Felessia Ayala found a place to belong when she stopped using drugs to fill the emptiness in her heart. Every attempt to escape her emptiness hurt everyone she cared about. Her road to recovery began when she recognized her life consisted of only pain. STCH Ministries Homes for Families (HFF) supplied the resources she needed to restore her family.

During an attempted suicide, Felessia experienced a dream she believes came from God. Surrounded by absolute blackness, two roads appeared. She also saw God’s hands pointing, indicating the choice was hers to make. Despite the drug-induced stupor, she recognized her destructive path was because of her own decisions. She was not at rock bottom, but she returned to what she calls the “insanity” of addiction and homelessness. When she had exhausted all her options; she realized she wanted to do better, to be better.

Felessia’s mom helped her move into Restoration House Ministries (RHM) in Victoria. RHM’s residential program is dedicated to the service of women who desire freedom from addiction and bondage. One day, during group prayer time, Felessia felt God’s love surround her for the first time in her life. The love and acceptance she had received transformed her, she felt accepted and precious. She responded to God’s grace with surrender – she no longer hid from life nor traveled the road of destruction. Felessia accepted God’s gift of eternal life and forgiveness of sin, which was bought through Jesus’ sacrifice and sealed with His resurrection from the dead. She came to new life that day.

Felessia wanted to move to HFF but the fathers of her children did not trust her with their care. She took the matter to God in prayer and He moved in the hearts of the men. Circumstances changed for one of the fathers and he agreed to return the two oldest boys, James and Cameron, to Felessia on the same day she moved to HFF. Her boys held on to the anger and hurt they felt towards their mom. Felessia knew she had been healed from the past and now it was her sons’ turn. The support of staff, other moms and the parenting curriculum at HFF gave Felessia the strength and skills she needed to listen and allow her boys to express their feelings. The three sat in her walk-in closet, cried and prayed together. The presence of God encircled them and it was in that prayer closet their hearts knitted together as a family.

Three months later, her dream for a restored family came true. Zachary and Mackenzie’s father reached out to Felessia, as he noticed positive changes she had made and wanted to discuss reunification with her and the children. For the first time, Felessia had all four children with her, under her protection.

Felessia is now in the “launching” phase of the HFF program. She works part-time at a local hotel, recently purchased a car and has begun classes at Victoria Beauty College. The decision to become a hairstylist came from a forgotten dream she had as a young girl. Through this process, God has restored her hope and dream for a successful future.

“God is my provider. I’ve learned this through my time here,” she said. As a part of the HFF program, Felessia’s finances, physical needs and spiritual needs were met so she could focus on being a mom. Rebuilding relationships and creating new habits took courage and commitment from everyone involved. Today, Felessia and her family give God the glory for His work in their lives.

In September of 1994, Dale Pogue thought he knew God’s plan for his life. He had been pastoring First Baptist Taft for the last 9 years, and his wife, Ann, loved her job as the school nurse for Taft ISD.  They lived in a nice parsonage and did not envision God calling them to serve anywhere else. However, God had a bigger plan for both the Pogues and STCH Ministries.

Unexpectedly, Dale received a phone call from STCH Ministries President, Dr. Jack Green. Dr. Green wanted to invite Dale to lunch with Vice President, Homer Hanna, and himself. Dale “could not turn down such an invite” so he told them he would be there. He arrived at lunch with no idea what the meeting was about, except maybe to discuss his recent nomination to serve on the Board of Directors. After they finished eating, Dr. Green began to share his dream of a ministry to help strengthen families: a way to help them before they reached the point of separation. He envisioned working with families in the surrounding churches, their pastors and their staff members, despite the individual’s ability to pay. Dr. Green shared his dream but left the how, what and when up to Dale.

Dale left lunch overwhelmed by the fact that Dr. Green wanted him to take over his dream. He had so much to consider; his wife and her feelings, his church, where they would live and his age. “To begin a new ministry at my age was almost unheard of,” Dale explained. “I knew in my heart that it could happen if it was God’s plan for me and STCH Ministries.” Dale shared the proposal with Ann and together their hearts opened to this new challenge. In order to receive approval to lead this new ministry, Dale resigned from the board before he had the chance to serve.

Dr. Green’s dream was set into motion, but it was not going to be an easy task. Dale, under the direction of Homer, started out on the road with brochures in hand to meet with pastors and church secretaries about this new Family Ministry. He had to build excitement for what STCH Ministries was doing and show how it could benefit the people in Corpus Christi. Dale also had to find Christian Counselors to help serve the clients that would be coming to see them. Without funding for full-time counselors, Dale had to get creative. STCH Ministries employees, Diane Gryseels and Lil Abshier, said they wanted to help when possible, but they had their own ministry assignments. God stayed faithful through the process, and showed in many different ways that they were following His plan. STCH Ministries contracted with multiple counselors and they worked on a client by client basis.

