have such a heart for teenagers.

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And we didn't tell her we'd written a grant.

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And so she calls me back and says,

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we've decided if you want the property,

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you can have it for $95,000.

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And I said, well...

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And she said, well, I need a down payment.

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And I said, how about $200?

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She said, okay, but when you go to the closing,

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you have to have a dollar.

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We had it, we had the grant.

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And so we started, and this was up on a little dirt road street

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with two little houses with schools.

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And so it's been one vehicle after another ever since.

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I love what your scripture basis is.

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What is the scripture that's kind of the theme?

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The Lord gave it to us as Malachi 4.6,

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turning the hearts of the fathers and mothers

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to the children and the children back to the fathers and mothers,

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lest there be a curse on the land.

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So we're breaking that curse now.

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And so our thing is,

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the main key is parent involvement,

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because we know in this, the parents have the training

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that they can hold a teenager accountable when they kill a woman.

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Oh, yes, the parent involvement, the parent was learning as well,

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because I certainly was.

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Exactly, because we have to be sure that they come to parenting class

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every Tuesday night to learn how to be a good parent,

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and that they come to counseling once a week,

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and that they visit their teenager on Sunday afternoon.

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So the main thing we do is, first of all, most of the parents when they're saved,

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you are one of the few lucky ones, rest of them are still here,

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but most of them don't have a relationship with the Lord.

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And we require that they go into church of their choice,

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and that they start establishing a relationship,

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so that when the thing goes out,

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they have a place to go to make friends and a good situation.

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So a parent involvement is pretty strict,

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and we even have them go and baffle back from church,

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make sure they're going.

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So we hold them accountable, too.

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So, yeah, it's exciting to see how the Lord wants to intervene

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and get these families restored.

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But, you know, that was the last portion of the Old Testament,

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was to get families together.

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And so that's exactly what we do.

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It's such an important thing to restore them.

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You know, when I talk to parents and they say,

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how do I get them to even talk to me?

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I try to help them understand one of their highest priorities

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is to maintain the relationship with them.

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Then you have the connection that enables you to move forward

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and help them make some better choices.

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Well, we tell them to start spending quality time with a teenager,

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maybe old time or whenever, and to find a counselor,

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if they are in house of hope, that they can get it to

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to help restore the relationship.

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But, yeah, the parents, they are an important factor

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because everybody needs to be special.

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And these prodigals, most of them don't feel special.

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And they absolutely...

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But, you know, they want a family.

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I know that... I think it was Josh who went down.

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Somebody said that.

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They took a survey of a teenager of a desire.

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If they'd rather go to McDonald's and have a meal,

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most of them would rather have a meal with their family.

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And almost everyone said, it's family.

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They want to be part. They want to belong.

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One of the things that was really helpful to us

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is just what you're talking about,

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because Josh came to us as a foster child

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from a pretty rugged situation.

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And it was really hard for us to get him to connect.

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And, you know, we would do a lot of things with him

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and for him and with the whole family.

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And yet he still kept his distance.

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And one of the best things that happened at House of Hope

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is because we had to be there every Sunday afternoon

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for several hours with him.

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And, you know, after a while, he got tired of just sitting

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and are asking questions, and he actually started to engage.

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And I think that that was one of the other great things

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that happened for him at House of Hope,

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was that he began to believe that we could have real relationship.

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And we really would be parents that he hadn't had earlier.

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So thank you for that.

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Thank you for following through.

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Well, that wasn't hard for us.

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So kind of you've given some of the purposes and principles.

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Anything else that really guided you as you planned the program?

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And then what did the program look like?

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Yeah, we knew that the teens were desperate to change their lives,

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but they didn't know how.

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So at House of Hope, we have counseling.

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We have a school called Hope Academy.

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And they all of them need someone they could talk to and confide in.

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And so our counseling program works really well.

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And even for parents of teens that aren't there,

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if they need somebody to make the connection with their teenager,

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it's good to try to find a Christian counselor

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that can give them some insight in how to deal with the hurts,

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because they all have this hurts.

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And they need to have those hurts healed.

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And that's what we do at House of Hope, do our counseling.

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We find out exactly where the hurt started

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and go back with them there and start the counseling.

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So it's good to have an outside person that you can trust.

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Yes.

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Yes, yeah.

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So one of the things that was very important for us,

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because Josh came to us with the results of fetal alcohol syndrome

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from his birth mother's drugs and alcohol when she was carrying him.

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And that prevents in the formation of the brain the ability,

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the actual ability to do cause and effect reasoning.

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And so we just were amazed.

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We couldn't understand why we'd ask him to do something,

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and he would say he'd done it, but he hadn't.

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And he didn't understand that there are consequences.

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If you do this, and then you'd actually do it.

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And one of the things that was the best thing for him,

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other than the Lord, of course, was there were so many rules,

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little ones, big ones, that he was bound to break some.

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And of course, he did often, as did the other kids, to start with.

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But there were immediate consequences.

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And you all were better at that than most parents are.

