Annie's Story
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The Story of Annie
(She gave me permission to share this with you all)
I was volunteering at a homeless ministry at Emmanuel Church on 12/05/09 called the "Lord's Kitchen" where we make and serve a 3 course meal to the homeless & less fortunate. I was use to seeing homeless adults but never a homeless child at these events. I approached a little girl who appeared very small, anxious and fragile. She was sitting with her mom and she told me it was her 10th birthday. They told me a little about themselves but not much. I discovered that she wasn't going to get any presents this year for her birthday or Christmas because of financial difficulties. I later found out that the little girl lived in a vehicle with her parents (a worn out tiny camper w/ no electricity, lights, heat or water). I left the event that day with the little girl in my heart & I couldn't stop thinking about her for days to come.
God somehow orchestrated that I see them again because I kept running into them throughout Burbank. I decided to invite them to spend Christmas with my family that year. It was a very unforgettable Christmas because helping this family in need brought a lot of joy and it was clearly shown on Annie's face. Little did I know that she would be spending every single Christmas with me for years to come.
(Foxy, Annie, me, her dad & her mom)
We managed to stay in touch & I very much enjoyed mentoring this little girl & spoiling her with fun outings and adventures. We went to the beach, theme parks, fairs, parks, movies, mall, etc.
Annie was very plugged into Emmanuel Church as well. She went to Sunday school every Sunday and even attended Arts and Nature Camp. When she became a middle schooler, she went to all the middle school retreats with me.
Sadly, when she turned 12, her mom decided she needed to leave the family so without notice, she picked up her things and left Annie and her dad. Still living in the camper, Annie became confused and sad. I reminded her that some people may leave us and we will go through trials but to not let that define who we are. To remember that God always has our backs. "Stay strong my dear, you are precious and valued, God's got a plan, hang tight." I kept telling her.
I signed her up for extra curricular activities. She was involved in cheer-leading and school choir. Watching her perform and becoming more confident was so heart-warming! Her team even won competitions a few times!
I was this cheerleader's number one fan!
Even though she was 2 years behind, she began to excel in school and even got "Student of the Month" several times. She always invited me to her award ceremonies.
I enjoyed rewarding her when she did well especially at school. Her dad didn't mind. Of course, she had to earn everything.
You want your ears pierced? Show me A's and B's on your exams.
Done!
You want your hair dyed blonde at the front? Show me you can read a dozen long chapter books & I want a summary.
Done!
Her biggest accomplishment was what she did for a cell phone. She got straight A's on her report card for an entire year!
We had so much fun together. She called me her big sister.
I loved attending her graduations!
She would roll her eyes at me each time I told her how proud I was of her.
Little did I know, this would be the start of the rebellious, emotional stage that everyone speaks of and dreads. Lord have mercy!
High school was a toughy! Annie was still homeless and mom-less. She eventually moved in with me and I became her unofficial guardian. Through some minor struggles, we always managed to have so much fun together.
She was very helpful as well. She would accompany me to run errands, dog-sat for me, helped me clean my house, she babysat with me and she would secretly leave me sweet little notes all over my home & in my purse.
At school, she had to write an essay about someone who she considers her "hero" and she surprised me by choosing me. I cried.
Things were okay until another traumatic event came her way. She was sexually assaulted by one of her ex-friends. After I forced her to report it, months of visits from law enforcement/detectives followed. Annie hit depression and rebelliousness to the max! She became closed off, began failing every class, not wanting to continue with life, she was very close to dropping out. She pushed everyone away even God and honestly, I feared that she would choose to terminate her life. I remember staying up almost every night with her as we both cried and held each other. I knew teen years were difficult but imagine being a teen and having trauma upon trauma upon trauma happen in your life. It was overwhelming. It slowly became worse. She eventually got involved with the wrong crowds and began making not-so-wise choices. Man, it was so difficult watching her throw her life away. My little girlie was drowning and I couldn't rescue her.