God was laying a solid foundation for STCH Ministries Family Ministry. Next, the ministry needed an office space and through God’s provision, STCH Ministries purchased a building at 4438 South Staples in Corpus Christi. The office space was to be shared – one side Family Ministry and the other for ministries already in place. After moving into the new building, Dale started building a library with resources for those in need and planning retreats for pastors and their wives. The staff started seeing clients, some of which traveled a long distance. Dale received a phone call one day from a couple living in a rural area near San Angelo. The couple needed counseling but could not afford what most places were charging. They asked him what the cost of a session would be and Dale replied, “just the cost of gas and meals.” They scheduled a time and Dale met with the couple as a pastoral counselor in Corpus Christi. A few weeks later they called again asking to return to discuss other issues. With tears in his eyes Dale stated, “I was delighted to see them leave with full assurance that their commitment to marriage was real and final.”

In 1996, Joanna Berry was hired as Family Ministry’s first part-time therapist. Joanna was excited about the opportunity because she already worked as a contract therapist for STCH Ministries. She loved the ability to help clients not only through counseling but counseling based on biblical truths. Shortly after hiring Joanna, Dale decided it was time for him to step away from the ministry, and Les Chaney was hired as the director. Les wanted to focus on the family aspect and implemented family conferences for those in the area. This is when STCH Ministries Family Ministry really began to grow.

In 2001, Les stepped down from Family Ministry, and STCH Ministries President, Dr. Jerry Haag, had to decide who would take his place.  Dr. Haag sat down with Joanna to decide the future of Family Ministry. Some began to speculate that it was not a ministry that needed to exist and that time and funding should be spent in other ministries. During Dr. Haag’s conversation with Joanna, she received a phone call from a distraught client. Joanna helped walk the client through their difficult situation over the phone and helped make a difference in their life. In that moment Dr. Haag knew Family Ministry was worth fighting for, and he knew just the person to run it, Joanna.

Joanna was still only working part-time which is what she preferred. Unsure of what she wanted to do, she went home and talked to her husband, John, about the offer. Together, they decided it was time for her to move forward and accept the offer as the director. “All I did was take a step,” Joanna states. STCH Ministries continued to work in God’s will and Family Ministry continued to grow. In 2007, under Joanna’s direction, STCH Ministries opened an office in Victoria and changed the name to Family Counseling.

In 2017, due to the tremendous growth, the leadership of Family Counseling was given to Darin Griffiths who had served as a counselor at the Corpus Christi office for 12 years. When Darin joined STCH Ministries in 2005 there were only 7 counselors, today there are close to 30. He has seen the ministry expand both in numbers and their impact. Even though there are more locations and employees they are still able to stay connected and work together for the good of the ministry. Darin’s dream moving forward is to expand Family Counseling’s outreach through distance counseling over the internet. “Technology is only going to get more advanced so we will need to continue to discover ways to use technology and to expand our abilities to use it,” Darin states.

Dale, Homer and Dr. Green love looking back and seeing how God used people to take what seemed like a small dream and how He turned it into something so beautiful. Dale helped “get the plane off the ground”, but others “took the plane up higher with God’s leadership.” Today, STCH Ministries Family Counseling serves over 800 people a month at 15 different locations. Eron Green, the current STCH Ministries President, says, “The true impact felt through Family Counseling ministry cannot be fully understood and appreciated this side of heaven. So many have been blessed because of Dr. Green’s willingness to follow the Lord’s leading by starting the program. I am so excited to see how Family Counseling ministry will continue to grow and develop.” Over the years, no one expected the ministry to grow the way it did, but God had bigger plans!

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” 1 Peter 4:10

Eight years ago, University Baptist Church (UBC) in Houston, Texas wanted to develop an all-female mission trip. The idea of teachers teaching teachers grew as organizers recognized many of the interested ladies were teachers.

Unbeknownst to the UBC members, this idea fulfilled a long time hope in the heart of STCH Ministries International (International) staff member, Rebecca Dinzey. Rebecca worked as a high school teacher in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (DR) before joining the staff at International. The more Rebecca worked alongside the Christian schools partnered with International, the greater her hope grew to bring veteran teachers from the States to share their knowledge and experience with Dominican teachers.  She believed her colleagues could learn new teaching strategies and gain inspiration from the Americans’ passion for teaching.