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And so Josh actually had, you may not even know this,

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forming in his brain while he was at House of Hope

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was the physical means to do cause and effect reasoning.

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And so he came out of there understanding that if he did this,

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there was this consequence.

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And before, he just hadn't had enough opportunity yet

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to build those synapses in his brain.

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So thank you very much for that.

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Well, we hold them pretty close to me.

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Yes, because most of them don't have them.

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And when they come, that's a whole new thing.

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And the parents are excited when they come home for the first visit

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because they've never helped clean up the house or clean up the room.

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And their parents are shocked because they come in and help.

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And when they're used to being served, we try to teach them how to serve.

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You've done that very well.

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And other parts of the program, you did a lot of fun things with them.

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Yeah, you have to with teenagers.

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They look forward to that.

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It was a fun thing.

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One of my favorite pictures of Josh is with a fishing pole and a fish

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at House of Hope.

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And Lake Catherine it is, I think.

257
00:14:18,200 --> 00:14:19,280
Yeah.

258
00:14:19,280 --> 00:14:20,960
That was neat. You love that.

259
00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:22,560
Especially the boys.

260
00:14:22,560 --> 00:14:26,720
The girls didn't because they didn't want to take the fish off the hook.

261
00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:29,360
So you started out with girls.

262
00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:34,320
And then when Josh came, he was one of the very first boys.

263
00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:37,440
So tell us a little about why you started with girls

264
00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:40,720
and then how you decided to include boys.

265
00:14:40,720 --> 00:14:45,240
Actually, we started with girls because it seemed to be only girls

266
00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:46,960
who were applying.

267
00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:50,160
We had a list of people and it was all girls.

268
00:14:50,160 --> 00:14:57,400
So we started with six girls and we increased to 18 on the old campus.

269
00:14:57,400 --> 00:15:02,040
And then we knew that it was time because we started getting lots of calls

270
00:15:02,040 --> 00:15:04,920
from parents who had boys.

271
00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:11,240
And so I think 1997 was when we started with boys.

272
00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:13,600
And I'll tell you the difference.

273
00:15:13,600 --> 00:15:18,080
Boys are so much easier than girls.

274
00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:19,720
Who would have thought that?

275
00:15:19,720 --> 00:15:22,480
Yeah, I know girls are all about drama.

276
00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:24,640
Yes, true.

277
00:15:24,640 --> 00:15:27,600
And they like to be emotional.

278
00:15:27,600 --> 00:15:30,800
And it's hard to get to the real root of their problem.

279
00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:34,840
But boys pretty much is what you see is what you get.

280
00:15:34,840 --> 00:15:36,760
If you can get them to talk about it.

281
00:15:36,760 --> 00:15:38,360
Wow.

282
00:15:38,360 --> 00:15:43,680
So any other parts of your program people should know about?

283
00:15:43,680 --> 00:15:49,280
Well, first of all, we've never received any government funds.

284
00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:57,800
And we have the mercy of caring people who have a heart for seeing what happens there.

285
00:15:57,800 --> 00:16:02,480
And for 38 years, we've ended in the black lives.

286
00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:04,880
People have seen the results.

287
00:16:04,880 --> 00:16:07,760
And it's less a miracle.

288
00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:12,280
So there is a charge for people to come there.

289
00:16:12,280 --> 00:16:17,960
What we do, we have the parent to bring the WT form for the past two years.

290
00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:23,680
And then we look at it and try to find something that's reasonable for them.

291
00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:29,360
And sometimes they drive up in Rolls Royce and they say we don't have money.

292
00:16:29,360 --> 00:16:31,080
So that sort of gives us a guide.

293
00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:36,600
But we have lots of teenagers that parents really want to be there.

294
00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:42,280
We just had a fashion show with eight of our girls who were there,

295
00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:46,800
who were between the ages of 30 and 50, graduates.

296
00:16:46,800 --> 00:16:52,520
And every one of those pretty much was there because the money wasn't there for them.

297
00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:56,360
So we try to get the parent to give what they can.

298
00:16:56,360 --> 00:16:58,920
We try to get them to work too or whatever.

299
00:16:58,920 --> 00:17:01,200
It's based on a sliding scale.

300
00:17:01,200 --> 00:17:02,720
OK.

301
00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:09,680
And so like Sara said, we'll take a look at the two years of their W-2 retrial.

302
00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:12,160
And just we try to work with the families.

303
00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:14,840
One of the things going back to the principles

304
00:17:14,840 --> 00:17:18,960
is we don't want to turn anyone away due to lack of finances.

305
00:17:18,960 --> 00:17:23,240
We are just there for the families and for the teens and the parents.

306
00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:27,360
And it's a structured program.

307
00:17:27,360 --> 00:17:30,560
And like Sara was talking about, so many of the teens that come in there, Judy,

308
00:17:30,560 --> 00:17:32,960
they come from families where they haven't had much structure.

309
00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:34,120
Some of them do.

310
00:17:34,120 --> 00:17:38,320
But most of them, percentage-wise, they haven't had any structure.

