Renewal Story: Gwendalyn

Gwendalyn’s new life began with a dream that her life would change, a message from God to leave her home in Houston and go north. She loved God, but she was afraid of uprooting all that was familiar and comfortable. Eventually, she had no choice but to obey.

“Things started going wrong,” Gwendalyn recalls. She had a serious car accident. Her mother passed away. Then she was out of a job. She maxed out her credit cards and depleted her savings. Then, remembering her dream, she headed out with just $100 cash left in her pocket. She made it as far as Fort Worth.

With no money for a hotel room, Gwendalyn slept in her car in the parking lot instead. She searched the internet for a place to eat and found Union Gospel Mission of Tarrant County.

Gwendalyn came to Club 1401 for meals and slept at the Mission as an overnight guest until being accepted into the women’s residential program. This is where the real change — the positive, lasting change promised by God — began.

At first, Gwendalyn didn’t think she would get anything out of the classes. But she was surprised by how much grief and trauma was uncovered and ultimately healed. “It was like ripping a Band-Aid off a sore. I wept, I cried, I did it all. It taught me so much,” she says.

“I feel like God led me here because I have a passion to help the homeless, to help single women, battered women. God put me here so I would have more humility, more wisdom. He allowed me to walk through it, to see what it’s like, from the outside and the inside.”

Gwendalyn has since graduated from the program, found a church family, started working and moved into a place of her own. But UGM-TC will always be close to her heart.

“Being at UGM-TC is part of my journey,” Gwendalyn says. “I’ve had people here tell me I’ve inspired them. I’m not trying to force anything on anybody, but I feel it’s my duty to tell the world of God’s goodness and what He has done in my life. He hasn’t led me wrong yet!”

Thank you for walking alongside Gwendalyn and so many other women on their journeys!