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Overcoming Obstacles

When Dianna discovered she was pregnant, her boyfriend encouraged her to get an abortion. She was alone, afraid, and discouraged. She knew she wanted to keep her baby, but she also knew she needed help. So she reached out to One by One, and we matched her with a mentor, Sherry. Dianna says calling One by One was the “best call I’ve ever made.”

Sherry says when she and Dianna first met, Dianna was full of questions. She wanted to know all about the materials One by One provided and how they could help her be a good mom.

Dianna says, “We connected. She had so many resources. I wanted to raise my daughter in faith and with healthy boundaries and tools, and she could help.”

A few weeks after giving birth, Dianna was admitted to the hospital after going into cardiac heart failure with peripartum cardiomyopathy – a condition that required four different heart procedures to address. She was hospitalized for 10 days - fighting for her life and unable to care for her daughter. This lengthy hospital stay led to Dianna’s becoming homeless.

Dianna said, “I was trying my hardest to prevent that. I don’t know what I would have done without One by One because I could depend on them. They prayed with and for me. Sherry checked on me, helped me pack and unpack, and brought me dinner. She was like a real mom to me. The love she gave me didn’t waiver. I knew I was so hard because there was so much going on mentally, emotionally, and physically, but she just kept showing up, kept giving me scriptures, kept helping me, and just kept being there. That made me a believer. I realized I experienced the love of God. I saw how God works through people, and He worked through One by One Ministries.”

One by One connected Dianna to Raleigh Community Church of Christ (RC3). RC3’ first lady noticed the Union University sticker on Dianna’s car and asked her if she attended school there. Dianna says, “I told her about my major, psychology, and she got super excited, and we started connecting. I felt noticed. She was so intentional with me.”

When her daughter was nine months old, Dianna went back to college to finish her degree, and she was thrilled when Sherry attended her college graduation. Shortly after the RC3 pastor and first lady met with Dianna. They liked where her heart was, how she spoke about people, and what she wanted to do, so they offered her a job as a compassionate ministry leader. They say she has been able to reach so many men and women in their community already.

Dianna says, “It would have never happened if it wasn’t for One by One.  You guys are a God-sent ministry.” While she serves as the compassionate ministry leader for families at RC3, she is working to complete her dialectical behavioral therapy certification at the Christian Psychological Center so she can better serve others.

Sherry says that while she and Dianna have a great friendship, they did have challenges. “We both love the Lord, and that’s a foundation. We both have a supportive Christian community. We talk to each other and are honest with each other. It hasn’t always been roses. We both make mistakes but we’re honest and we forgive each other.”

Dianna adds, “I’m so glad we didn’t give up on each other when things got hard. I know I was a hot mess. I had a lot of variables, and yet God was working on me and through me. God brought Sherry and me closer and stronger and better. I love her family, and they love us. My daughter has a healthy, functional family. God is able, and I’m so grateful. I would recommend One by One to the world, I love you guys.”

Today Sherry and Dianna continue their friendship and loving relationship and are grateful to be in each other’s lives.
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