Mary (far left), Amy (far right), Meg (center) and their brothers and mom.

Mary Leddon thought she was just getting back in touch with a friend from college when she looked up Kathie Hobson on Facebook. But ……….what resulted was a life-transforming process through The Ultimate Journey for herself as well as members of her family.

Just prior to reconnecting with Kathie, Mary had found herself in a tailspin of sorts following a series of events. Seeing a counselor provided some help, and Mary felt she had made progress, but it wasn’t enough.

On The Ultimate Journey website she came across a list of probing questions that caused her to seriously consider how she viewed her life. “That really got me curious about what they were doing, and the whole process,” Mary says.

In addition, Mary believed God was calling her to minister to women. “I looked around and I would see all these fabulous women that couldn’t see it in themselves. They were too busy putting themselves down or talking badly about themselves. It made me angry that all these women were amazing, but they weren’t able to see it. And I was in that same boat. “

Mary completed a Phase 1 Turbo with Kathie in February 2013. “When I got done,” Mary says, “I felt that I got it, that I was beautifully and wonderfully now myself and that I could love myself without being boastful or without all the baggage up to that point. I felt renewed and new, and wanted to share it with the whole world.”

And the “world” she began to share her Ultimate Journey experience with were her family members and friends. After getting trained as a facilitator, Mary led a Phase 1 group in Chicago that included a sister-in-law along with some other women.

But it didn’t stop there. Mary’s sister Amy, in Nisswa, MN, saw the changes that had occurred in her sister and wanted to see firsthand what it was all about. So she traveled to Des Moines in February 2014 for a Phase 1 Turbo and later attended Phases 2 & 3.

Their sister Meg, who lives in California, has also taken The Ultimate Journey. She was able to take Phase 1 with Kathie in California in August, 2014 and has since flown back to Des Moines for Phases 2 & 3.

Now, all three sisters are facilitating The Ultimate Journey as the effort begun by Mary continues to reproduce and grow. Most every group they’ve led has had at least one individual express interest in leading Phase 1.

These sisters have the tools and resources to help others gain the same freedom in Christ they now enjoy. Mary’s team in Chicago has now taken ninety women (including most recently one of her daughters) through at least Phase 1, many of whom have gone on to Phases 2 and 3.  So far Amy’s team has had 29 participants and Meg has already had 7.  While up until now, Mary has only had female participants, Amy and Meg have both led mixed groups.  However, God has now moved on Mary’s heart to make TUJ available for men and she is excited that men are already signing up for the session starting in January.

Mary and her sisters all grew up following Christ, and their families today follow Christ as well. But even so, Mary says, she and her sisters had never been all that close.

Today, however, largely because of the way they’ve been drawn together through the common experience of The Ultimate Journey, the dynamic has changed among them. Mary now considers her sisters as friends. She was even able to help them navigate some of their Phase 1 questions.

“Before, we never would have admitted that we needed something from each other,” Mary says. “Now we are able to help each other. Now it’s a loving, safe environment. We had never been vulnerable with each other. Now we’re at a place where we can be.”

Mary especially appreciates seeing women in her church find freedom in Christ. “I’ve watched a woman’s whole countenance change over twelve weeks. As Kathie says, and she’s definitely right, you’ve got a front row seat to watch what God is doing in these women’s lives. I’ve seen lives change and new communities form. It’s powerful!”