Friday, March 27, 2015
The Journey of Recovery is not always easy.
Leialoha is making progress on her journey. Before the Oasis she was in the news is much different light. Marianas Variety reported the case this way. KUAM was even more graphic Little by little we are seeing good things happen for both Leialoha and her husband Sterling. Everyday they are working in jobs we sponsor through the Dream Project. Leialoha set up Proshine business which is a family business done mainly by her husband and brother-in-law. A couple more days each week she is selling Chili Dogs to customers at the Oasis. Hope is building and opportunities continue to open up.
The promise of Jesus is that He makes all things new. Restoration does not ignore our faults but courageously faces them boldly and makes changes that are required to live differently.
Please pray for this family that the wounds of the past will be healed fully.
Sunday the GUAMPDN added this article:
When LeiAloha Crisostomo, 34, first tried methamphetamine, she said she was young and going through an experimental phase. "I started when I was 19 and it just progressed to being habitual," she said.
Her habitual drug use eventually led her to lose custody of her five children after both she and her husband, Sterling Alika Crisostomo, were charged with child abuse in September. The case is ongoing.
LeiAloha Crisostomo was one of about three dozen people Thursday who celebrated milestones on their journeys to recovery at Oasis Empowerment Center.
The empowerment center, founded in 2004, provides counseling and support services to help people overcome their addictions and get out of their negative situations. It also offers training to help clients find employment after leaving a program. LeiAloha Crisostomo on Thursday celebrated six months of sobriety.
Downward spiral
In the middle of last year, after close to 15 years of on-and-off drug use, LeiAloha Crisostomo said that's when her addiction started to spiral out of control. She lost her job and became homeless, she said. Allegations of child abuse arose after her eldest daughter reportedly contacted family members in the mainland asking for food. The girl had told authorities that she and her four siblings would "eat it spoiled because they were hungry," court documents state.
David Camacho Jr., Sterling Crisostomo's brother-in-law, filed the report with police. The couple was indicted in September on allegations of felony child abuse, misdemeanor child abuse and failure to provide as a misdemeanor, according to news files. The indictment accuses the couple of endangering the welfare of their five children, news files state. Courts imposed a stay on the couple from seeing their children, ages 4 to 14, pending approval from Child Protective Services, news files state. The stay was lifted in late December pending approval from Child Protective Services. Superior Court of Guam Judge James Canto also lifted the stay between the husband and wife, which allowed them to talk and see each other, as well as contact Camacho, news files state. LeiAloha Crisostomo said she and her husband were granted custody of their youngest child in February. The couple will have to prove they are capable of providing a safe home environment for their children before CPS grants them custody of all five, LeiAloha Crisostomo said.
"CPS said the only thing holding us back is just a stable home," she said. LeiAloha Crisostomo said they both completed parenting classes and are on the path toward recovery. Sterling Crisostomo is currently enrolled in a rehabilitation program at Lighthouse Recovery Center, a program provided by the Salvation Army. Lighthouse helps homeless men with substance abuse issues recover and become productive members of their family and the community, according to the organization's website. "Since we've been in the programs, we've never tested positive; we've never used drugs," Sterling Crisostomo said.
Challenges
For LeiAloha, the most challenging part of the recovery process was admitting she had a problem and needed treatment.
"I came into Oasis thinking that I didn't have a problem and that I can do it on my own, but I was wrong," she said. "I was really wrong." She said those struggling with substance abuse should "take it one day at a time and really just give it to God." Sterling Crisostomo said his run with methamphetamine started after his mom died when he was just 11 years old and living in Hawaii. "That was the first drug I tried," he said.
He said he eventually met and married LeiAloha Crisostomo and tried to keep it away from his family life. "I got married, and I tried not to have it be a part of my family," he said. The Lighthouse recovery program helped him gain awareness of the different triggers to his drug use, he said.
"I'm aware of potential dangers, what to stay away from and who to stay away from," he said. "The program for me is a really good program." He will be finishing his program in a few weeks, he said, and will work to remain drug-free.
Sterling Crisostomo said both he and his wife are hoping to have a retrial and that the charges against them will be dismissed. "I don't know how these accusations came up," he said. He said the allegations are false. Sterling Crisostomo said his daughter was having a conversation with his sister-in-law and had asked her to send food from the states.
His sister-in-law replied saying it would be spoiled by the time it arrived in Guam, he said. He said his daughter jokingly replied she would still like the food. "Anyone that really knows me knows my kids were never neglected, even though I struggled with drugs," he said. He said whether or not the case goes through a retrial isn't of importance. "What's important is getting my family back and living a drug-free and productive life," Sterling Crisostomo said.