311
00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:43,560
And what's interesting is when the kids do, once they get used to it,

312
00:17:43,560 --> 00:17:46,040
they are so thankful for that structure.

313
00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:49,040
But one of the key things is the Christ Center program.

314
00:17:49,040 --> 00:17:50,880
The foundation is Jesus Christ.

315
00:17:50,880 --> 00:17:52,280
Amen.

316
00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:55,400
I'm so grateful for that.

317
00:17:55,400 --> 00:17:58,080
It was extremely important for Josh.

318
00:17:58,080 --> 00:17:59,960
I know.

319
00:17:59,960 --> 00:18:02,840
So I'll tell you what happened to us.

320
00:18:02,840 --> 00:18:08,880
We had an amount that we were supposed to pay, and it was a stretch for us.

321
00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:15,040
And one of our friends, a strong Christian businessman, said,

322
00:18:15,040 --> 00:18:18,840
well, I don't think I would have taken a boy like you did.

323
00:18:18,840 --> 00:18:26,560
But why don't I pay for what you're doing at House of Hope?

324
00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:28,200
And that was a wonderful gift.

325
00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:32,800
And he paid for the entire time that we were there.

326
00:18:32,800 --> 00:18:37,600
And then he's still a friend, and he asks us how Josh is doing.

327
00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:38,600
That's special.

328
00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:40,320
That's very special.

329
00:18:40,320 --> 00:18:45,280
So do you also do fundraisers to make up for it?

330
00:18:45,280 --> 00:18:56,080
We have a dinner, usually in the spring, and we also have a fashion show

331
00:18:56,080 --> 00:18:59,080
in the fall, sponsored by Macy's.

332
00:18:59,080 --> 00:19:03,280
They wanted to do it for us, and we were happy they wanted to.

333
00:19:03,280 --> 00:19:07,480
And those people that model usually are our graduates.

334
00:19:07,480 --> 00:19:10,520
And some of them even some of the kids sometimes.

335
00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:11,520
Oh, yeah, they do.

336
00:19:11,520 --> 00:19:12,520
Oh, yes.

337
00:19:12,520 --> 00:19:13,920
I love that.

338
00:19:13,920 --> 00:19:16,160
That's great.

339
00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:23,560
When did the program begin to add other Houses of Hope to and become

340
00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:27,440
a national program and not just a local in Orlando?

341
00:19:27,440 --> 00:19:37,160
So as House of Hope Orlando started to grow, at one point,

342
00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:38,760
and Sara, you can speak to this.

343
00:19:38,760 --> 00:19:40,800
Sara started touring with Women of Fate.

344
00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:42,680
Yes, I know that.

345
00:19:42,680 --> 00:19:43,680
Yes.

346
00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:49,120
And she would usually take at least one or two teens with her who would share their stories.

347
00:19:49,120 --> 00:19:55,620
And so obviously, Women of Fate, large audience, and oftentimes she would have people come

348
00:19:55,620 --> 00:20:00,160
up to her, it's mostly women, that would come up to her and say, I love what you're doing.

349
00:20:00,160 --> 00:20:02,280
How do I start a House of Hope?

350
00:20:02,280 --> 00:20:07,800
And so it became this repetitive question of how do I start this?

351
00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:14,480
And so that's what led to the start of National House of Hope.

352
00:20:14,480 --> 00:20:19,640
And that became into existence in 2002, is when National House of Hope launched.

353
00:20:19,640 --> 00:20:27,840
And it launched mainly as a training and resource for other individuals who have a heart for

354
00:20:27,840 --> 00:20:32,000
the same for the teens and families for restoring the teens to the families.

355
00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:33,400
And today, how many do we have?

356
00:20:33,400 --> 00:20:36,720
And so today, we now have four houses.

357
00:20:36,720 --> 00:20:39,400
We have House of Kansas City House of Hope York, Pennsylvania.

358
00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:43,600
Of course, there's the model Orlando, we have House of Maryland.

359
00:20:43,600 --> 00:20:47,360
And then we have House of Hope Piedmont in North Carolina is getting ready to open their

360
00:20:47,360 --> 00:20:50,320
doors, they have the property and everything.

361
00:20:50,320 --> 00:20:54,080
And so they are ready to open their doors within the next 30 to 60 days.

362
00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:55,280
So we're excited.

363
00:20:55,280 --> 00:20:59,080
And what do they have to do to use your name House of Hope?

364
00:20:59,080 --> 00:21:02,440
They're considered affiliates.

365
00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:05,400
And so they just they go through the training and that sort of thing.

366
00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:09,160
There's a nine, it's a nine step training process.

367
00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:13,360
And they do come to the campus of Orlando and live in person training.

368
00:21:13,360 --> 00:21:15,520
We also do video trainings.

369
00:21:15,520 --> 00:21:23,040
And there is a whole process that they go through to get to that place where they become

370
00:21:23,040 --> 00:21:24,600
an affiliate.

371
00:21:24,600 --> 00:21:29,000
But there we let them use the name we just, if they're adhering to.

