Patti's Story

My life before I came to Oblong Children's Christian Home

The Children's Home has made an impact on my life that will change me forever. I grew up in a home that was unstable. My parents were divorced. They both remarried. My relationship with my parents would have improved if we had no relationship at all. I lost trust and built a wall around myself. This wall prevented me from expressing my feelings and letting people in. I withdrew from life and sank into depression.

My home was not religious. I did not consider God as an option for my life. My lack of God as a foundation left me insecure, hopeless, and without values to guide me. My friends started getting involved with the wrong activities when I was older. I gave in to peer pressure and followed the crowd.

My depression worsened. My life was at rock bottom. I had no where to go. There was no light at the end of the tunnel. Then I had a pre-placement visit at Oblong. I sensed they had something that my life lacked. After my visit, I felt better than I had in a long time.

The Oblong Children's Christian Home reached me when nothing else could. I don't think it was the counselor, the support, or the houseparents. I conclude that it was nothing except Jesus who turned my life around. I will never be able to completely thank the children's home for introducing me to Jesus so I may have a better life on earth and also have eternal life.

My life since I came to Oblong Children's Christian Home

Growth in Christ

After I moved in, I experienced many different activities. Church was a new experience. The girls' house goes to Highland Church of Christ which I have come to love during the last year and a half. I now feel that God has blessed me in an enormous way. Our youth group has many strong leaders. This allows the individuals in the youth group to grow. I was baptized January 6, 2002. Introducing me to Christ has had a powerful effect on my life. It has saved me from an eternity in hell and has helped me grasp eternal life.

Growth in Academics and Responsibility

The home has done more than help me get my life straight, it has helped me develop responsibility. In school, I usually make straight A's. I do not think I am a genius. It is because I have been taught to take responsibility. We have homework time, and at the end of that homework time, my houseparents check the work. Just knowing that somebody cared encouraged me to work. We also have daily chores to do in the morning. It helps us learn to be clean and also to arrange our priorities so we can get everything done.

Growth in relationships

We have a counselor who talks with us weekly. This has broken down the walls that I had built around me. It has also helped me to release my anger. At reunification, I have developed a better relationship with my mother. We have learned to share our feelings with each other. It gives us hope. We now know that our relationship is stronger than any argument we may have.

*Patti is not the child's actual name. Name has been changed for privacy.

Phone number: 618-592-3633

Address: 4094 E. 1050th Ave.