Parent Testimonials of Christian Troubled Teens

Testimony of the Parents of Jake

Praise God!!! Praise God!!!! Praise God for everything that He has done in our
life. We can't take any credit for anything that has happened in the life of our
 
family. We are here because of the Lord Jesus Christ, because of His love, His
grace and His mercy. He taught us a lot of things, He taught us how to humble
ourselves before Him and to obey Him faithfully. He  taught us to be patient,
 to persevere, to endure.He taught us  how to surrender fully to Him and to
completely depend on Him, apart from Him we are nothing and we cannot do
anything; but with Him and in Him everything is possible.

Please continue reading the Arsanneo Family's Testimony...

Testimony of the Parents of Curtis

Testimony of the trip and decision for ALA.

Curtis, our 17 year old son, was running us ragged.  I googled “Christian Boarding Schools for Troubled Teens” and ALA came up.  As I read the website I thought I was reading something designed just for us.  We called and talked to Marcus.  We talked for a good half hour as we described our son and Marcus talked about ALA.

That sat in our brains for a couple days and I talked to our pastor to see if he had heard of it.  He hadn’t but had some great words to say about God giving us wisdom when we ask for it, and that when we lift our concerns to Him, “He is all over it”. 

I also called Focus on the Family to see if they knew anything about ALA.  They did not have the resources to be a referral source.  So….nothing.

A couple days later I decided that if we were to really consider this as an option, then we had to go visit.  My husband was not able to go, but told me I could go.  Mapquest said 605 miles to St. George.  I called a friend to see if she could go to help drive and be another set of eyes and ears.  She returned the call and said that she didn’t feel that God wanted her to go.  Ok.  Another friend was sick.  At that point, it was Saturday evening and I wanted to leave in the morning.  Also, there was a winter storm expected that could delay the trip back to Denver.  I called another friend who I hadn’t talked to in a few months.  I explained the situation and she said she immediately felt that God wanted her to go.  We got our prayer support going, and we left at 7am on Sunday.  There were possible winter road conditions over the mountains, but we never experienced them.  We had a totally flawless drive to St. George.  We were in awe of the beautiful scenery in Utah.  We had praise music going and we were filled with peace and expectation of God’s provision.

Monday morning we visited ALA.  We met with Marcus and Dave, toured the building, and talked to one of the students.  We were equally thrilled with what we saw and heard.  Marcus and Dave obviously loved the kids.  This place was full of the Holy Spirit.  They explained the program and answered our questions.  At one point we turned to each other at the same time and both said “Wow” at the same time.  This place was full of love and seemed just what we needed for Curtis.

We had lunch in town and started the trip back, trying to take a bite out of the long drive.  The weather forecast was for rain/snow.  Again, we had no problem at all in our 5 hour trip up to Green River.  We stayed there Monday night.  The front desk staff said they were expecting snow over night.  Speaking of nights, both nights of the trip I was blessed with good sleep, waking occasionally to find praise songs going through my head.  Thanks Lord!  We woke on Tuesday morning and opened the drapes to find….blue skies and sunshine.  We got in the car and headed east, looking at a large cloud bank over Colorado.  As we zoomed east over the barren landscape, we were full of peace and joy.  I wish we had the spiritual eyes to see the heavenly host surrounding our car. 

When we left on Sunday, the forecast for Tuesday was 1-2 feet of snow over most of I-70 through Colorado.  We took provisions in case we couldn’t get back.  So as we headed east, we weren’t sure what we would encounter.  Every time we went under a cloud, we had about 30 seconds of flurries, then the sun would come out.  This happened over and over.  I was wearing sunglasses as I drove over Vail Pass!  We got back home with absolutely no problem and singing God’s praises.

The answer was clear.