372
00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:33,640
I'm keeping with the vision and mission, then we're good with that.

373
00:21:33,640 --> 00:21:38,720
Our goal is for them to stick to the vision and mission and be about the heart to be about

374
00:21:38,720 --> 00:21:40,120
the families and the teens.

375
00:21:40,120 --> 00:21:42,120
And they're accountable to us.

376
00:21:42,120 --> 00:21:43,120
Yeah.

377
00:21:43,120 --> 00:21:44,120
Say that again, Sara.

378
00:21:44,120 --> 00:21:46,520
I said they are accountable to us.

379
00:21:46,520 --> 00:21:47,520
Okay.

380
00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:49,020
So yeah, they are accountable.

381
00:21:49,020 --> 00:21:52,720
We have annual, we have monthly affiliate meetings.

382
00:21:52,720 --> 00:21:54,840
Every year we do a conference with them.

383
00:21:54,840 --> 00:22:01,080
And then we also will have every now and then we will do random audit inspections where

384
00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:04,600
we'll go and visit and that sort of thing.

385
00:22:04,600 --> 00:22:05,920
That's awesome.

386
00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:11,640
So that gives it a chance then for people in different parts of the country to have

387
00:22:11,640 --> 00:22:13,200
something a little closer.

388
00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:14,620
Yeah.

389
00:22:14,620 --> 00:22:16,620
That's a great thing.

390
00:22:16,620 --> 00:22:19,800
So Karla, tell me.

391
00:22:19,800 --> 00:22:26,800
I know you came to House of Hope in one role and then you were another role and now you

392
00:22:26,800 --> 00:22:30,440
have an even bigger role.

393
00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:32,680
Tell me a little about that story.

394
00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:33,680
Yes.

395
00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:40,920
So I, in the, it was in the late nineties, I had relocated back to the central Florida

396
00:22:40,920 --> 00:22:47,280
area from, I'd been in Atlanta for several years, relocated and visited First Baptist

397
00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:51,840
Church Orlando and I heard Sara speak and share about House of Hope.

398
00:22:51,840 --> 00:22:57,280
And one of the teens was with her who gave her testimony and just my heart was really

399
00:22:57,280 --> 00:22:58,600
touched.

400
00:22:58,600 --> 00:23:02,520
And so that Monday I called House of Hope to volunteer.

401
00:23:02,520 --> 00:23:06,000
And so I volunteered as a big sister for about six years.

402
00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:08,560
So people can volunteer to help.

403
00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:09,560
Absolutely.

404
00:23:09,560 --> 00:23:11,720
We have lots of volunteer opportunities.

405
00:23:11,720 --> 00:23:12,720
We welcome volunteers.

406
00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:13,720
Yes.

407
00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:15,840
There are many opportunities for that.

408
00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:18,160
And you never know where God might take it.

409
00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:19,160
You never know.

410
00:23:19,160 --> 00:23:20,160
That is true.

411
00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:21,160
That's a good point, Judy.

412
00:23:21,160 --> 00:23:24,160
You might become fresh.

413
00:23:24,160 --> 00:23:25,160
Absolutely.

414
00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:33,560
I, yes, never did I, you know, God has a sense of humor and he orchestrates our steps.

415
00:23:33,560 --> 00:23:40,640
But so I did that and it was just such a, it really impacted me and touched my life

416
00:23:40,640 --> 00:23:42,260
in so many ways.

417
00:23:42,260 --> 00:23:48,560
It was the best experience I had as a big sister and just the relationship that you

418
00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:55,440
build not just with the one young lady that I had, but also many of them and just the

419
00:23:55,440 --> 00:24:00,080
difference you see, you see the transformation while they're going through House of Hope

420
00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:02,960
and you can't put a price tag on that.

421
00:24:02,960 --> 00:24:08,320
And so I relocated out of state to Nashville and was gone for several years.

422
00:24:08,320 --> 00:24:12,480
And in 2013, it was really just divine intervention.

423
00:24:12,480 --> 00:24:14,800
It was a phone call from a friend.

424
00:24:14,800 --> 00:24:23,520
And after much prayer and much deliberation, much discussion, came down and visited with

425
00:24:23,520 --> 00:24:27,880
Sara and Sandy and had lunch and we talked.

426
00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:35,980
And so that brought me back to doing some contract work, which led to executive director

427
00:24:35,980 --> 00:24:40,360
of House of Hope Orlando and then got involved with National House of Hope.

428
00:24:40,360 --> 00:24:42,580
And so now I'm with National House of Hope.

429
00:24:42,580 --> 00:24:43,580
So it's been a journey.

430
00:24:43,580 --> 00:24:50,800
It's been a wonderful journey and just a lot of Sara is such a strong woman of faith.

431
00:24:50,800 --> 00:24:57,920
And it has definitely helped my faith grow in many ways.

432
00:24:57,920 --> 00:24:59,160
Well I'm grateful.

433
00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:03,400
I've been enjoying getting to know you and work with you.

434
00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:05,280
So likewise.

