Mission Moments - Snapshots from the Soul
Every person who passes through the doors of City Union Mission has a unique story to tell - every man, every woman, and every child. Some stories are gripping, some are interesting, and some are heartwarming, while others are heartbreaking.
We have captured several stories that may change the way you view homelessness forever. Here is your chance to take a glimpse into the lives of a few of our precious clients, volunteers, and donors. We hope you will take a minute to engross yourself in these powerful testimonies. Please place yourself in their shoes, and join them in their past sorrows as well as their newfound joy.
Donald
Last winter, 34-year-old Donald was drowning. He was unemployed, homeless, addicted to drugs and alcohol and estranged from his family. He wanted desperately to turn his life around, but he didn’t know how.
Donald’s difficulties began when he was 14 and started experimenting with drugs. As his hunger to get high increased, so did his problems. After he was kicked out of school in the 11th grade, his addiction deepened.
“I moved from pot and beer to crack cocaine and whiskey,” Donald remembers. “I worked sporadically, two or three months at a time, doing general labor. Then my addiction would take over again. I’d start hustling, stealing things or selling drugs to make money to buy more drugs.”
In 2004, he wound up homeless. “I was hopping around from vacant house to vacant house, sometimes staying with people in a drug house,” Donald says. “I knew I didn’t want to do drugs any more, but I didn’t know what else I could do.”
That’s when Donald ran into Johnny Evans, a friend he used to get high with. But Donald could tell in an instant that Johnny had changed since he’d seen him last - he was sober and full of joy. Donald wondered what had happened in Johnny’s life to bring about such change. Johnny told Donald he had come to City Union Mission, joined the Christian Life Program (CLP) and, through the power of God, not only conquered his drug addiction, but found new meaning and purpose in life. Donald knew he needed to do the same thing. He joined the CLP and experienced the powerful transformation Johnny spoke about. Now, he’s clean and full of hope for the future.
“I don’t know if I would be dead or almost dead if the Lord didn’t use Johnny to get to me,” he shares. “I think I’d still be out there, running around using, abusing and blaming everyone else for my problems.”
“The Lord has brought relationships back that I valued a lot and that I didn’t think would ever be mended. My kids like me being around - they smile and hug me,” Donald shares. After he graduates from the CLP, Donald plans to enroll in Bible college and become a teacher.
Do you want to find hope through Jesus Christ, like Donald? Click here to find out how you can find a new beginning!