Wings of Grace: A Story of Survival and Surrender

Amberlee was primarily raised by her grandparents. “They made sure I ate, slept, and went to school but I never felt like I could really talk to them,” she said.

Even so, she has early memories of attending Vacation Bible School and church with her dad, who planted seeds of faith in her young heart.

At 18, searching for independence, Amberlee moved to the reservation. There, she found herself drawn into addiction and a destructive environment. She lived in her late grandfather’s abandoned trailer—drinking, using, and partying with others caught in the same cycle. “There were times I’d open my Bible, not knowing what I was doing with it… I now know God was drawing me to Him.”

During this time, she entered a deeply abusive relationship. Trapped behind locked gates without a phone, she cooked, cleaned, and feared for her life. Eventually, after a traumatic experience, she fled, scaling a fence and running for safety. A stranger gave her a ride back to her trailer, but fear and desperation lingered. That’s when she called her dad and asked to come back to Phoenix.

Back home, she discovered she was pregnant, but the addiction still had a grip on her. She left her father’s house, bouncing between programs and staying with friends who enabled her habits. “I wasn’t whole after what happened,” she said. “I carried this baby, but I didn’t know what to do.”

She continued to use substances throughout her pregnancy. When her son was born, DCS got involved. “They laid him on my chest, and I was terrified. "That fear drove her back to her dad’s home, where she entered a season of parenting classes, drug testing, and supervised care.

During this time, she began writing letters to her long-lost boyfriend whom she hadn’t spoken to in years. “I told him what happened,” she said. “We started writing again, and when he got out of prison, we got back together.”

They tried to rebuild, working, getting an apartment, and raising her son together. Things were going well. During that time, Amberlee became pregnant again with their daughter.

But old wounds remained. “He was still hurt,” she admitted. “We tried to talk through it, but we were both still carrying trauma.” Their relationship eventually fractured when he returned to prison, leaving her to care for her two young children alone.

When the relationship ended for good, her daughter was just five months old. Amberlee returned once again to her father’s house, tired, overwhelmed, and unsure of what to do next. Life there came with structure and expectations. "He was telling me how to parent, what to do,” she recalled. “I didn’t want to be there, but I knew I needed to be.”

Trying to hold things together, she relapsed. “I drank at his house,” she admitted. “And he knew. He didn’t get mad… he just said, ‘What are we going to do?’” That question became a turning point.

Her dad began researching options—not just shelters, but places where she could heal and raise her children. “Maybe God was speaking to him,” she said.

He sent her a text with a link to House of Refuge Sunnyslope, “check this out,” it read.

She made the call right away to ask if they had any openings. They told her to come in for an application and a UA (urinalysis). She did but she had been drinking the night before and failed the test. Still, she showed up.

“They told me I’d have to stay clean and come back to test again. It was right before Christmas. Everyone around me was drinking, but I knew I had to hold it together.” And she did.

A few days later, she returned, passed the test, and was accepted into the program.

“When I first walked in, I was still in fight-or-flight mode,” she recalled. “I didn’t even know if I was going to make it. I was just desperate. But I had a place. I had two young kids.

And for the first time, I had hope.”

"The early days were hard. She was trying to care for her children while battling her own health and stress. Holding down a job felt impossible. 'I was always sick, or my kids were sick, and my mind was spinning with fear What if I can’t find a job? What if I can’t pay rent? What if I get kicked out?'" But slowly, healing began.

She joined Bible studies and parenting classes. She met with staff and mentors who helped her work through past trauma and discovered what it meant to parent while sober. Melissa, a staff member, became a key part of her journey, helping her build healthy routines, set boundaries, and understand her children’s needs.

She also found spiritual restoration. “I had that Bible back on the reservation, but I didn’t know what to do with it,” she said. “Now, I was learning who God is, how He loves, and that I’m not alone. I started to experience real transformation.”

Amberlee was baptized in March 2024 at HRS and began attending Phoenix Bible Church—first online, then in person. She started setting boundaries, practicing self-worth, and walking in what she called “daily surrender.”

She found encouragement through mentors like Eva, Suzanna and Debbie, whose classes helped her grow in confidence, identity, and self-love. “Debbie's class on boundaries and love languages helped me not just love myself but understand how to love others, too. Especially my kids.”

For the first time in her adult life, she experienced consistency.

• A Routine.

• Peace.

• Purpose.

  
  

“I get up, get my kids ready, go to work… that’s big for me,” she said. “I’ve never had that before.”

Now, nearly two years later, Amberlee is graduating from House of Refuge Sunnyslope. She’s working and preparing to move into her own apartment.

Her goal is simple: To stay steady.

“I don’t want to rush anything,” she said. “I want to keep this routine. I want stability for me and for my kids.”

When asked what the program has meant to her, her eyes filled with tears.

"Transformation,” she said. "Each week, I was working on myself. Like a butterfly. I grew and changed along the way.”

She stayed. She healed. She overcame. And now, she’s ready to fly.

Thank you for being part of this mission. Because of you, moms like Amberlee don’t just find shelter—they find purpose, hope and a bright future.