435
00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:06,280
That's great.

436
00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:12,480
So tell us a couple of, not too long, a couple of stories of some lives that have been changed.

437
00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:20,440
Okay, I'm going to start with Josh's friend Bobby because today he's doing so well.

438
00:25:20,440 --> 00:25:26,800
Anyway, Bobby came to us from a non-Christian family and didn't want anything to do with

439
00:25:26,800 --> 00:25:27,800
the Lord.

440
00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:30,360
He had been abused.

441
00:25:30,360 --> 00:25:39,040
So he was reluctant to being in the program and he would put potatoes in the staff's pipes

442
00:25:39,040 --> 00:25:42,760
from the car.

443
00:25:42,760 --> 00:25:46,680
And he did all kinds of things trying to get out of there.

444
00:25:46,680 --> 00:25:52,440
So finally, after he'd been there several months, he had been with people like Josh

445
00:25:52,440 --> 00:26:00,320
and their boys and he saw them worshiping the Lord and he decided that he would get

446
00:26:00,320 --> 00:26:01,320
into the tribe.

447
00:26:01,320 --> 00:26:04,200
So he did and he got saved.

448
00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:08,520
And today he is up in Massachusetts.

449
00:26:08,520 --> 00:26:11,000
He owns three businesses.

450
00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:16,800
He has a family of two children and a precious wife and they have a youth group that's going

451
00:26:16,800 --> 00:26:17,800
on.

452
00:26:17,800 --> 00:26:20,880
So all the things he went through paid off.

453
00:26:20,880 --> 00:26:23,840
So the bride and co-star to the Lord.

454
00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:30,560
And then we have many girl stories and boys but things like most of the girl stories have

455
00:26:30,560 --> 00:26:32,920
abuse involved in it.

456
00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:34,240
Most have sexual abuse.

457
00:26:34,240 --> 00:26:40,880
There's a young lady who, well she's known her late 40s, Cheryl.

458
00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:49,600
And she was, it was her stepfather who sexually abused her and he was a pastor of a church.

459
00:26:49,600 --> 00:26:54,000
So she was very angry.

460
00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:56,000
She was angry at God.

461
00:26:56,000 --> 00:27:00,240
She didn't want anything to do with God or with Jesus.

462
00:27:00,240 --> 00:27:07,800
And so she came to House of Hope and I know she had thrown a brush at one of the other

463
00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:08,800
girls.

464
00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:11,880
Most of the girls were afraid of her.

465
00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:17,680
God just really got a hold of her and that particular night when she threw the brush

466
00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:23,220
and knocked the teeth, two teeth out of the one girl.

467
00:27:23,220 --> 00:27:26,600
And they ended up the staff called Sara and Sara went to House of Hope and it was like

468
00:27:26,600 --> 00:27:28,720
around midnight.

469
00:27:28,720 --> 00:27:32,120
And Sara just said, Cheryl, I'm going to come in.

470
00:27:32,120 --> 00:27:38,280
And Cheryl, she just, she thought she would, Sara was going to punish her.

471
00:27:38,280 --> 00:27:43,800
And instead Sara just sat her down and just calmed her down and just talked with her and

472
00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:46,120
just loved on her.

473
00:27:46,120 --> 00:27:48,960
And Cheryl to this day says that was the turning point in her life.

474
00:27:48,960 --> 00:27:52,320
She said, that's when I realized Jesus really loved me.

475
00:27:52,320 --> 00:27:56,520
And she now has her real estate license.

476
00:27:56,520 --> 00:27:58,360
She's a business woman.

477
00:27:58,360 --> 00:28:04,240
She has nine children and she's doing fantastic.

478
00:28:04,240 --> 00:28:06,760
So, yeah.

479
00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:07,760
That's awesome.

480
00:28:07,760 --> 00:28:13,360
And I know we could take the rest of this time and you could tell us more stories, but

481
00:28:13,360 --> 00:28:15,280
some of them are on your website.

482
00:28:15,280 --> 00:28:16,280
Yes.

483
00:28:16,280 --> 00:28:18,280
So, tell us, you have a website.

484
00:28:18,280 --> 00:28:19,360
What is it?

485
00:28:19,360 --> 00:28:20,360
We do.

486
00:28:20,360 --> 00:28:25,760
There is nationalhouseofhope.org and also houseofhopeorlando.org.

487
00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:31,040
So either one of those, houseofhopeorlando.org and then nationalhouseofhope.org.

488
00:28:31,040 --> 00:28:35,760
And I will have those website links in the show notes.

489
00:28:35,760 --> 00:28:36,760
Thank you.

490
00:28:36,760 --> 00:28:37,760
Wonderful.

491
00:28:37,760 --> 00:28:40,280
So people can go there and look.

492
00:28:40,280 --> 00:28:51,000
So expanding beyond having someone in a residential program because that doesn't happen for everyone.

493
00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:59,640
What would you say to parents or grandparents or people who have influence in the lives,

494
00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:05,360
especially of some teens who are not always making great choices?

