Getting to Know Deyona Kirk: The Pain, Purpose, and Calling Behind Divine Konnections
- Deyona Kirk
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
In this episode of Divine Konversations, we sit down with our founder and executive director, Deyona Kirk, and trace the journey behind Divine Konnections - not just the organization, but the calling. What unfolds is not a polished success story. It’s a testimony shaped by trauma, faith, grief, and an unrelenting commitment to serve.
Deyona was born and raised in Sherman, Texas, the oldest child in a blended family, carrying responsibility long before she ever chose it. She describes herself as “bossy” from the womb - but what she really means is that she was accountable. When your mother works multiple jobs and you’re raising siblings in the projects, you grow up quickly.
Her childhood was layered. Poverty, yes - but also love. New Easter dresses sewn by hand. Food on the table. A grandmother who made her feel chosen. At the same time, there was abuse. Physical and sexual trauma that no adult ever asked about. And when she finally told someone at church, the story spread instead of being protected. That moment reshaped her understanding of faith and people.
By 12, she became a mother. By 14, she entered foster care. By 16, she was homeless with a four-year-old. Those experiences didn’t just shape her - they planted seeds.
For over 20 years, she served in children’s ministry because she remembered what it felt like to be a child hurting in plain sight. She worked with teen moms, families in transitional housing, and survivors of domestic violence - not because it was glamorous, but because it was familiar. “I was just doing the job,” she says now. Only later did she realize it had become her life’s preparation.
Her faith journey was not linear. There were seasons of anger and doubt, moments of questioning everything. One turning point came midair - literally. A plane malfunction forced an emergency landing in Mexico. In that moment, she made a promise to God: If you save me, I will serve you forever. She kept that promise.
But the true birth of Divine Konnections came through grief.
When her mother died in February, everything shifted. Their relationship had been in repair, and there were things left unsaid. In the quiet aftermath, Deyona found herself revisiting old journals - pages where she had written about opening a home for teen moms and having her mother run it. The dream was always there. It just hadn’t been activated.
By April, Divine Konnections was incorporated.
The timing was undeniable. Licensing approvals moved faster than anyone expected. Grants were awarded. A house was secured. Within months, doors were open. What began as a vision to “get girls off the street, back in school, and into housing” quickly evolved into something deeper.
The need was heavier than anticipated. Trauma was compounded. Mental health challenges were profound. Substance use looked different than it had decades earlier. The work had to slow down. Healing had to come first.
Deyona lived inside the first house for nearly a year. When something broke, she fixed it. When someone relapsed, she sat with them. When babies cried at 2 a.m., she was there. Leadership, in her words, means knowing how to do everything - not because you should always do everything, but because lives are at stake.
And that’s the part no one talks about.
Leadership is heavy. It’s carrying 26 families on your shoulders. It’s knowing that one wrong hire, one missed detail, one unchecked assumption could impact someone’s child forever. It’s sacrificing time with your own children while building stability for someone else’s.
She admits there were costs. Her family bore the weight of her work ethic. Balance wasn’t always present. Now, she talks openly about finding the middle - especially encouraging younger leaders not to repeat her extremes.
Still, the impact is undeniable.
Former residents now lead classrooms. Teen moms now advocate for other women. Women who once needed safety now provide it. That is how she defines success - not numbers, but lives changed and then multiplied.
Divine Konnections was built in honor of her mother. The childcare center is named after her foster mother. The work is layered with legacy - grief transformed into service. Ten years from now, she doesn’t hope to be at the helm. She hopes to look around the community and see BIPOC leaders everywhere - executive directors, housing developers, educators - who once passed through these doors. She hopes to see safe housing, fair treatment in CPS systems, and children thriving who were once statistics.
And when her grandchildren speak about her one day?
She hopes they simply say: “My nana helped a lot of people.”
“Impact is when they turn around and help somebody else.”
⏱ Chapter Markers
00:00 – Deyona’s childhood, trauma, and becoming a teen mom
10:30 – Faith, church hurt, and the turning point on the plane
19:30 – From homelessness to community work
28:00 – The birth of Divine Konnections after her mother’s death
38:00 – Leadership, sacrifice, and building from the ground up
48:30 – Defining impact and healing through service
57:45 – Vision for the future and legacy
Weekly Reflection
What pain in your life might actually be preparation?
What would it look like to turn your grief into service?
Watch & Listen
YouTube: youtube.com/@divinekonnectionsinc
Stay Connected with Divine Konnections
Website: www.divinekonnections.org
Instagram: @divine_konnections_inc
Facebook: Divine Konnections
Email: hello@divinekonnections.org
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