Looking Forward With Hope - LINDSAY'S STORY

Lindsay knows what it’s like to be ambushed. After a 25-year battle with alcoholism that began while he was still in high school, he thought he finally had it licked. After enrolling in the Men’s New Life Rehabilitation Program, he quit drinking, and surrendered his life to Christ. He found a good church and enrolled in the Mission’s program for men. In time, he established a new life and even led a Celebrate Recovery class at his church. But, one day, he made a mistake. If not for friends like you, it could have been fatal.

“Everything was going fine,” Lindsay says, “and I needed to return to work because, without the second income, things were falling apart at home.” Before long, he was working long hours and had stopped attending church. “When I walked away from Jesus, from the recovery groups, and other Christians, I saw how quickly I went downhill,” he remembers.

“After five years, I was back to where I started.”

When Lindsay and his wife separated, he moved in with a friend. But when he was caught drinking again, he wore out that welcome, too. Facing the streets, he called his wife, who agreed to let him spend the night in their home if he would return to the Mission. “She’d seen the positive difference being here earlier had on me,” he explains. “I came here shortly after that.”

It was humbling. But that no longer mattered. “When I see the faces of those who come in here every morning for a meal . . . I could be one of them,” he says. “Some of those faces are the same ones I saw in 2007. I’ve been there.”

“Before coming to the Mission, I had tried taking my own life a couple of times, but it didn’t work. I should be dead by now, but that’s not what God had in mind for me. I’ve been homeless with no future,” Lindsay adds. But because of your compassion, he has a future — and another chance to transform his life.

“The staff here is phenomenal. I’ve learned so much,” Lindsay states — and you can tell he’s excited about it. What’s more, he knows that with God’s help, and yours, he can make it! “I’m learning how to really read the Bible and to memorize Scripture,” he reports. He is at peace about what comes next — and he is deeply grateful to have friends like you who believed in him, even when he was ready to give up on himself.

“I thank God for you every day,” Lindsay says. “You are the heart of the Mission.” He’s right. You are. Thank you again for all you do!