Burton Cottage

“I was determined not to enjoy me life here. That all changed when I met my houseparents,” Jennifer confesses. Angry and confused when she arrived, she leaves confident and happy.

She grew up with abusive, alcoholic parents. As a little girl when she heard the kitchen door slam every afternoon she cringed in fear, because her dad was home and the abuse would begin. When he walked away from the family, she thought life would get better.

Instead, it became worse. Why? As a single parent now, her mother focused all her anger on Jennifer. Increasing verbal and physical abuse fueled Jennifer’s anger and belief that God did not exist. “I just knew if God were real, He wouldn’t let my mother hurt me and not do anything to stop it,” Jennifer reflects.

Finally, state social workers gave her mother had a choice … stop the abuse, send Jennifer to relatives or the state will take Jennifer away.

After spending time in several foster homes, living with her grandfather in another state and a brief return home, Jennifer arrived at Mount Dora Children’s Home.

It was hard, at first, to live with the rules and expectations in her house. Equally as difficult was believing her houseparents really cared about her. “I didn’t trust any adult and kept waiting for the ‘catch.’ They just kept loving me, no matter what I did,” Jennifer remembers.

That finally made the difference in her life. “I finally believed they were for real. That’s when everything else in my life fell into place,” she states. It wasn’t long that her grades improved, she studied the Bible and became a Christian.

“When I look back at what I went through and I what I enjoy now, I know God loves me,” Jennifer announces. “I trust God to lead my life and I look forward to what He has in store for me. My life is better because of my time at Mount Dora.”

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