495
00:29:05,360 --> 00:29:09,040
I would say spending quality time with the teenager.

496
00:29:09,040 --> 00:29:14,320
And the teenager probably won't like it at first because they're not used to it.

497
00:29:14,320 --> 00:29:23,000
Spending time with them and like having dinner together and finding a counselor.

498
00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:28,000
If they can't break through with their teenager, find a counselor to help them, a Christian

499
00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:29,000
counselor.

500
00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:34,400
I just think that a counselor can help with the healing that needs to take place in the

501
00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:35,400
teenager.

502
00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:40,080
Because they come with lots of folks that parents don't even understand.

503
00:29:40,080 --> 00:29:43,400
And so somebody, an outside person.

504
00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:44,400
And find a church.

505
00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:47,000
Find a church of your choice.

506
00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:50,680
And start having a relationship with the people there.

507
00:29:50,680 --> 00:29:56,080
And find a safe place for a teenager to go to create new friends.

508
00:29:56,080 --> 00:30:00,800
I know in Cheryl's case that Karla was just talking about, she said that there's no place

509
00:30:00,800 --> 00:30:08,760
in her area to find a good place because all of her friends were either dead or they were

510
00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:11,360
in jail or on drugs.

511
00:30:11,360 --> 00:30:12,960
And there's nobody to go to.

512
00:30:12,960 --> 00:30:18,560
So she had to pull away from her area and find a new place where family did where she

513
00:30:18,560 --> 00:30:20,960
could get help.

514
00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:23,560
Maybe that's the case with lots of people.

515
00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:28,600
Maybe in their area it's not a place, but there is a place someplace.

516
00:30:28,600 --> 00:30:32,360
And I think it's also important to hold on to the truth.

517
00:30:32,360 --> 00:30:37,120
In God's Word, He says His Word does not return void.

518
00:30:37,120 --> 00:30:43,560
And for any of the listeners, if the seeds have been planted, His Word does not return

519
00:30:43,560 --> 00:30:44,560
void.

520
00:30:44,560 --> 00:30:50,640
And so that is a promise that parents, grandparents, anyone that has a prodigal, they can hold

521
00:30:50,640 --> 00:30:57,240
on to that and have hope in that any seeds that they have planted.

522
00:30:57,240 --> 00:31:06,960
God will send maybe other individuals to water and to help that seed grow.

523
00:31:06,960 --> 00:31:07,960
God can be the author.

524
00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:13,560
God is the author of any of our lives, if we allow Him to be.

525
00:31:13,560 --> 00:31:18,360
And if anybody's there listening that doesn't know who to go to, they can call in house

526
00:31:18,360 --> 00:31:27,040
of hope and we'll recommend a place where they might be able to get help if we can help.

527
00:31:27,040 --> 00:31:31,680
Because you know of others, other houses of hope, but other organizations.

528
00:31:31,680 --> 00:31:32,680
That's right.

529
00:31:32,680 --> 00:31:33,680
Programs.

530
00:31:33,680 --> 00:31:35,760
That would be a positive.

531
00:31:35,760 --> 00:31:43,880
So if somebody wanted to at least talk to someone about the possibility of sending someone

532
00:31:43,880 --> 00:31:50,880
to your local Orlando one or one of the others, how would they go about that?

533
00:31:50,880 --> 00:31:51,880
They can call.

534
00:31:51,880 --> 00:31:53,200
We have an 800 number.

535
00:31:53,200 --> 00:31:56,200
It's 855-253-HOPE.

536
00:31:56,200 --> 00:31:59,920
That's 855-253-HOPE.

537
00:31:59,920 --> 00:32:05,400
The local number to Orlando is 407-843-8686.

538
00:32:05,400 --> 00:32:06,400
And there's also the websites.

539
00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:08,160
They can go on the websites.

540
00:32:08,160 --> 00:32:13,200
There is information they can fill out, just a little contact form and then someone will

541
00:32:13,200 --> 00:32:14,460
get in touch with them.

542
00:32:14,460 --> 00:32:18,180
And what would be the process then that they would go through?

543
00:32:18,180 --> 00:32:24,360
So once they fill out, let's say completes that or if they call, there will be a little

544
00:32:24,360 --> 00:32:30,040
interview questionnaire that our office administrator will go through.

545
00:32:30,040 --> 00:32:34,920
And then from there, an application would be either sent or they would come up, they

546
00:32:34,920 --> 00:32:39,540
would set up like an in-person interview.

547
00:32:39,540 --> 00:32:43,760
And during that in-person interview, they will go through, they will interview both

548
00:32:43,760 --> 00:32:47,960
the parents and the team, but they do it separately.

549
00:32:47,960 --> 00:32:49,360
And so there is the interview process.

550
00:32:49,360 --> 00:32:52,100
There's the application that they go through.

551
00:32:52,100 --> 00:32:58,520
And we just want to make sure that we are a good fit for their teen son or daughter

552
00:32:58,520 --> 00:33:02,160
and that also that they are good fit for our program.