The first team of teachers arrived in the summer of 2012; Kindergarten teacher, Ruthann Mitchell joined the team as a guest of her friend Karol Peters, STCH Ministries Board member. Grieving her mother’s death, Ruthann wanted to honor her mother, Esther Ruth’s, love of missions. Ruthann found the confirmation she sought when the team visited an orphanage and she noticed a baby girl under a mosquito net. Asking to hold her, the caregivers also allowed Ruthann to feed the baby. Wanting to know more, Ruthann asked the baby’s name – Ruth Esther. Hearing her mother’s name spoken as she looked into those innocent eyes, Ruthann knew teaching Dominican teachers was the mission God called her to fulfill.

Ruthann returns each summer, leading other American teachers to share their expertise with the people who have won her affection. “Teaching teachers is like no other teaching I’ve ever done,” she explains. The warm acceptance of the Dominicans and their hunger to learn skills not taught in their country give American volunteers a new appreciation for the education they receive. Ruthann believes her colleagues often do not recognize how fortunate they are to have been taught not just the content they teach but also the skills for how to teach that content.

Teachers in Texas must attend professional development workshops in order to keep their teaching certificate up to date. Tamara Lee, a high school Science teacher in Conroe Independent School District, also considers teaching teachers a special blessing. “Now when I have to go to a workshop, I think, ‘How can I use this in the DR?’ I now see my ‘have to’s as ‘get to’s.” Tamara has taught school for 26 years and has been a part of the teacher’s team with International for 3 years.

This summer’s teaching team brought 12 teachers, 6 construction workers, a teenager to help with Vacation Bible School (VBS) and 38 checked bags filled to the maximum weight with resources, supplies and giveaways for Dominican teachers.  The teachers taught 8 hours per day for 4 days in 2 cities, impacting over 250 teachers representing dozens of schools. The teenager led VBS classes with the workshop attendees’ children, while the construction workers helped finish a roof on an orphanage in one city and helped build a gazebo at a Christian school in another.

The workshop organized the teachers by age groups: preschool/kindergarten, elementary and high school. Grouping the instruction in this way allowed them to teach specific methods according to development levels. Exact plans depend on the specialties of the teachers attending each year. This year, the topics for the preschool/kindergarten group included developing fine and gross motor skills, suggestions for maintaining student interest through hands-on techniques and a variety of group games. The elementary group focused on lesson planning and demonstrating specific teaching styles especially in language arts, science and social studies. The high school teachers, concentrating on academic learning activities and modeling professional collaboration, were encouraged to write down how they could adapt the material presented and discussed their ideas with their peers. This year there were two specialists in the Texas group, a counselor and an art teacher. These two rotated between classes sharing their expertise with everyone.

The first half of the week, they trained educators at Primera Iglesia Bautista in La Romana. The church partners with International to bring the best care possible to their school and orphanage. This was the third time the group has led workshops in the town on the southeastern coast of the island nation. This year, 86 teachers registered to attend the training, more than doubling previous years’ attendance. Wileny, an elementary teacher at a private school in La Romana, planned to add a new feature to her classroom, a word wall.  This is a collection of words and drawings largely displayed on a wall in a classroom, a word wall, provides an interactive tool for students.

The second training took place in Villa Mella, near the capital city of Santo Domingo, at Iglesia Bautista Quisequayana (IBQ), International’s base of operation for all of their work in the Dominican Republic. The team works at this location each year and has developed a reputation for excellence. Many Dominican teachers arrive an hour before the starting time and most returning attendees bring colleagues with them.

In the preschool class at IBQ, the art lessons, group games and the counselor’s presentation dealing with classroom management and troubled children had the Dominicans asking for more of the same. Anauris, a preschool teacher for seven years, committed to learn something new every day and this meeting gave her a new perspective. “Everything looks very different when you are sitting in the student’s seat rather than the teacher’s,” she said. Reviewing her own methods and activities from the students’ viewpoint helped her decide to make some changes in her classroom. Cristina has attended the classes for three years and already looks forward to next year. She keeps coming back because of the way the Americans conduct the classes, the comradery of fellow teachers and the opportunity to learn from others.

Each year, more American teachers join in, more Dominican schools benefit and the Kingdom of God is enriched through the collaboration of teachers teaching teachers. Next year’s trip dates are already on the calendar and Rebecca’s heart is happy. She hears from Dominican friends every year how encouraged and enlightened they feel.  It emboldens them to keep up with new ideas and to work with passion while giving them new techniques using the simplest materials and creativity.  “I know many have changed their style of teaching and have become better at their job,” she states.

STCH Ministries International accepts volunteer teams year-round, and Rebecca would love to see more teacher teams come in the fall and springtime as well. If you are interested in exploring this opportunity, please check out our website: https://www.STCHM.org/international/ or call us at 361.994.0940.

