Leticia's Testimony
 Coming
from a poor family and surviving many “bad choices”
concerning drugs and other illegal activities, Leticia found
a relationship with God that allowed her to turn her life
around and offer herself to the aid of others. Her ministry,
A Peaceful Habitation Home & Aftercare Ministry, Inc., is
now offering a light of hope to women coming out of prison,
hope that she herself needed, to be able to overcome the
realities of post-prison life.
As a child, Leticia was one of 8
brothers/sisters from a poor Southern New Mexico family. Even though hard, the memories of her early
years were good. The good life turned
bad as the drugs overwhelmed her. Eventually, the addiction
shattered the marriage and eventually her life. The street
life engulfed her and took her places that no woman should
ever have to endure. She was raped, beaten and left for
dead. She made two very bad choices in men that almost cost
her her life and did take her parental rights to her only
son.
Arrested and convicted, Leticia
was sent to jail (Prayed into jail by a guard, who saw her
dead in a ditch and got up to PRAY! Later that year led to
Christ by another guard, who was faithful to go out and make
disciples.) and then prison. But prison was where she
discovered and developed a wonderful relationship with Jesus
Christ. Through her four years in prison, she turned a
disaster into the most wonderful relationship with God that
could ever be imagined. She attributes her prison sentence
to not only saving her life, but also cementing her
relationship with Jesus Christ. That drive that made her
early life successful was the determination that helped her
develop an exit strategy from prison, as well as overcoming
the overwhelming obstacles of post-prison life.
During and since her release
Leticia has dedicated her life to helping others overcome
the hurdles of prison release. She states that she and
others are offered ways to change through education,
relocation, incarceration and rehabilitation, but only God
can make the transformation. After God made that
transformation in her life and based on her experiences
leaving prison, she founded God’s Provision Ministry and
later with co-founders, Donna Jennings and Patricia
Conkling, A Peaceful Habitation Home & Aftercare Ministry,
Inc., a ministry that provides transitional housing,
resources, life skills, Celebrate Recovery (12-step) and all
other assistance for the women to make their transitions
back into their communities; one woman at a time.
This dedication to God has
provided the springboard from which she has given her
positive testimony to thousands of people at national
conferences of Celebrate Recovery and Transition of
Prisoners, and several church groups throughout the country.
Her work with Celebrate Recovery has continued from inside
the walls of prison to becoming a coordinator of the
Crossings Unit for a short time and facilitator of Celebrate
Recovery program at the NM Women’s Correctional Facility.
Her work and her testimony have also aided in her meeting
with President G.W. Bush and the President then using her as
a positive example of success in his speech at the 2004
Faith-Based Initiatives Conference in Los Angeles. He quoted
the scripture she used from Esther: 4:14 "For if you remain
completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will
arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your
father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have
come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" Indeed, for
such a time as this.
 Leticia
had lost her parental rights to her son, Isaac, but God
restored him to her. He is legally adopted by her sister,
Ramona, but visits on a regular basis and at the age of 6
said, “He wanted to “rock” for God!” He is now 13 and
serving God. Leticia is also re-married. She and Bob met on
a Kairos prison ministry weekend in 2003 while she was still
on parole. They married six months later and are still
married (praise the Lord) and very much in love. She and her
husband, Bob, continue working on Kairos weekends each year.
She was also allowed to be a Leader of a women’s Kairos
team; Chairperson for Grants Kairos Advisory Board; Advisory
Member of the Christian Association of Prison Aftercare
(CAPA); has been instrumental in the coordinating and
organizing of the NM Dept of Corrections’ annual volunteer
conferences; and a member of the House Memorial 3 Task Force
in NM. God has brought her a long way and performed many
miracles in her life.
Leticia would like to one day
write a book; obtain a pardon from the governor of NM; speak
at churches to encourage them to embrace the formerly
incarcerated returning citizens into their congregations by
providing mentors and support; go to the prisons and jails
to encourage others to never give up hope and embrace their
God given talents and use them for the good of society.
“During our addiction and criminal lifestyles we become
people that are selfish, self-centered, and even abusive. We
should apologize for the pain we caused and give back of
ourselves, time any money to those we have injured and taken
from. We must stop blaming everyone else, take
responsibility for our actions, the bad choices we made and
become contributing and positive members of our families and
our communities”. She would also like to have another house
in Albuquerque and open a business that will hire and train
the former incarcerated women (returning citizens).
~ A Note from Leticia's husband, Bob
Paulette
It is probably obvious that my
testimonial should identify that my wife, Leticia, is the
Executive Director of APH. That said, I had recognized the
need for prisoner and after-prison ministry even before we
met. We actually met serving together on a Kairos Prison
Ministry event. Prison ministry has been my main “social
return” ever since. My involvement in APH began as the
handyman and stuff-mover. I continue to become more
involved, loving every minute.
The ministry that APH provides is an outgrowth of the
individual aftercare gifts that Leticia has given to
individuals since her own release from prison. I have seen
that care, that need for her to “give back” the love and
caring that God has given to her. It is hard not to
positively respond to that love that she has for the
aftercare ministry.
APH is an avenue in which we all may “give back”. God shows
His love to each of us in each day of life He provides to
us. The least I can do is respond to His command to minister
to others. I minister with those in prison as well as those
who struggle to become normal in the outside world after
prison. As you might note, I indicate I minister with
prisoners – not to prisoners. I have found that I am
ministered to by prisoners as much as I minister to them.
That is an unsolicited benefit of the ministry. Come join
us.
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