553
00:33:02,160 --> 00:33:07,400
Because sometimes there might be issues that might be out of our scope.

554
00:33:07,400 --> 00:33:13,780
And so we just will sit down with them, have conversation, do the interview process and

555
00:33:13,780 --> 00:33:15,240
we want them to pray about it.

556
00:33:15,240 --> 00:33:17,840
We'll pray about it as well.

557
00:33:17,840 --> 00:33:20,360
And then there will be follow up from there.

558
00:33:20,360 --> 00:33:25,640
Some issues that are out of our scope might be legal things that we can deal with.

559
00:33:25,640 --> 00:33:26,640
Okay.

560
00:33:26,640 --> 00:33:27,640
Yes.

561
00:33:27,640 --> 00:33:33,220
Do sometimes does the court order people to come to your place?

562
00:33:33,220 --> 00:33:34,920
Does that happen?

563
00:33:34,920 --> 00:33:40,080
Sometimes they will have a judge will recommend yes.

564
00:33:40,080 --> 00:33:43,440
They don't necessarily court order to House of Hope, but there might be a court order

565
00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:46,040
to House of Hope or some place similar.

566
00:33:46,040 --> 00:33:52,480
And so we are oftentimes on the list for recommendations, whether it's the sheriff's officer, the judge,

567
00:33:52,480 --> 00:33:53,880
the juvenile justice.

568
00:33:53,880 --> 00:33:57,760
Yeah, we've been there.

569
00:33:57,760 --> 00:34:01,920
So what if the child doesn't want to come?

570
00:34:01,920 --> 00:34:03,080
You know what?

571
00:34:03,080 --> 00:34:04,080
That happens often.

572
00:34:04,080 --> 00:34:07,800
We've had teenagers to jump out of the car all the way.

573
00:34:07,800 --> 00:34:11,120
But it's the first step in the panic shoring they have authority.

574
00:34:11,120 --> 00:34:17,640
And so they will bring them anyway and sometimes they rule them, which they shouldn't do.

575
00:34:17,640 --> 00:34:22,200
They tell them they're going to take them to counseling center and really the folk already

576
00:34:22,200 --> 00:34:24,320
checked them in to be part.

577
00:34:24,320 --> 00:34:26,400
So they're managed parents with us.

578
00:34:26,400 --> 00:34:33,800
But the neat thing is when the parents are getting the fight in the intake room and then

579
00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:39,560
the first time they come back when they see the parents are serious, the teens can't wait

580
00:34:39,560 --> 00:34:41,360
to see the pet.

581
00:34:41,360 --> 00:34:45,160
And the parents are shocked because they come and give them a hug.

582
00:34:45,160 --> 00:34:47,120
The last they saw they were fighting.

583
00:34:47,120 --> 00:34:49,680
So it works out.

584
00:34:49,680 --> 00:34:55,080
It's just establishing the parents rule as head of the house.

585
00:34:55,080 --> 00:35:00,480
Any other thoughts or anything else you'd like to say to our listeners?

586
00:35:00,480 --> 00:35:06,120
I'd just like to say that you are blessed to be watching this program because Judy has

587
00:35:06,120 --> 00:35:07,620
been through this.

588
00:35:07,620 --> 00:35:12,720
She knows it ends in the outside and she knows there is hope and she knows that there is

589
00:35:12,720 --> 00:35:17,560
healing and so there is for you whatever you are doing in the early givings.

590
00:35:17,560 --> 00:35:22,240
God will be as big in your life as you'd like him to be.

591
00:35:22,240 --> 00:35:24,960
Well thank you, thank you.

592
00:35:24,960 --> 00:35:26,120
We could talk a lot more.

593
00:35:26,120 --> 00:35:29,360
You have stories to tell.

594
00:35:29,360 --> 00:35:35,880
But you can also, my listeners can go to the website and see some of the stories and see

595
00:35:35,880 --> 00:35:38,440
how God has used this.

596
00:35:38,440 --> 00:35:46,440
I'll tell you one last story of mine and that's when I got a phone call from Mike who was,

597
00:35:46,440 --> 00:35:55,160
Mike and Rose were Josh's house parents for a number of months and Mike led him to Jesus.

598
00:35:55,160 --> 00:36:01,080
Now Josh had heard lots about Jesus both from his grandparents who had him for a while and

599
00:36:01,080 --> 00:36:08,480
then from our family and going to church but he was ready and they baptized him right after

600
00:36:08,480 --> 00:36:13,760
he invited Christ into his life right there in the lake, found a big alligator right there

601
00:36:13,760 --> 00:36:19,740
the next day which Josh loves to tell.

602
00:36:19,740 --> 00:36:25,640
So Mike called me that night and said, guess what?

603
00:36:25,640 --> 00:36:30,840
Josh just met Jesus and he got baptized.

604
00:36:30,840 --> 00:36:39,480
It was a real beginning of a turning point for Josh and I just love it.

605
00:36:39,480 --> 00:36:42,360
Mike and Josh are still close friends.