End of Curtis' Parents Testimony (March 2011)

Testimony of The Parents of Mark Goode

Bob and I just wanted to say thank you for everything you are doing for our child Mark Goode. From the time I first heard Wendy Riddles voice on the other end of the phone, me asking for help I knew God wanted my child there. Wendy counseled me through 2 and 1/2 months of worry about my child being out on the streets. She told me you might not be the right place but just to pray about it and God will provide. Hearing her story inspired me. She told me you would accept my child exactly where he was at, just like Christ accepts us.

The first words that came out of my child's mouth on the first phone call home was "I can't believe they accepted me for me" because we never wanted to accept him for who he was.  You guys did and that has allowed him to open up to this Christian Boarding school.We saw a different kid this week. He was a man in my eyes. There was never any awkward moments we just all loved on each other. We never really discussed any wrong doings on Marks part but defiantly on ours. Mark brought it up several times that he was sorry and we told him that we were glad this happened because God may have sent him here not just for him and his family ,but maybe to help someone at the academy. He told us he loves helping others and he has become a leader. We never knew he was a leader because we never allowed him to lead. What a blessing it was to see him in conversation with other parents telling them why the new program was a good change for the academy. We just stood there in awe! This is our child a mature adult, all without us doing it.

Mark thinks he's doing this himself but we know different. You can't change without God and He is the one changing him. He may not realize that for several years, who knows, we just know that the seeds you are planting there and the ones we spread at home some day will blossom and God has great plans for him. We only brought up God one time during our stay there and Mark was talking about Zac and said "he doesn't believe" and my husband Bob said, " I challenge you to ask God to reveal Himself if He is real" and Mark said "What if He hits me right in the face?" Those were the only words said about God but the answer speaks for itself. Mark truly loves everyone there. There isn't one that he says he doesn't like. He told us, "thank you for sending me here." I didn't think we would ever hear those words, but praise God to Him be the glory. Mark never once ask to break a rule or even give a hint that he wanted too. We are so proud of him.

Thank you again for all your hard work this week was one of the best weeks of our lives. We are so excited and on fire to share this information to everyone we know. We are so proud of Mark and his community that is why we had to video tape him because we are proud. Wow, for a long time I didn't think I would hear those words out of my mouth when it came to Mark. We always wondered why Mark had such a low self esteem. We never told him he wasn't good but we never told him he was good. There is a big difference in not saying it and showing it in our actions. I always thought that if we said "that was stupid" and not "you are stupid" there was a difference. I have learned there isn't a difference because the kid hears "you are stupid" any way. We are certainly changing the way we parent at home with Mark's sister and brother 13 and 11.

Parenting is fun again and it is wonderful to watch them make bad and good choice sand learn from them. We can't thank you enough. We have a huge prayer list praying for the staff and Mark everyday. If you guys need anything we have a lot of people that may be willing to donate things. Let us know. We believe in what you are doing there. God bless you

End of The Goode's Testimonial

Testimony of Karen Lindsay (Parent)

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the most incredible, loving, transformed relationship and extreme weekend home visit!!! It was a love fest from beginning to end!!!! We had great conversations, spend every minute together, and sat as a family at Temple, and THAT was for me the sweetest of all!! You've not just transformed one sad, hurting boy, you've changed us all! Isn't God able.....!!!!!!!!!!!! With love, thanks and a truly grateful heart, Karen Lindsay

End of Karen Lindsay Testimonial (September 2008)

Testimony of Stephen McGinley (Parent)

Thank you so much for the awesome conference last week. It was so good to spend time with Jonathan, meet the dedicated staff of ALA and also get to connect with other parents who have similar stories to tell. I was especially impacted by Saturday's final session. I greatly appreciate the time spent that you spent with us in the word as well as your insight and conviction on some hard, but important truths. I believe that Father was working in a mighty way throughout this time. I also believe that because you were willing to talk about your own life and your dad that other people were able to take the risk of being real. Thank you for that gift. God has you in a much needed place of ministry for which we are benefiting. I am praying for you and your dad and your family.

Peace in Christ, Stephen McGinley

End of Stephen McGinley's Testimonial (April 2008)