Through a lot of prayer, consistency, therapy and some wonderful ladies at the church who stepped up to mentor her along side of me, Annie got back on the wagon! I am beyond grateful for my church family!!! At this point, she was so far behind in school that she was transferred to Monterrey Continuation School. School was torture but she knew giving up was not an option especially with me on her back. She was NOT ALLOWED to give up.
Fast forward to 2016!
Annie has done a 180! She is excelling in her high school, making positive choices in her life, began attending church again and is even involved in a high school small group at Emmanuel. Her last report card was excellent. She told me that her rebellious stage is over and jokingly apologized for putting me through hell. She even hired her own private tutor to help her with her studies during this winter break (she did that all on her own)!
Annie turned 18 this Dec and told me the other day that she plans on graduating high school and going to college to get her Master's Degree or higher. I see this little girl's motivation and light begin to take flight again. She has been doing excellent this past year and believe it or not, she says she wants to become a Psychologist one day!
After thinking and praying long and hard, I have decided that, instead of becoming a foster mom and adopting a child, I am going to just focus on Annie and helping her transition into adulthood. I am in the process of looking for another 2 bedroom place in or near Burbank and we will be decorating the 2nd room to fit Annie's likes. The foster care thing can wait. Perhaps I'll pursue it in the future when Annie has spread her wings. People say that I saved this girl's life but in reality, she saved mine and is one of my biggest blessings. I thank God for putting her in my life.
This was us a few days ago at Disneyland/California Adventure! (Dec 2016) A good friend of ours hooked us up with tickets!
Annie is the definition of resilient! I hope you got a little encouragement and are reminded that God pursues us hardcore and never gives up on us even when He seems silent or we push Him away. It is proof that He can use even the most broken, messed up people like me for His glory.
God is good my friends.
Annie's story is not over yet! Imagine....from homeless to Harvard! ....or some other cool school.
Like I mentioned, I will be moving next month into a 2 bedroom apartment & would like to raise money to get Annie her dream room (cute bed, desk, decorations etc). She has never had her own room before. If anyone deserves it, she does.
Hope you can help!
:)
Love you people,
Adriana Reyes
(She gave me permission to share this with you all)
I was volunteering at a homeless ministry at Emmanuel Church on 12/05/09 called the "Lord's Kitchen" where we make and serve a 3 course meal to the homeless & less fortunate. I was use to seeing homeless adults but never a homeless child at these events. I approached a little girl who appeared very small, anxious and fragile. She was sitting with her mom and she told me it was her 10th birthday. They told me a little about themselves but not much. I discovered that she wasn't going to get any presents this year for her birthday or Christmas because of financial difficulties. I later found out that the little girl lived in a vehicle with her parents (a worn out tiny camper w/ no electricity, lights, heat or water). I left the event that day with the little girl in my heart & I couldn't stop thinking about her for days to come.
God somehow orchestrated that I see them again because I kept running into them throughout Burbank. I decided to invite them to spend Christmas with my family that year. It was a very unforgettable Christmas because helping this family in need brought a lot of joy and it was clearly shown on Annie's face. Little did I know that she would be spending every single Christmas with me for years to come.
(Foxy, Annie, me, her dad & her mom)We managed to stay in touch & I very much enjoyed mentoring this little girl & spoiling her with fun outings and adventures. We went to the beach, theme parks, fairs, parks, movies, mall, etc.
Annie was very plugged into Emmanuel Church as well. She went to Sunday school every Sunday and even attended Arts and Nature Camp. When she became a middle schooler, she went to all the middle school retreats with me.
Sadly, when she turned 12, her mom decided she needed to leave the family so without notice, she picked up her things and left Annie and her dad. Still living in the camper, Annie became confused and sad. I reminded her that some people may leave us and we will go through trials but to not let that define who we are. To remember that God always has our backs. "Stay strong my dear, you are precious and valued, God's got a plan, hang tight." I kept telling her.
I signed her up for extra curricular activities. She was involved in cheer-leading and school choir. Watching her perform and becoming more confident was so heart-warming! Her team even won competitions a few times!
I was this cheerleader's number one fan! Even though she was 2 years behind, she began to excel in school and even got "Student of the Month" several times. She always invited me to her award ceremonies.