606
00:36:42,360 --> 00:36:48,440
Mike performed a wedding for him and he just, they've been part of our lives and we're

607
00:36:48,440 --> 00:36:49,440
grateful.

608
00:36:49,440 --> 00:36:52,960
I love the miracle story with Josh.

609
00:36:52,960 --> 00:36:54,920
Yes, which miracle?

610
00:36:54,920 --> 00:36:56,440
There's been quite a few.

611
00:36:56,440 --> 00:36:57,440
He's a miracle.

612
00:36:57,440 --> 00:36:59,000
When he was making candy.

613
00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:02,240
Oh that, absolutely.

614
00:37:02,240 --> 00:37:04,340
He tells that story.

615
00:37:04,340 --> 00:37:05,720
There was hot oil.

616
00:37:05,720 --> 00:37:08,880
Was it candy or donuts or whatever?

617
00:37:08,880 --> 00:37:12,320
But it got on his hand.

618
00:37:12,320 --> 00:37:13,320
Is that it?

619
00:37:13,320 --> 00:37:17,600
It's splashed on his hand and really burned him.

620
00:37:17,600 --> 00:37:25,640
And you came and you prayed for him and it was healed and he's never gotten over it.

621
00:37:25,640 --> 00:37:28,480
That was neat for him to see.

622
00:37:28,480 --> 00:37:29,480
It was.

623
00:37:29,480 --> 00:37:32,120
For him to see how Jesus works.

624
00:37:32,120 --> 00:37:34,360
Yeah, he remembers it.

625
00:37:34,360 --> 00:37:37,400
So that's a great thing.

626
00:37:37,400 --> 00:37:40,240
And he'll do the same thing in the lives of the prodigals.

627
00:37:40,240 --> 00:37:41,400
Yes he will.

628
00:37:41,400 --> 00:37:46,080
He does big miracles, little ones, things.

629
00:37:46,080 --> 00:37:48,900
He's all about, he loves them so much.

630
00:37:48,900 --> 00:37:54,880
And I'm so grateful that there are people like you, Sara and Karla, who have said,

631
00:37:54,880 --> 00:37:59,000
we'll be God's arms of love for them.

632
00:37:59,000 --> 00:38:05,160
Arms also of stronger discipline perhaps and structure for their lives.

633
00:38:05,160 --> 00:38:14,040
But helping them to become children of God, but also responsible people for the community

634
00:38:14,040 --> 00:38:15,840
and the family.

635
00:38:15,840 --> 00:38:18,560
And then the gift goes on to their children.

636
00:38:18,560 --> 00:38:19,560
Yes.

637
00:38:19,560 --> 00:38:20,560
That's right.

638
00:38:20,560 --> 00:38:30,480
Most all of our managers would say that they use the same principle we do in training with

639
00:38:30,480 --> 00:38:32,680
their own personal short.

640
00:38:32,680 --> 00:38:34,400
And what a great help it is.

641
00:38:34,400 --> 00:38:37,320
So they have them cleaning all the time?

642
00:38:37,320 --> 00:38:39,700
Whatever.

643
00:38:39,700 --> 00:38:43,040
That was one of the main jobs was keeping their place clean.

644
00:38:43,040 --> 00:38:45,200
So Josh does it.

645
00:38:45,200 --> 00:38:46,200
He does it now.

646
00:38:46,200 --> 00:38:49,480
Oh, that is great.

647
00:38:49,480 --> 00:38:55,460
So for my listeners, I have a couple of questions for you to think about.

648
00:38:55,460 --> 00:39:02,700
What one or two ideas have Sara and Karla sparked in your mind that you can begin to

649
00:39:02,700 --> 00:39:10,080
apply with the prodigal that you love?

650
00:39:10,080 --> 00:39:12,600
Just don't try to change everything at once.

651
00:39:12,600 --> 00:39:19,840
Start with something that you can follow through on and begin to see some change.

652
00:39:19,840 --> 00:39:24,440
I have put a link to House of Hope in the show notes.

653
00:39:24,440 --> 00:39:27,240
And people have been asking me, where are the show notes?

654
00:39:27,240 --> 00:39:35,280
Well, if you go to Apple or Spotify or Charisma, all of those podcast places include the show

655
00:39:35,280 --> 00:39:36,280
notes.

656
00:39:36,280 --> 00:39:37,320
Some of the others don't.

657
00:39:37,320 --> 00:39:41,280
Or you can go to my website, judydouglass.com.

658
00:39:41,280 --> 00:39:46,760
And I have all of them there as well and the show notes.

659
00:39:46,760 --> 00:39:53,340
And you can feel free to contact House of Hope about services, locations, the possibility

660
00:39:53,340 --> 00:39:56,940
of a residential place for your loved one.

661
00:39:56,940 --> 00:40:00,320
And I know you've enjoyed hearing from Sara and Karla.

662
00:40:00,320 --> 00:40:07,800
I am so grateful that they answered God's call to love and care for troubled teens.

663
00:40:07,800 --> 00:40:13,000
God bless you, Sara and Karla, and God bless you all of my listeners.