Dennis was just 13 years old when he started experimenting with alcohol and drugs. By the time he was 20 years old, he was hooked on crystal meth. For the next twenty-three years, he never stopped using. Dennis was married at 23 and his wife gave birth to their son a couple years later. While he loved his wife and son, it wasn’t enough to get him to stop his drug use. His wife divorced him when his son was only 18 months old.
For years, Dennis bounced around, doing whatever he had to in order to support his addictions. In 2003, he was arrested for drug smuggling from Mexico and spent a year in jail. After that, things only got worse. His addiction to meth cost him the trust and respect of his family and friends, he lost any chance of joint custody of his son and finally, lost his job, becoming homeless.
Living in a van, one night he decided to pray. With tears flowing, he prayed asking God to rescue him and put hope back in his life. The next morning when his drug dealer showed up, he asked Dennis to go somewhere with him. Before he knew it, the dealer dropped him off at the Mission and told him to focus on getting better for himself, his son and his family.
It wasn’t long after he entered our recovery program that he realized what was missing from his life was a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The hardest part of the program for Dennis was surrendering. He found that the more he grew in his relationship with God, the easier it became to surrender his past sins and allow his heart to be filled with hope and joy through God’s forgiveness.
Dennis graduated from our Men’s Recovery Program in April and already has a job. When he went back to the last company he had worked for, Quick Pik Allover Towing, to apologize, the owner hired him on the spot. They could see right away that Dennis is a changed man.
Thanks to those that support the Mission, lives are being changed. As Dennis put it, “Thanks to everyone who donates time and money to the Mission. You literally saved my life and the lives of many others. I can’t thank you enough!”
