Free’s Story
Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve had a deep passion for helping others.
Growing up as a latchkey kid in the 1980s, I was mainly raised by my father—but I often stayed wherever someone would let me sleep for the night. My dad struggled with addiction, and I knew all too well what it felt like not knowing where my next meal would come from.
Yet even in those hard times, I found ways to share with those in need—even if it meant I went without.
From a young age, I felt drawn to the elderly. In the apartment complex where I lived, I would help my older neighbors take out their trash, feed the birds, and listen to their stories from the past. I loved them deeply. I still remember sneaking through the window of one elderly neighbor’s apartment when she was away—just so I could clean her home, which desperately needed it. I was in seventh grade at the time.
But eventually, the world got ahold of me. I spent years searching for something to fill the emptiness I felt inside. I made choices that led me down the wrong path—into toxic, abusive relationships that pulled me further from the Lord. Before I knew it, I was a single mother of six children, carrying a broken heart that only God could heal.
Though I had always known of the Lord, I didn’t truly have a relationship with Him. That changed in 2013 when I rededicated my life to Christ and began my healing journey. In 2017, God blessed me with my husband Mark and two beautiful bonus children. We later had two more children together and adopted a baby boy—making our family complete with 11 children and 3 grandchildren.
Today, I’m overwhelmed by God’s goodness and grace. Together, my husband and I are committed to leaving the world better than we found it. We live to serve—whether it’s caring for widows, feeding the hungry, rescuing children from trafficking, or helping free others from the bondage of debt. Everything we do is rooted in love, because of the love Christ first showed us.