He arrived at Helping Up Mission looking and feeling pretty ragged in 2010. At age 44, his addiction had managed to take away virtually everything that mattered in his life.
Because he was so desperate, Drew was willing to do almost anything we asked. He did our 12-month residential Spiritual Recovery Program pretty much without grumbling.
And, guess what?…It Worked!
He graduated 1 year later and moved back home with his family, continuing to work his recovery. He recently celebrated 5 years clean, loves his job and is getting married in November.
Drew is really enjoying his life today and, as he was telling me all that’s happened to him since arriving at HUM, his eyes welled up with tears! “I always do this when I start talking about what happened to my life here,” he said.
We hugged and I told him, “You’ve made my day!”
To which he replied, “This place saved my life!”
I come to work every day because I get to see and hear this kind of thing regularly.
Not that everything is this good — I’m going to have to go and yell at a couple of people in a couple of minutes!
But I love my job and am grateful for the opportunity to be part of something so special.
Enjoying One Moment at a Time,
Pastor Gary Byers
Deputy Director