All things are Possible
We really are so blessed to be a part of these miracles happening in our Ladies lives.
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Experience is the Best Teacher
Have you heard that ‘experience’ is
the best teacher? Well it’s just not true. What is true is that hands-on
experience can be a practical or even more effective training tool making
abstract learning tangible, but experience alone, especially what we are forced
to learn through the school of hard knocks is probably one of the worst teachers
of all. Sure we learn things, even important life lessons like, “I’ll never do
that again!” or “Damn, that Hurt!” or worse yet, “This is impossible!”
What if my Dad taught me some of
the important lessons that instead I ended up only learning through this school
of hard knocks? I believe that I could
be a lot further along and even more effective, more prosperous, or more
successful than I am right now. There is a principle of getting a head start
advantage that does seem to work in a lot of different arenas. I hope that the
way I parent is helping my children reach further than I ever have. I know I am
seeing a lot of good things in my children’s lives already. One daughter has
already “traveled the world on her toes” with ballet, and I remember the day I
worked with her to teach her to skip. Now she is finishing as Masters in
Counseling Psychology and is currently developing a curriculum to integrate
movement into counseling therapy. Another daughter is committed to changing the
world by using her competencies with Sign Language to promote greater
resilience among developing communities. I remember telling funny bedtime
stories and praying with her for favor and success to increase in her life. Our
third daughter is a strong advocate working to empower victims of abuse, and
there were many times I would pick her up and carry her on my shoulders as she
would remind me that “She was only little.” Such wonderful memories of holding
each of my children in my arms and cuddling. Our son has served in the
Caribbean as well as Papua New Guinea to improve access to clean drinking water
as an integral part of spiritual outreach while only yesterday, I was the
monster in the middle of the trampoline in our frequent wrestling tumble. I am
confident our youngest son will be doing similar things as he steps into his
professional development himself. We
still joke and laugh together as we play our games. I hope that the wisdom I
share and the opportunities I provide though my parenting style equips each of
my kids with the practical ability to live abundant lives on purpose. Also I
pray this for the ones who we have been working with in our ministry because we
are committed to making disciples who are world-changers.
Sadly, so many people seem to bump
their way through life more like a pin-ball bouncing from one thing to another,
sometimes racking up points, other times getting a bonus, until the inevitable
eventually happens and their ball ends up in the gutter and the sign lights up
“GAME OVER.” Bouncing through life as a pin-ball is more or less how
experience teaches us. We soon learn
where the most points are wracked up and once in while we nudge things along as
best as we can as long as we don't get disqualified for a “tilt” of the
machine. Like the rest, I’ve learned to cope and to adapt to a variety of
situations. I’ve learned to roll though life and respond as effectively as I
can with life’s ups and downs. Even if life gives me lemons, I’ve learned that
I can make pretty good lemonade. I guess you could say that in a lot of ways,
I’m an overcomer.
In my own life, I am now learning that
there are a lot of ideas that formed my beliefs were not taught to me directly
as much as they were formed through the way I interpreted my experiences.
Lessons I gained through my experiences got built into the internal framework
of my life. Many of the principles I learned early in my childhood have been
silently influencing my life in some way, ever since I was a little boy. Only
now am I realizing that some of these beliefs or convictions are not actually
truths at all. They were only true in the way I interpreted my experience but
not necessarily absolute truths.
Underlying beliefs or perspectives
are called paradigms. Others explain these as the lens through which we
see and view the world we live in. Everything that happens in our life tends to
get referenced back to the original data and conclusions that we formed. Most
of the time, we analyize each of our everyday experiences in a way that either
validates or reinforces our foundational beliefs. Those are the ones that we
keep to help strengthen our position or inform our decisions and actions. We need these to validate our behavior
because without overarching guiding principles, we have no foundational basis
to move through life. This is our internal gravity that gives us the ability to
make progress to journey through life. Without such guiding principles we would
essentially be lost in space, floating through life with no sense of being,
purpose or destiny.
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Spiritual Harmonics
We have been challenged recently to consider parallels in the Spirit. Often times God is doing things in similar ways in different locations. We are so excited to be able to claim what we see that God is doing in one place or in one person and simply say, I WANT THAT. God ignites faith as we share testimony. The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy. So any work or activity in the spirit realm that is proclaimed out loud, has a creative dimension to it as it is given voice. Life and death are in the power of the tongue and in the same way that God spoke the worlds into being though words, we speak, we decree, we declare and God's creative power is released into the situations we are in. Its as if heaven is released into our arena.
