Testimonials

Growing up I went through abuse of all kinds and never really felt loved. At the age of 14 I became a suicidal mess of psych meds and hospital stays that was never ending. At the age of 17 my father introduced me to meth for the first time and I was instantly hooked. My addiction consumed my life and I became a lifeless shell of the girl I once was. In and out of one abusive relationship after the other, and then I got pregnant with my son Ryker. Things got better for a while but then I broke. On November 24, 2020 I had my baby boy stillborn. In an instant my addiction came back worse than before. I came to a realization that I was an addict and nothing was ever gonna change until I got some help. Last July I was accepted into CAYA and it changed my whole life! The Lord has blessed me so much and I'm so thankful for His grace. I am now 1 year and a month clean! I couldn't have done it without God and CAYA.

It’s been a year and 26 days since I turned away from my life of sin. I laid my life down at the feet of Jesus. I placed my broken life in the potter’s hands and Let him mold me. I nailed my life to the cross and allowed the blood of Jesus to transform it. It’s been a year and 26 days since the old man died and I put on the new man. I graduated a NINE MONTH Christ centered recovery program and gave my ALL to my savior.

I now am clean, healthy, FREE. Chosen, redeemed, sanctified; set apart for holy use.

A year and 26 days ago I did my last hit of fentanyl. What the enemy tried to use to kill me Is now part of my testimony to help save others.
THE ROCKS THE ENEMY THREW AT ME I NOW USE TO SLAY GIANTS.

A year and 26 days later I am now teaching children's church every Sunday. I now am involved in the Gideons International and watch the childrens during monthly camp meetings and meet every Saturday morning for prayer breakfasts. I now do bible studies with a group of God ordained people. I now am part of a prayer team/deliverance ministry, walking out every word of Mark 16. Lay my hands on the sick and cast out demons in HIS name.

People used to call my phone when their dope was out and needed me to help. Now people call my phone when their HOPE is out and need help.

This life I am living is through God’s ordination. The life I am living becoming a REALITY is through the BLOOD of Jesus. “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance” Romans 11:29

You were made ON PURPOSE for a PURPOSE. Stop living in sin. Give your life to Christ. Allow God to use you how He intended to use you before the foundations of the earth were ever even laid.

If He can do it for me He can do It for you. Crucified in Christ but NEVERTHELESS I LIVE!!!!!

December 26, 2020
Unconscious for 24 hours
3rd suicide attempt

They found my car at Ez Mart at 9am, but I was at Baptist. I overdosed at 3am. Jaxon was safe, with my family at home. But if I would have succeeded, he would have gone through more trauma than I ever had-than the trauma that led to me the point of suicide.
Dad stayed with me for the 24 hour hospital stay. Even though visitors weren't allowed because of covid, they let him sit with me. He tells me I woke up periodically, but I have no memory of it. I have no memory of the 48 hours before either.

December 31, 2020
In the last mental hospital I would ever be admitted to, clinging to the Bible that someone smuggled in and gave to me, crying out to God. I was terrified of going to a rehab when I "didn't have a drug problem".
Maybe I was right, I had a suffering problem. Depression, anxiety, self hatred, trying to escape through self harm in more ways than I could express- those were just symptoms of not healing.

January 1, 2021
Dad took me from the mental hospital in Little rock to Walmart in Conway, to Hope Dealers in Guy. I went through all the stages of grief during those hours. I cried and begged and yelled and accepted it.
Nikki met me at the door, my first group of sister made me feel welcome, Dad hugged me tight and I cried as I told him "I don't belong here"... boy was I wrong.

January 2, 2021
Jesus began to heal me, and I, as unsure and unworthy as I was, began to let him for the very first time in my life.
It wasn't easy, it still isn't. It's the most difficult thing I've ever gone through, and I praise God for it everyday.
I'll never apologize for sharing the testimony He gave me, and I will love Him for the rest of my life. How couldn't I? He gave it back to me and more abundantly than I could imagine.

I’m 50 years old. I’m from Heber Springs. I have three beautiful daughters and three precious grandkids. I grew up in south Arkansas in a small town called Star City. I had a bad childhood, but I don’t like to dwell on that. I didn't grow up with much knowledge of God. He was never mentioned in our home at all. By age 20, I had survived three brain surgeries and a stroke that brought me pretty close to death; realizing that God’s protecting hand is what kept me alive. I got married, had my first daughter, and was divorced by the time I was 31. The next few years were a drunken blur. Two very tragic, crushing choices I made in my life led me into the dark world of cocaine addiction. I was later able to kick my cocaine habit on my own—I thought. But I was still not getting that it was God that once again saved my life. I later had my other two daughters. I suffered the loss of my ex-husband and best friend in 2009. My doctor put me on Ambien and Klonopin. I became addicted to them and the next 11 years of my life spun out of control. In 2019 I became a meth-using needle junkie. I lost everything in a matter of months—our home, our belongings, my dignity, my self-respect, and worst of all, I lost my daughters’ faith in me. They had given up on me and I was sure that God had too. In October 2020 I took a handful of sleeping pills and told God that I really didn’t care if I woke up the next morning or not. But HE cared. He woke me up and I realized I had to get help or I really was going to die. I came to Hope Dealers, now CAYA, on October 10, 2020. I was broken, scared, and so ashamed. I couldn’t hold my head up or make eye contact with anyone because I didn’t want them to see the real me. I absolutely hated myself. I came into the program to kick the drug habit, but I didn't think I needed the “Jesus stuff”. I couldn't have been more wrong. Let me tell you what Jesus did for me. He delivered me from my desire to get high. He not only restored my relationship with my daughters but made it stronger than ever before. He softened my heart. I can hold my head up. I can look at people in the eyes because I’m not ashamed anymore. I smile, I laugh, I am living life now and not just existing. He took my brokenness and put me back together. I’m not afraid to live the rest of my life because I know that it was God who brought me back from the brink of death more than once and He will continue to be right there by my side. We’re excited to share that Jodi is the first graduate of CAYA Ministries. We’re very proud of her and look forward to seeing how God will work in her life and how she will be a blessing to others.

My name is Nicole Ellis. I’m not only a success story for this very facility, but also an example of God’s redemptive and restorative power. I came here on February 12, 2020 as a resident of CA YA Ministries (formerly Hope Dealers). Not only was I addicted methamphetamines, I was also broken, lost and completely consumed with the evil I had previously invited into my life. I had tried to recover from addiction several times with little to no success. I truly had no idea what I was missing in my life until all I had left was God. It took me reaching my absolute rock bottom before anyone was able to show, or teach me to cry out to our Savior and be delivered from the things that were holding me in bondage. Not only in bondage, but keeping me enslaved in my addiction. When my surrender finally came, and I was able to see the difference in knowing God and having that relationship that He so desires from us. It’s when I finally experienced total freedom and peace I had never known, even before my addiction took over my life. I think about Matthew 6:6 and Psalm 91 and thank God every day for placing me in this secret place under the shadow of His wings, to help me become the person He always intended me to be. I am blessed to still be a part of this ministry as God has opened the door for me to serve as an administrative assistant for CAYA Ministries. I know my purpose and calling is to share what God has done in my life and to encourage and lead by example, just as the previous leaders and teachers that I sat under did. I am so very thankful for all the people who have dedicated their time and poured into us. I am the person I am today because of their obedience to their call and allowing the Lord to use them as a vessel. I am driven and motivated to do that same.