“When you change one life, that life can change so many others!”- Jerry

With the holidays here, it’s easy to gather with loved ones and celebrate this joy-filled season, and never notice those around us who are struggling and in pain. Whether that’s from a job loss, health issue—or something darker like addiction.

Jerry knows all about how deep that darkness can take you, and it started so early . . .

“I was a good kid,” he recalls. “Got good grades, paid attention. It wasn’t until hitting junior high that I started falling behind. And I started smoking because other kids were doing it, not knowing it was opening the door to other drugs that eventually led me on a downward spiral.”

A spiral that ended up ruining his life as an adult, eventually even leaving him homeless.

Even seeking help didn’t change things for Jerry. “I was in and out of programs—numerous programs over the years,” he says, but the end result? “Still negative,” he sighs. “I was so tired of that vicious cycle, and I wasn’t getting any younger.”

“That was when I felt something tugging at my heart, knew I needed to get it right,” he says. And that was where God found him on the cold, bitter streets of Boston, and brought him here.

“A guy told me, ‘If you’re trying to change, go to the Rescue Mission in Springfield where I’ve been. It’s different: it’s a spiritual program.’ And he was right—it’s different here, and the difference is the Spirit.”

The proof? Four months into the year-long Men’s New Life Transformation/Rehabilitation program—just when Jerry had always found himself, “pulling myself out, I realized I didn’t want to leave. I realized how good God is. I learned so much about Him, about my own spirit, and about my faith.”

That faith is what is moving Jerry forward for the first time in a lifetime of falling behind. “I needed that to happen to me, to really take this seriously, to really listen to God’s voice.”

Jerry is grateful for caring gifts and prayers like yours that help provide new life in Christ—“It’s really changing lives, and when you change one, that life can change so many others!”