Understanding is seen first in the spirit and as that understanding is in full agreement and alignment with the nature of God, brings forth His life in creative power. Isn't that amazing? That is what truth is. When ideas are fully reflective and manifest the character and nature of God. These truths are powerful and liberating. His truth sets us free.
Sadly, lies have similar power and influence in negative ways. Lies can spread if we believe them. We can move into truth or we can move into the reality of a lie. Not all lies are void of authentic experience. The enemy is the father of lies. He uses various experiences to authenticate his spiritual influence but transactions in his economy are based on counterfeits. People can be fooled and even proud of owning designer labeled knock-offs. They are still lies, quality reproductions but genuine fakes just the same.
I am amazed at how many people are living in some kind of bondage all caused by believing in a lie. Politicians often make promises that are founded on false information, false data, and can sway governments and populations into united bondage and destruction. Consider Germany and how it was swayed to believe that the economic challenges the nation was facing in the 1930's was due to Jewish banking practices. They were then swayed through lies to agree to annihilate 6 million Jewish people in the holocaust.
The only way to really distinguish truth from error is to invite Holy Spirit to reveal truth in every situation. The Holy Spirit leads us into all truth. Jesus speaks truth. His Word is truth. His truth sets us free. To be liberated from the captivity that we find ourselves in, requires a fresh encounter with TRUTH.
s
Understanding is seen first in the spirit and as that understanding is in full agreement and alignment with the nature of God, brings forth His life in creative power. Isn't that amazing? That is what truth is. When ideas are fully reflective and manifest the character and nature of God. These truths are powerful and liberating. His truth sets us free.
Sadly, lies have similar power and influence in negative ways. Lies can spread if we believe them. We can move into truth or we can move into the reality of a lie. Not all lies are void of authentic experience. The enemy is the father of lies. He uses various experiences to authenticate his spiritual influence but transactions in his economy are based on counterfeits. People can be fooled and even proud of owning designer labeled knock-offs. They are still lies, quality reproductions but genuine fakes just the same.
I am amazed at how many people are living in some kind of bondage all caused by believing in a lie. Politicians often make promises that are founded on false information, false data, and can sway governments and populations into united bondage and destruction. Consider Germany and how it was swayed to believe that the economic challenges the nation was facing in the 1930's was due to Jewish banking practices. They were then swayed through lies to agree to annihilate 6 million Jewish people in the holocaust.
The only way to really distinguish truth from error is to invite Holy Spirit to reveal truth in every situation. The Holy Spirit leads us into all truth. Jesus speaks truth. His Word is truth. His truth sets us free. To be liberated from the captivity that we find ourselves in, requires a fresh encounter with TRUTH.
s
Friday, September 7, 2012
Every Joint Supplies
I've always wondered about the choice of words Paul used: He
makes the whole body fit together and unites it through the support of
every joint. As each and every part does its job, he makes the body grow
so that it builds itself up in love. Ephesians 4:16. A joint, of course, is the place where two bones come together. Joints tend to be weaker than bones but are essential to supply the essential articulation to promote functionality. Some bones have tremendous strength all by themselves. But by themselves, bones are unable to accomplish much independently. After I broke my elbow, I have begun to understand the importance of proper relationship and interaction. In the church, strength and functionality is vitally dependent upon how well each person coordinates with each other.
God uses the body to teach us many things. I have seen the impact of stress fractures, and compound broken bones. But far more painful than a broken bone is arthritis and its ability to hinder proper movement of a joint. Strong and healthy bones are important but so is the joint. The physical body has some important correlations to specific spiritual dimensions of a person's life. The right arm is the arm of authority, while the left arm is the arm of destiny. Hands relate to ministry and work. Feet relate to our walk and our stance in faith. Our knees relate to prayer. Paul later talks to the Ephesians about the importance of spiritual armor to equip us to be warriors and protect particular parts of our body.
Salvation is essential to protect our heads. Transformation as our minds are renewed with the thoughts of God's heart is key to being able to grow in the life of Christ.
Why do
God uses the body to teach us many things. I have seen the impact of stress fractures, and compound broken bones. But far more painful than a broken bone is arthritis and its ability to hinder proper movement of a joint. Strong and healthy bones are important but so is the joint. The physical body has some important correlations to specific spiritual dimensions of a person's life. The right arm is the arm of authority, while the left arm is the arm of destiny. Hands relate to ministry and work. Feet relate to our walk and our stance in faith. Our knees relate to prayer. Paul later talks to the Ephesians about the importance of spiritual armor to equip us to be warriors and protect particular parts of our body.
Salvation is essential to protect our heads. Transformation as our minds are renewed with the thoughts of God's heart is key to being able to grow in the life of Christ.
Why do
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)