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March 2008
Dear Friends:
I had the immense privilege,
early this year, of sitting down and listening to
intimate sharing from two of our former residents.
The occasion was my interviewing them for the script
I am writing for our 12th anniversary celebration on
April 12 – more about that, later.
I have shared in these letters
before how amazing are the women of Miriam’s House,
how much of an honor it is to share their lives, how
inspiring to learn from their example. And one more
time, I left these sharing sessions with Linda and
Charlene filled with a humble wonder at their
strength and courage and at the resilience of the
human spirit and the power of God’s Love.
We have often said, here at
Miriam’s House, that the day-to-day difficulties
often center more around addictions and recovery
than they do around HIV/AIDS. This is borne out in
the stories of these two women who lived with us and
struggled with us.
What is even more amazing, even
more inspiring and humbling, is that when one
listens to these articulate, beautiful and powerful
women speak about their past, one experiences a huge
sense of disconnect between the story told and the
reality seen in the moment.
Charlene has a direct gaze, a
straightforward demeanor and a love of God that
projects tangibly in her every word and move. Her
voice is strong and sure. She looks and is healthy
in body, emotion and spirit.
This impression of health and
strength is so strong that when she speaks of waking
up in abandoned vans and crack houses without
knowing how she got there or how long she had been
there, the sense of amazed disconnect is almost
laughable.
But one cannot laugh, because she
is serious, because it actually happened and because
Charlene almost died out there.
Linda has beautiful, smooth skin
and a sense of style that ensures she looks sharp no
matter what time of day or night she appears. Her
face is beautiful and she looks better in a hat than
anyone I know. She’ll say what is on her mind with
no compunction, yet is willing to be honest about
herself as well. And you should hear her pray!
Her beauty stands in ludicrous
contrast to her stories of living in alleyways and
sleeping on park benches. Her behavior around her
drug use got so bad that she was even kicked out of
a shelter.
As this stylish woman shares
about these realities of her life, a sense of “this
cannot be” arises in one’s mind. The contrast
between her put-together beauty and the image of a
homeless addict on the streets is too stark, too
unbelievable.
Yet it has to be believable,
because she lived it, because she wants you to know
she lived it, and because she wants other addicts to
learn from her and understand that there is hope in
recovery.
Both of these women name God as
their number one healer and inspiration; both of
them name their addiction as their number one
illness even before AIDS.
Charlene and Linda are so strong
and so sure of God and of their wish to share their
experience, strength and hope with other addicts and
persons living with AIDS, they have agreed to share
parts of their story in a very public forum -- our
anniversary celebration in April.
They also say that they want to
participate in the program because of what Miriam’s
House has done for them. They speak of the love they
found here, and of how much they grew while living
with us, how much they learned about themselves.
Would you consider – especially
if you cannot attend our anniversary celebration –
making a donation in honor of Charlene and Linda?
In doing so, you will help ensure
that other Charlenes and Lindas, fourteen of whom
are here with us now, and many of whom are still out
there, sick and possibly hopeless, will be able to
experience the same loving opportunities that they
did.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Carol D. Marsh
Founder / Executive Director
WE HOPE YOU CAN COME!
Miriam’s Story, Miriam’s Song:
The 12th Anniversary of Miriam’s House
Saturday, April 12 at 1 p.m.
True Reformer Building
1200 U Street, NW
Washington, DC
Admission is free...an appeal for donations will be
made during the program.
Help us plan! Please RSVP:
cmarsh@miriamshouse.org;
or 202-667-1758, x105
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