Stories of Transformation: Robert

Being a methamphetamine user for 17 years taught Rob that he couldn’t trust anyone. He knew it was true because the last person anyone could trust was Rob himself. “To support my habit, I was constantly stealing from people; first from my mom and then anyone else who gave me the opportunity,” Rob admits. “If I got caught, I knew how to work the system; promising this and that, telling my parole officers what they wanted to hear so I could stay out of jail. It all worked until the last parole officer told me there was nothing else he could do, I was going to prison.”

Rob had been there and didn’t relish the thought of going back. Fortunately, he had an idea. “I thought of my brother Kurt who was in the recovery program at the Phoenix Rescue Mission. I asked if I could go there instead – and it worked!” Rob had found an out, but not just from prison. Little did he know, he had found an “out” from death into life. A few years ago, Rob’s younger brother, Kurt, was following in his older sibling’s footsteps and managed to get sent to prison. Upon release, Rob reached out to Kurt in hopes of saving him a return trip. He had learned about the Phoenix RescueMissionduring a missionaries’ day at his dad’s church and suggested that Kurt check it out. Although his brother found the help he needed here to turn his life around, Rob wasn’t about to follow his own advice. “When my brother signed up for recovery, I was happy for him, but I swore up and down that I would never come to this place.” Fortunately, God had other plans!

A few years later, Rob walked through the same gates his brother had walked, believinghe was here just to dodge prison. But instead of a “get out of jail free card,” he found something even better. “I knew about God,” Rob remembers, “but I never had anything to do with Him. What I found here at the Phoenix Rescue Mission was a real relationship with Jesus Christ for the first time.” It changed him. Seventeen years of deception and mistrust meant that Rob had builtthick walls around his heart. But as he begrudgingly attended our counseling sessions and support groups and started to get to know the other men on campus, bit by bit those walls began to crumble. While our staff spent time equipping Rob with tools to overcome his addiction, God continued to soften his heart. After a few months, Rob was in for a surprise. He suddenly discovered a passion for evangelism that he never knew he had. “I found I loved going outside the gates and witnessing to people, so when they pickedme to drive the brand-new delivery truck we just received from the Diamondbacks, I was thrilled! Now everywhere I go to pickup donation, I get a chance to talk about this place and what God has done in my life.”

But God wasn’t finished. Seventeen years of drug use does more than harden a heart, it hadalso ruined Rob’s relationship with his family, especially his daughter. Now, after the transformation that Rob has gone through, reconciliation was possible. With a wide smile, Rob beamed, “I’ve received so many blessings here, it’s hard to believe it. I’ve regained my family’s trust, I’ve restored my relationship with my daughter, Kairee, and I’m using what I’m learning here to further my walk with Christ. I’m very grateful to the Mission for showingme that there is a God and giving me a reason to change my life.” Rob is a shining example of the amazing, life-transforming work God does through your partnership with the Phoenix Rescue Mission. In fact, he’s just one of the 539 men and women whose lives you helped change though our recovery programs last year. But there are thousands more who need the same kind of help to escape from their past. Thank you for the prayers and support that brings hope to so many just like Rob and God bless!