Three Questions She Asked Before She Ever Arrived | Anngie's Story
- Western Michigan Adult & Teen Challenge
- Jul 21
- 3 min read
Anngie is 48 and lives in a small town called Idlewild, Michigan. She grew up in church, saved and baptized, and baptized in the Holy Spirit around age five, down in Texas. Her father was a praise and worship leader, and Anngie spent much of her childhood singing alongside him, visiting nursing homes as a family to minister to the people there.
When her father passed away, her life turned upside down. She lost control of herself, started drinking, filed for divorce, and left her family for about a year. Her life continued to unravel from there, eventually leading to legal trouble: two counts of driving under the influence. In court, she was given the option to come to Teen Challenge instead. She reached out to her pastor to gather everything she needed to get there.
Three Questions She Carried With Her
Before ever arriving at Western Michigan Adult & Teen Challenge (WMATC), Anngie asked herself three questions: Am I loyal? Am I brave? Am I true? She wanted to know if she was loyal to God, brave in the face of adversity, and true to whatever calling he had for her.
Looking back on her time in the program, she's answered all three for herself. She's been loyal to everything God has called her to do. She's been brave by seeing the process through to the end. And she's been true to her calling, largely because God opened her eyes to how much she'd disqualified herself from in the past, believing she wasn't good enough to be used by him. She now understands that his love makes her qualified for everything he calls her to.
No Longer Fighting Against Him
Anngie describes her relationship with God growing immensely during her time at WMATC. She's grateful for the chance to dive fully into that relationship instead of continuing to fight against it. She no longer feels stuck in fear, guilt, or shame, trusting instead that God will keep guiding her through whatever challenges come next.
Realizing Her Life Was Already a Testimony
Serving alongside her fellow sisters and the staff at WMATC helped Anngie see how much she had to offer other people. She hadn't realized that simply living her life and learning through her own experiences qualified her to help others; she'd assumed it was just life, not a testimony. Now she understands that sharing what God has done for her, in her, and through her has an impact on the people around her.
A Marriage Restored Beyond Expectations
Since being at WMATC, Anngie's marriage has been restored far beyond what she expected. She knew God could restore relationships, but she hadn't grasped the extent of what that restoration could look like. Her children are noticing the change in both her and her husband, and they're looking forward to her coming home and taking her place in their lives again, valuing her advice and presence in a new way.
Worship as a Window Into God's Glory
Anngie describes God moving powerfully during worship, revealing his glory in a way that deepened her reverence for him. She's come to see him as just, kind, loving, unfailing, and unrelenting, and worship has given her a glimpse of the full scope of that love.
What Comes Next
As Anngie prepares to leave WMATC, her plan is to spend as much time as possible with her family and to help care for her grandmother, who needs assistance. She intends to take classes toward jail ministry and hopes to get involved in praise and worship at her church. Rather than running from the gifts she has, she's choosing to embrace them and use them wherever she can.
Her encouragement to others: run toward the Father instead of away from him. Running only makes life harder. Embracing the fact that he loves you changes everything.
Why Anngie's Story Matters
For donors, Anngie's story shows how the program restores entire families, not just individuals, giving children back a present, engaged parent.
For prospective students and families, especially those whose struggles followed a significant loss, Anngie's story shows that grief left unaddressed can spiral quickly, and that there's a path back even after legal consequences.
For the WMATC community, her three questions, loyal, brave, and true, offer a simple framework other students and alumni might carry with them too.
If grief or loss has sent someone you love into a spiral they can't pull out of alone, there is a way back.
Help make stories like Anngie's possible.
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