The Women’s Restoration Center located in Thibodaux is Restoring Souls that were Once Lost

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Nestled by a sugarcane field is a haven for women who battle addictions. Amidst a peaceful field, women rest in God’s nest of comfort covered by his graceful feathers. Addicts find solace and guidance within the walls of the Women’s Restoration Center located in Thibodaux.

The ‘flight mission’ of the non-profit organization entails the restoration of souls that have been lost to the world. Their agenda is to safely house women and teach them how to be productive in a Godly manner.

“Our mission is to help women who have no place to turn but want to be free from their addictions. We want to give them an opportunity to learn how to live a productive, drug-free life,” said Loretta Pierron, Director of the Women’s Restoration Center.

Pierron is familiar with the addiction lifestyle.

“God delivered me from drugs and alcohol thirty-four years ago…my husband and I both from drugs and alcohol. Cocaine was my drug of choice…my husband’s was alcohol,” Pierron stated.

“My mom always had my daughter because Cocaine was more important to me than me having my daughter. So, I see myself in a lot of these girls. I saw myself in a lot of the girls when I was training in Florida. That’s what I want to do…is give back and let them see a better way and get them off the streets. It’s only because of the Lord that I’m still here. If God wouldn’t have intervened, I know I would be dead or my husband, or both of us, “ she added.

Thus, God’s calling to open a women’s center always lighted on Pierron’s heart. While her heart was being stirred with ordained destiny, she penned a question pertaining to God’s will in her journal. She ‘sat’ with intuitiveness while waiting for His response.

While the couple trained at Dunklin Memorial Church located in Okeechobee, Florida, God’s will for Pierron’s ministry was revealed to her. Although the unveiled response, the Women’s Restoration Center would be hidden under a veil until the “groundbreaking” in 2016.

“In 2007, my husband trained to be a part of the men’s program, and that’s when it was actually birthed in our hearts by the Lord. That’s when the women’s program, The Refuge Ranch, was established in Florida. We went for a tour, I said, ‘I would love to be a part of this.’ In 2015 my husband and I went back to Florida for training for fifteen months, but I just had my eye on the women’s program. The Lord was dealing with me,” Pierron said.

“I felt the Lord tell me in my journal that we needed to spend another year in Florida. When they asked me to train at the women’s program and to take classes there, I knew it was confirmation from the Lord. Even though we came home, I just started praying, ‘Lord, what is it you want me to do? Do you want me to do something concerning dealing with women?’ Right after I prayed, I was getting calls from women…’Can I meet with you?’ So, I started having accountability classes in my house. I would meet one woman on a regular basis that used drugs in my bathroom. I prayed for her, really believing God would change her life. She went through Mary’s Song. She’s doing good today, but God was doing something in my heart as well. He was showing me that she is not the only person out there,” she added.

Thus, surrounding churches, businesses, and generous hearts helped in the imperative endeavor to save souls. The community came together to ‘sing,’ “I once was lost, now I’m found.”

“We came back in 2016, and we started…the land was given to us, the triple-wide modular was given to us, and we just gutted everything out,” Pierron said.

Therefore, the center truly formed its nest on June 21, 2021. Presently, there is one woman who is benefitting from the one-year program that will transform her life.

“We deal with every issue. They didn’t wake up one morning and say, ‘Oh, I’m going to be a drug addict.’ There are circumstances in their life that lead up to that. They’re not addicted to the drug; they’re addicted to the high. That makes them numb. Some of them deal with abortions, abuse from parents, from husbands, so we deal with every single thing in their life,” Pierron stated.

April Bourg, a teacher at the Women’s Restoration Center, has been transformed and sober for five years. She dedicates the ‘renewal of her mind and soul’ to her Savior, Jesus.

“On July 6th, I make five years sober. Before this, I was a major drug addict, drug of choice being meth. I was everything that came along with being a drug addict. I was a thief; I stole from my family, lost absolutely everything, and became homeless. So, when my youngest daughter was born, she was born with multiple drugs in her system. So, the state came in, and at 6 months old, they took her away from me, and she went into the foster system. At that same time, I also lost custody of my oldest daughter,” Bourg explained.

April attended a thirty-day rehab facility but realized the clarity she gained would quickly be obstructed by a different type of temporary high. Thus, after being released, she attended the Mary’s Song Rehab facility in New Orleans.

“That is where I met the Lord. I gave my life to the Lord at a Sunday morning service. They had an altar call, and I walked down that center aisle. I was shaking and literally felt pulled. I have said the Sinner’s Prayer a million times before at the pew in church, mumbling it beneath my breath, and nothing ever changed. So, in the back of my mind, ‘You’ve done this before; nothing is going to be different.’ Although, this time, it was different. It’s because I knew and realized that I was a sinner in need of a Savior. I gave the Lord the little piece of my life I had left… ‘This is all I have; just take it. Fix me, please.’ So, surrendering my life to the Lord has allowed Him to swoop in and work supernaturally in my life,” Bourg said.