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ELEGANTLY DRESSED young women seemed to float through the festive room as they served homemade lasagna. The colors and sounds inside reflected the blooms and butterflies outside on this early spring day. Guests gathered to celebrate the courageous women dedicated to the ambitious undertaking of rebuilding their lives at STCH Ministries’ Homes for Families (HFF) Appreciation Banquet. Located just outside of Goliad, TX, HFF on Marshall Ranch Campus is currently home to eleven mothers and thirty-one children. These families are linked by traumatic pasts and a determination to be the change that breaks the cycle of a lifetime of bad decisions.

Theresa Klacman, Program Director of HFF, explains the annual banquet. “The families at HFF receive the benefits of the generous nature of STCH Ministries and numerous volunteers in the community throughout the year. It’s important to me that the girls give back once a year and show their gratitude. This event allows the residents and the staff to see just how many people are involved in making this program a success. It’s a wonderful time for reflection and thanking
God for his church.”

In preparation for this event, the girls take a six-week public speaking and etiquette class. They learn how to set a table, how to serve their guests, and what to say while serving. “The whole process grounds us all to gratitude and allows us to say thank you with action to all the people who make this program a success,” Klacman said.

Testimonies from each woman was the highlight of the afternoon. Many of the speakers emphasized the difficulty of acting on their responsibility to be courageous in life.

Judy, a mother of six, spoke of weighing “the pain of change versus the pain of never changing,” In the end, she made her decision to join the program for her children. “I knew I needed to change. I wanted my kids to be – better. I didn’t want my kids to follow the footsteps I did.”

Young Gabrielle did not know how to cook, physically care for her child or even appropriately handle telephone conversations when she arrived at HFF. Her playful grin and spunky confidence accentuate the metamorphosis she is undergoing while living and learning on the ranch. “I could never imagine going back to my old ways,” she affirms. “I’ve learned to ‘throw down’ in the kitchen now. I have discovered things about myself that are new and I have restored old dreams.”

Angelica came determined to “get my life together to be able to raise my son no matter the cost.” A lifetime of betrayal at the hands of her own family left her cautious and judgmental with deep fears about whether this opportunity was too good to be true. Although she is in the early stages of the program, she has a beautiful understanding of the work God is beginning in her. “I would like to say my life is like a butterfly. I was born, hatched, into the world as a caterpillar eating the leaves of plants to survive. Eating and surviving off of the things of the broken world. Right now, I am in the cocoon at HFF. Right now, God is making me into a beautiful butterfly.”

Maria’s migration to Marshall Ranch came for the sake of her children also. She describes life after moving into Phase 2, the Equipping phase, from her daughters’ point of view. “The girls say that they love the new mom I am today. They are very thankful to me for choosing them instead of drugs and finding God. He has shown me how to love myself and others. He has given me peace and patience I never thought I could have.”

Forging a better life for their children may have been the catalyst which began the evolution, but God Himself is transforming these ladies into women genuinely seeking His heart each day. Brittany asserts, “My relationship with God is stronger than it has ever been. I am now a godly woman who can provide safety and stability for me and for my children as I keep God in the forefront of it all.”

Debbie struggled through Phase 1; in fact, she left the ranch to give life on her own another try. When she understood that she had exchanged the likelihood for a future merely to repeat the past, she returned to HFF. Now she is committed to true maturation and pursuing recovery with her whole heart. Her words reflect her decision to move forward. “The more I search, seek, listen and apply His wisdom I find hope and confidence to pass on to my children. They can walk in freedom. A life of forgiveness and restoration, healing from any hurts, abuse, or addiction is only found in Jesus Christ. I look forward to a bright future knowing that He holds my future in His hands.”

Tiffany has just begun studying early childhood education at Victoria Community College and is on the verge of readiness to stand on her own. Looking back, she is amazed to see in herself “the woman I always wanted but never truly believed I could be until now. I am blessed to be a testimony that Jesus can and will change our hearts when we humble ourselves and submit to His authority over our lives.” She continues to expound upon the difference HFF has made; “All the time you put into MY life – has taken me from a pit of hopelessness and led me to freedom and a new chance at life. I’ve tasted and seen that the Lord is good and His love endures forever.”

God is indeed helping butterflies emerge at the Marshall Ranch Campus. Each lady is discovering the beautiful vocation He is preparing them for. Judy plans to work with pregnant teens. Gabrielle writes rap music and desires to become an inspirational singer. Angelica plans to enter into ministry through an organization called “Eyes on Me” to help other young people in similar situations to thrive. Maria plans to become a teacher’s aide. Brittany wants to become a nurse. Debbie is an entrepreneur and plans to open her own cleaning business. Tiffany has been hired through the Head Start program in Victoria where she
will gain valuable experience as she continues her education.

HFF staff and residents optimistically hold fast to what God Himself promises through the Apostle Paul in Philippians 1:6, “I am sure that God who has begun a good work in me will carry it on until it is finished.”

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