Update: 8/18/2010

Brandy is still in treatment at Access House in Akron Ohio and doing very well in her recovery program.She is gainfully employed,  received a car from Access, and  she is making plans on going back to school. She is planning on entering the Brubaker Program which will further assist her in a drug and alcohol free lifestyle.  The Brubaker Program was developed to aid young women in their recovery from drug and alcohol addictions. There are accountability levels that must be maintained in order to continue to receive assistance. Please pray for Brandy.

Brandy’s Story

My name is Brandy, and I am 28 years old. I have lived my life a slave to sin. My masters have been drugs, alcohol and prostitution. I always knew there was a God, but felt that He had let me slip through the cracks. I believed that I was destined to live a lonely and miserable life.

While an inmate in the Summit County Jail on December 30th 2008, I knew that something had to change. I had tried everything else, why not Jesus? It was that day that I asked Jesus to come into my life. Broken Chains Ministry showed me that God had not let me slip through the cracks, in fact, that there are no cracks when it comes to the love of Christ.

Since that day I have been battling my drug addiction and because of God’s grace, I know that I am not fighting that battle alone. I am currently a resident at Interval Brotherhood Home receiving inpatient treatment for my addictions.  Thanks to IBH I have been granted a period of time to concentrate on my relationship with Jesus Christ. The greatest benefit that I have received since becoming a believer is hope. For the first time in my life, I have true hope for my future. Just a little bit of faith has opened the doors that I never thought possible. I thank all of you who have shown me the kind of  love that I have never known, the love of Christ.

Brandy

You Can Help Brandy     March 9, 2010

I sure hope that you enjoyed reading Brandy’s story, she has been an inspiration to me and to many others. Her life has been the furthest thing from easy, as a matter of fact, her life has been a real mess since childhood. Due to discretion and confidentiality, we choose to not reveal details, but suffice it to say that Brandy has been misused in so many ways, by others and by herself.

My Bible still says that the wages of sin is death. Death is not only about actually dying a physical or a spiritual death, it is also about the death of a vision for life, a hope and plan for outcome, and even in physical death, it often does not come suddenly, but over a period of time. When a person is deeply involved in alcoholism or in drug addiction their bodies begin to just plain fall apart.

One of the most common things that happen to people with addictive behavior is poor dental health. Brandy is a good example of that, due to her lifestyle she has developed some extreme decay with her teeth and gums, which for a woman definitely leads to self esteem issues. A major part of Brandy’s growth as a person is centered around her view of herself.  Right now she has front teeth that are broken below the gum line and will be surgically removed very soon. This will be a major event for Brandy to get this surgery done and then to have partials made for her.

The biggest part of this cost will be taken care of through Summa’s student dental clinic, but she will be responsible for about $300.00 of lab work costs. We are asking if you would be willing to assist us in covering that cost for her. I am certain that she will be grateful and so will we!

If this is something you would like to be involved with,please click on the Donate Now button located on this page. Once you have arrived at the Donate Now page you will see a button for Program Designation, please select Inmate Assistance , and your funds will be directed towards Brandy’s lab work.

This effort will run through April 10th , and any amount that is raised over the $300 will be used for other inmates and the assistance that we will give to them.

Thanks so much for giving to the Lord, because of your willingness to help lives are being changed!

Chaplain John Wiseman

BRANDY UPDATE:

THANKS FOR HELPING BRANDY!     March 30, 2010

Dennis, Brandy and I want to communicate just how thankful we are for the outpouring of love shown to Brandy. We have received  more than enough money to take care of Brandy’s dental work. She will be going to the oral surgeon in the first week of April, and will be fitted right away for her new teeth. We can’t wait to see her new smile!! Maybe we can post some pictures for you.

In order to remain accountable to our contributors, we want you to know that any amount we have received over what we need for Brandy, we will leave in our inmate assistance fund to help some other folks in their needs both post and pre-release care.

(Watch for our post/page on Emily or Brian)

Chaplain John Wiseman