Without the Teen Challenge program and Jesus Christ, I would more than likely be dead by now. I was confused at a very young age because my biological mother gave me up for adoption because heroin, cocaine and alcohol were more important to her than I was. I was tossed around from foster care homes to orphanages, finally finding love and a stable home environment with my Uncle and Aunt.
They raised me in the church and we rarely missed a Sunday or Wednesday service. I got a lot of head knowledge in those years but I never let the knowledge seep into my heart. I was going to church to make my parents happy, and my so called relationship with Jesus wasn’t real. At age 18 I got kicked out of the house due to my drug use and constant manipulation.
I moved to Lake Tahoe and preceded to party, rebel, and try any drug that was offered to me. After injuring myself snowboarding, my dreams of becoming a professional snowboarder went down the drain. I started using heroin and that drug took over my life for 6 years. Because of my addiction, I lost everything material that I owned, got arrested multiple times, and was now homeless on the streets of Portland. I thought I was going to be a heroin addict for life and gave up on trying to change. God had a different plan though.
I was arrested by a police officer in Portland who told me about Jesus and that I needed to get help and that I couldn’t do it alone. I detoxed in jail and finally called my parents who I hadn’t talked with in months and I asked them for help. They told me about Teen Challenge and that it was a Christian program. I was a little hesitant to enter because it was a year long. Entering the program was the best choice that I had made in my life.
I graduated from Teen Challenge Oct 28, 2011 and gained a real relationship with Jesus Christ. God has delivered me from the strongholds that had controlled my life for 20 years. I have come a long way and am committed to sobriety and serving Jesus for the rest of my life. I am now a staff member at the Central Oregon Men’s Campus. I met my wife at the bank doing deposits for Teen Challenge. We have a son and none of this would have been possible without me entering the doors of Teen Challenge. My goal is to follow God’s plan for my life and go through the doors that He opens. I have so much to thank God for and am looking forward to serving Him forever.
Do not grow weary in doing good, for you will reap a harvest if you do not give up. — Galatians 6:9
