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Joyful TC choir radiates women’s freedom and hope
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By Lisa Hall-Wilson
Teen Challenge GTA women’s centre held a spring banquet on Thursday, April 29, at the Embassy Grand Convention Centre in Brampton, Ont. Over 500 people were in attendance in the Greater Toronto Area to hear the newly formed Teen Challenge women’s choir, guest emcee Moira Brown of 100 Huntley St., keynote speaker Laurie Turcotte of 680News, and moving testimonies.
“Your hearts are going to be touched,” promised Moira Brown as the evening began. “You will be blessed beyond measure when you hear their stories.”
“My chains are gone. I’ve been set free,” the women sang with joy.
Performing three songs over the course of the evening, the passion and joy that has become a hallmark of the Teen Challenge men’s choir radiated from the women also. One mother heard her daughter sing and share her testimony for the first time. “Wow! We’re so proud of her. She fought so hard to stay well for her boys – she’s come such a long way.”
Carol DiDonato, choir director, says the choir is a blessing. “They’ve worked very hard to get to a place where they can sing these songs from their hearts. Hearing them is a beautiful experience, especially when you learn what they’ve come through to get here.”
Three students shared their testimonies, and the wide range of circumstances that led the women to addictions with drugs and alcohol demonstrate that substance abuse knows no geographic or social barriers. “The people at Teen Challenge knew what I was feeling and where I was at,” shared one student.
(L-R) Tara Saunders (TC GTA Director of Development) Laurie Turcotte and Moira Brown.
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So many of the women at Teen Challenge GTA have stories that begin with childhood abuse and emotional trauma, and keynote speaker Laurie Turcotte is no different. Ms. Turcotte shared of her own troubled childhood with an abusive and angry father, and sexual abuse by an individual outside her family. Her struggle with addiction began at twelve when she started using alcohol to escape the brutal reality her home had become. “I believed every harsh word he said to me,” Ms. Turcotte shared, speaking of her father.
When her father threatened to kill her she knew he was capable of murder, and moved out. This is when God really began to chase her. She promised God, “I don’t know what You want from me, but I’m going to make You hate me the way I hate myself.”
Despite a crime spree that raced across three provinces, promiscuous behaviour, time with a biker gang, and the consequences of that lifestyle, God continued to place Christians in her path in extraordinary ways.
She couldn’t understand why God would want her, what value He saw in her, but decided, “If anyone could fix me, Jesus could.” She committed her heart to the Lord and started on a new path that saw her attend Bible College and even make the Dean’s list. After a lot of heartache and hard work, Ms. Turcotte says, “God worked through the mess inside me.”
Photo by: Dean Crawford / Teen Challenge |
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