Hazel grew up on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation in South Dakota. When her family moved to the town of Dupree, she experienced prejudice for the first time. At a young age she ended up getting married to a non-Native man in order to get away from abuse. The result was not what she was expecting.

I finally turned my life to God. I got on my knees and I cried and it seemed like another year went by, just not getting His presence back in my life. I think for all the misery and the shame and the name that I disgraced, began to haunt me and to really eat away at my soul, and I even thought that God was on the other side of the universe at times, and little did I know that He’s slowly weaning me off in a way out of all that substance use and to unwash my mind of the world, and just the crying and the pleading was really the work of God once again in my life.

“I used to sit on the hillsides back when we had no electricity or running water in our community I grew up in. And I used to gaze into the sky at night and the only friends I had were my dogs. I would sit there on a hill. I’d wonder where, and why and all these things. My sense of belonging… and all these questions were always there.”

Boyce got in trouble with the law and it landed him in prison. Thankfully, something happened that would change the direction of his life. And even though he would be back in jail again, it wasn’t because of trouble, but to share with others what changed his life.

Our choices have consequences. Deborah knows that well. We can get ourselves into trouble in a hurry when we’re not careful… and the impact can last a lifetime. But there was one particularly important decision which she made that would change her life forever… and she’s never regretted it.

Have you ever felt rejected because of the color of your skin? Today’s storyteller knows exactly how that feels. It’s bad enough when that happens, but when it’s your own relatives who turn you away, it takes it to another level. Where does one turn for love and acceptance? Thankfully, there was grandfather.

What made him decide to put the knife away? What was it that changed his mind about ending the abuse this way? In this final episode, we’ll hear the answer. It’s a remarkable story… and proof that no matter how dark the situation, there really is hope when we turn to God.

The abuse had to end. Tim went from thinking about taking his own life – suicide – to taking the life of his abuser. He prepared himself mentally and physically. He planned. He was ready. It was time… and so began the longest night of his life.

Tim grew up in a military home. It was also an abusive home. The physical and mental suffering that he with his mother and siblings endured is difficult to imagine. This is part one of a three-part story… of a father and son’s remarkable journey from darkness into the light.

Family was important to Florence. But when she decided to follow Jesus she found it cost her some of her most valued relationships. They walked away when she would come to visit. It was very painful. But then she found a new family.