Bourg’s eyes were renewed with lucidity. She clung to the Bible and every word within it. Scripture started to sync with her spirit, stabilizing her heart with truth.

“My eyes were open, and everything pertaining to my past, everything pertaining to what I was presently going through, and instruction pertaining to what I needed for the future, I found in the Word of God. So, I devoured it, every free moment I had. As I did that, it started changing me. After that, I wanted to do this the rest of my life,” Bourg stated.

Bourg heard her calling from God at Living Word Church. She is now aiding women through their tempests, anchoring them to God’s voice and nesting them in His presence.

“Not only did my mom’s friend, who is close to Ms. Loretta, tell me about Women’s Restoration, but I also went to church and saw a flyer. I wanted to get involved, so I prayed about it. I stuck that flyer in my Bible. It was a constant prayer for years. I spoke to her about it, and she spoke to Ms. Loretta. God lines up our desires with His, and we get to see Him unfold and fulfill all of that in our life,” Bourg said.

“I want to be the one to find those girls and let them know, ‘Look what the Lord did for me. This was my life…I was a drug addict. I was doing drugs while I was pregnant. My kids were taken into the foster system. I was never supposed to see them again. I was able to give my testimony in the courtroom and ended up getting custody of my youngest back, so she is with me now. Also, my relationship with my oldest daughter is better than it’s ever been. The Lord has restored all of that to me,” she added.

Bourg and Pierron want the women to learn about God and His love for them. They also want to teach the women different skill sets that will free them from their past and progress them towards the divine future.

“They have class time. There are different curriculum lessons that we are going to be doing with them, starting at salvation and just different lessons after that. We help them clean, and we help them cook. We try and teach them good time management and skills. We pray with them. We worship with them. We’re able to listen to them and pray about the situations. Really, it’s all God; we’re just His vessels. We’re here to love them and for them to feel like they have a safe haven and just a safe place to come,” Bourg said.

“In addiction, we never had structure. We never had discipline…that’s what we’re teaching here. At 6:30, we wake up, and at 6:45, we walk for 45 minutes every morning. We’re teaching them a new way of life,” Pierron added.

Most of all, Bourg wants to teach the women that only God can fill that deep, dark hole in your life. That only with Him, you will be able to hum, “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me…”

“Most of all, I want them to know, only God can fill that void in their life. They’ve been chasing every other thing for who knows how long, and nothing, absolutely nothing, will satisfy that void in their life except God. Once they empty themselves of that, He can swoop in and fill that void in their life, and their life will never be the same. So, not only for them to learn, God is the only one that they need to be leaning on and the only one that can save them, but also for them to gain a sense of belonging, knowing that they have a testimony now,” Bourg said.

Bourg and Pierron will keep the doors open for women who do not want to leave after a year. They will encourage the ladies to lead, guiding others to redemption.

“If they don’t feel after the year that they’re strong enough to go home, they can stay on as an SLT (Servant Leadership Training). Some of them will not be able to go back to their communities. Some of them will have to get away from those communities. If they want to stay here, that would be amazing and give back here; we will encourage that,” Pierron stated.

Pierron has God-given dreams of expansion that include a “Transitional House.” Women will be able to transition from rehab to a more subsequent setting.

“We’re praying for a transitional house. At that house, we will teach them how to budget and how to save money. If they have children, they can bring their children to the transitional house. Once they’re able to save enough money and be able to buy themselves a home, they can live on their own and then be able to raise their children the way they’re supposed to. We will teach them all those things, which we’re starting to do,” Pierron said.

Disciples Pierron, and Bourg, know that the Women’s Restoration Center is in God’s hands. They know that he will send out his boat to the lost and pull them in and tie the rope around a secure pier.

“I know without God, this would be impossible. I know the transformation He’s done in my life and April’s life. We pray every day for the women/ woman that are here and the women that will be coming into here. I do interviews with the women in jail, and we have women already scheduled to come when they are released, and I know God has already handpicked them. This is God’s ministry,” Loretta stated with grace.

The ladies know they have been picked exclusively by God to be a vessel for the ministry. They give Him all the glory bestowing upon them the titles of being “mother birds.” He helps them find twigs of security to build a nest for the lost where they can rest and become new.

“I can’t believe this is what we get to do for the rest of our lives. The Lord picked me up out of the pit of Hell and saved my soul for eternity, and I get to spend the rest of my life getting to tell people what the Lord did in my life. I get to see miracles every single day of the year, absolutely incredible. I will be helping these women till I get to Heaven,” Bourg ended with joy.

The Women’s Restoration Center’s lifework is to hear trapped women of addiction yell out, “Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, I’m free at last!”

Donations and Involvement: (Still looking for monthly sponsors)