Hope this finds you well,
For full disclosure Theresa shares her confused religious history - baptized Catholic, every Saturday attended Catechism, never ate meat on Fridays, attended Mass on Sundays but faithfully attended  Pentecostal, as in Holy Roller, services along with her grandmother, and too much time in prayer circles to save her little demented soul. 

As most young Catholic girls she had visions of being a Maryknoll nun, traveling the world saving the heathens.  Then one Saturday afternoon she saw the heathens, looked like her brown skin folks. 

As her father raped and violated her at least 3 times a week she hoped, believed, and prayed to God, Jesus, the Blessed Virgin, and the Holy Ghost to save her, to stop her father raping her.  But no spiritual intervention.  

Effie, her 11 inch grey crochet elephant, once again comes to her rescue.  Effie declares there is no one going to save Theresa but herself

At age fifteen Theresa breaks all ties with religion,  She arms herself to survive and she held on to one belief, the God she believed in had forsaken her.  For 33 years she lost all faith in any greater power than herself.


Alone and terrified at age 48 she finds her faith again by combining faiths that made sense to her