The Apostle Paul got it right: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows” (Galatians 6:7, NIV). I put nothing good into my life, and I got nothing good back. By the time I came to the Milwaukee Rescue Mission a year ago, I knew I needed to do more than stop using drugs and alcohol. I needed to completely change everything about my life. If I didn’t, I was going to end up one more dead guy on the news.

I grew up in a loving Christian home. I couldn’t have asked for a better upbringing. But for some reason, I started rebelling in 7th grade and never looked back — alcohol, drugs and trouble. I was in and out of institutions from the age of 14 on, and after every incarceration, I just got worse.

And the more trouble I got into, the more drugs I did. Because I knew I was wasting my life and I knew God had a better plan. But it was easier to use more drugs than to face it.

Then God got my attention when I overdosed and almost died three times in one year. The last time, I passed out in my car and crashed. Miraculously, no one got hurt but me. That was my rock bottom. I had to change or die. When I got out of the hospital I came to the Milwaukee Rescue Mission.

Since then, everything has changed. I pray every day for God to change me. I listen to everything the staff has to say and I learn everything the classes teach me. The people here are on my side. This place is filled with love. You can feel it. My heart is changing and so is my thinking. And I’m ready to go wherever God takes me.

As a donor, that’s what you did for me. You saved my life. In fact, you’re saving lives every day here. Without your support, I’d be dead. Thanks to you, I’m becoming the man I was supposed to be. That’s God’s work, and you’re a part of it.