Sara has a new life, thanks to you!

When Sara first walked through the doors of Gateway Mission, she felt lost and broken. “I was used to always being the helper, not the one who needed help,” she says. “I was scared and angry, and felt like I had thrown my life away.”

Sara grew up in church and went to Christian schools. She had a wonderful, supportive family. After high school, she pursued a career as a paramedic because she “wanted to help people.”

But Sara found the stress difficult to cope with. She started gaining more and more weight. Worse, she turned to alcohol. “Once alcohol becomes a thing, it’s hard to make it not a thing. Eventually, I had to quit the job I loved.”

By 2014, her weight had increased to 400 pounds. She had gastric bypass surgery and lost almost 200 pounds, but then she became addicted to pain pills. At one point, she overdosed and almost died. When she walked out of the hospital 10 days later, she was determined to return to her career as a paramedic – but she also returned to alcohol.

“Last April, I quit my job again… then I got arrested for a DUI. My family wouldn’t let me come home unless I got help. That’s how I ended up at Gateway Mission.”

“The Mission gave me the chance to learn what really matters in life.”

While Sara struggled at first – feeling scared and no longer having control of her life – she stuck it out. “I grew in ways I didn’t think were possible,” she says.

“Even though I grew up in church, my eyes opened to what my faith actually means for me. The Mission gave me the chance to learn what really matters in life and to see the real me. I’m just someone who struggles, but my struggles don’t define me. I feel so blessed!”

Sara is excited to celebrate the restored hope she has been given this Christmas – and wants YOU to know just how grateful she is. “I thank God for people like you. You changed my life.”

To read her story in the Holiday 2022 issue of Changing Lives, click here.