I enjoyed rewarding her when she did well especially at school. Her dad didn't mind. Of course, she had to earn everything.
You want your ears pierced? Show me A's and B's on your exams.
Done!
You want your hair dyed blonde at the front? Show me you can read a dozen long chapter books & I want a summary.
Done!
Her biggest accomplishment was what she did for a cell phone. She got straight A's on her report card for an entire year!
We had so much fun together. She called me her big sister.
I loved attending her graduations!
She would roll her eyes at me each time I told her how proud I was of her.
Little did I know, this would be the start of the rebellious, emotional stage that everyone speaks of and dreads. Lord have mercy!
High school was a toughy! Annie was still homeless and mom-less. She eventually moved in with me and I became her unofficial guardian. Through some minor struggles, we always managed to have so much fun together.
She was very helpful as well. She would accompany me to run errands, dog-sat for me, helped me clean my house, she babysat with me and she would secretly leave me sweet little notes all over my home & in my purse.
At school, she had to write an essay about someone who she considers her "hero" and she surprised me by choosing me. I cried.
Things were okay until another traumatic event came her way. She was sexually assaulted by one of her ex-friends. After I forced her to report it, months of visits from law enforcement/detectives followed. Annie hit depression and rebelliousness to the max! She became closed off, began failing every class, not wanting to continue with life, she was very close to dropping out. She pushed everyone away even God and honestly, I feared that she would choose to terminate her life. I remember staying up almost every night with her as we both cried and held each other. I knew teen years were difficult but imagine being a teen and having trauma upon trauma upon trauma happen in your life. It was overwhelming. It slowly became worse. She eventually got involved with the wrong crowds and began making not-so-wise choices. Man, it was so difficult watching her throw her life away. My little girlie was drowning and I couldn't rescue her.
Through a lot of prayer, consistency, therapy and some wonderful ladies at the church who stepped up to mentor her along side of me, Annie got back on the wagon! I am beyond grateful for my church family!!! At this point, she was so far behind in school that she was transferred to Monterrey Continuation School. School was torture but she knew giving up was not an option especially with me on her back. She was NOT ALLOWED to give up.
Fast forward to 2016!
Annie has done a 180! She is excelling in her high school, making positive choices in her life, began attending church again and is even involved in a high school small group at Emmanuel. Her last report card was excellent. She told me that her rebellious stage is over and jokingly apologized for putting me through hell. She even hired her own private tutor to help her with her studies during this winter break (she did that all on her own)!
Annie turned 18 this Dec and told me the other day that she plans on graduating high school and going to college to get her Master's Degree or higher. I see this little girl's motivation and light begin to take flight again. She has been doing excellent this past year and believe it or not, she says she wants to become a Psychologist one day!
After thinking and praying long and hard, I have decided that, instead of becoming a foster mom and adopting a child, I am going to just focus on Annie and helping her transition into adulthood. I am in the process of looking for another 2 bedroom place in or near Burbank and we will be decorating the 2nd room to fit Annie's likes. The foster care thing can wait. Perhaps I'll pursue it in the future when Annie has spread her wings. People say that I saved this girl's life but in reality, she saved mine and is one of my biggest blessings. I thank God for putting her in my life.
This was us a few days ago at Disneyland/California Adventure! (Dec 2016) A good friend of ours hooked us up with tickets!Annie is the definition of resilient! I hope you got a little encouragement and are reminded that God pursues us hardcore and never gives up on us even when He seems silent or we push Him away. It is proof that He can use even the most broken, messed up people like me for His glory.
God is good my friends.
Annie's story is not over yet! Imagine....from homeless to Harvard! ....or some other cool school.
Like I mentioned, I will be moving next month into a 2 bedroom apartment & would like to raise money to get Annie her dream room (cute bed, desk, decorations etc). She has never had her own room before. If anyone deserves it, she does.
Hope you can help!
:)
Love you people,
Adriana Reyes
Organiser
Adriana Reyes
Organiser
Burbank, CA