Stories You’ll Love

Thank you for showing him that new life is possible.

“I felt like an outcast… My hope was gone.”

When Joshua was young, he longed to be accepted by his peers. But instead, he was ridiculed and ostracized. “They judged me and laughed at me a lot,” he says. “I felt like an outcast.”

The rejection took a heavy toll, and as the years went on, Joshua struggled with depression, anger, and hatred. Finally, he turned to drugs to kill his pain. “When I got irritated, I’d use drugs to black out my feelings.”

Eventually, his addiction took over his life, exacerbating his depression and leading him down a dark path that led to broken relationships, overdoses, homelessness, and prison. “My hope was gone. I felt like I was wasting away.”

When he was released, Joshua had nowhere to go, so prison authorities dropped him off at our Shelter for Men. 

“I sat in the Shelter and prayed to God, ‘Show me Your path to change my life.’”

Within a few hours, one of our staff members invited him to join our Hebron Addiction Recovery Program, and Joshua knew it was God’s answer to his prayer. Since then, his mustard seed of faith has grown strong, and he’s found healing for his anger and rejection through Bible studies, church attendance, and the counsel of his Program Manager.

“My faith was lukewarm, but Wheeler helped me build a strong relationship with the Lord and taught me how to apply scripture so I can live a Christlike life,” he says.

“Now, I know that Christ died for my sins.”

Joshua graduated from the program and went on to our Servant Leader Training, where he has served as the hands and feet of Christ, ministering to the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of our Shelter guests. “Just being a happy presence, showing love, and having a listening ear goes a long way.”

Thank you for sharing God’s love with Joshua this Easter. His life has been renewed through the joy and hope of the Gospel! “Now, I’m a God-fearing man, and I want to become a missionary and tell others about Jesus.”
 

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