Progress Reports
Dear brethren,
We appreciate your prayers
and support. We now have 12 men with us
. Two men have recently graduated!
God does not allow demon possession
today like He did in the first century.
However, Mark chapter 5 does give us a despairing picture of
addiction:
“…When
He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the
tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who
had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him,
not even with chains, because
he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had
been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither
could anyone tame him. And
always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs,
crying out and cutting himself with stones.”
Mark 5:1-5
This passage also
illustrates how there is hope for those who run to Jesus for help
with their addiction:
“When he saw
Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him.”
Mark 5:6 “…They
came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed
and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind…”
Mark 5:15
The man of Mark 5 suffered in his struggle with demons. The men in our care suffer in their struggle with addictions. Jesus Christ restored the man to “his right mind.” We are using the Gospel of Christ to restore these men to their “right mind.”
If you know someone struggling with addiction,
please point them to
www.projectrescue.org
Chris
has graduated from our 1-year program!
We count Chris as our first success! He
recently had his probation transferred from Dothan to Waycross.
Chris is now working with us as the house manager.
He is saving me from burn-out by helping me to supervise the
12 men in our facilities.
Ryan
has graduated from our
6-month program! We will not count him
as a success until he completes 1-year of being drug and alcohol
free. Ryan had a tougher time in the
program because of his young age (21).
He is now working 2 jobs to pay off his debts.
He is presently living with his grandparents.
He hopes to be in his own apartment soon.
Ryan’s
parents are members of the church in Fernandina, Florida.
Beau
has been with us 319
days. He has now moved out of our
facility and into his own apartment for him and his 3-year-old
daughter Alice! The apartment and
utilities are in Beau’s name. Besides
restoring the men to their “right mind,” we also help them with
family and financial restoration. With
the help of his family and the church, Beau has accomplished a lot!
Beau’s parents are members of the church of Christ in West
Palm Beach, Florida.
David
has been back with us 154 days. He is
struggling to repair his marriage. He is
working fulltime for Beau in the flooring business.
He is close to moving out into his own apartment.
His song leading is greatly improving.
He also helps with transportation.
David’s wife is a member of the church of Christ in Quitman,
Georgia.
Randy has been in the program 215 days. He is still looking for a fulltime job. He plans to stay in Waycross. Like the man struggling with the demons, Randy’s depression torments him. He is becoming more balanced on his medication. His mother is a member of the church of Christ in Evansville, Indiana. Update on Randy: He just (December 2nd) returned from a visit with his parents in Evansville, Indiana. He drove back in his car. Randy is now living in our Callahan, Florida facility which is 10 miles from Jacksonville, FL. He and two other program members (Kevin and Todd) will be working in Jacksonville. They will return to Waycross on Sundays. During the week they will attend classes through WebCam.
Kevin
has been in the program 219 days. He is
now having a difficult time quitting smoking.
He is also struggling with a failed marriage.
He may be with us 1-year. He has
experience working for an airline. He is
looking for a job in Jacksonville, FL which is an hour’s drive from
Waycross. We may rent an apartment in
Jacksonville for Kevin and two other program members.
We would use a WebCam for Bible study and meetings and they
would return to Waycross for Sunday worship and Wednesday Bible
study. With the bad economy we have to
get creative! Kevin’s wife is a member
of the church of Christ in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Travis
has been back with us 98 days. Travis
has had the most difficult time in the program.
He has a strong will that has been wreaking havoc on his life
for a long time. After 6-months with us Travis exited the program,
relapsed back onto drugs and came back.
He has relapsed on drugs several more times since then.
He has resisted running to Jesus like the man did with his
demons. We are praying and waiting for
Travis to GET IT! His mother is a member
of the church of Christ in Kerrville, Texas.
Van
has been with us 111
days. He has successfully quit smoking.
Van helps out with transportation and many more things.
His mother is sending us enough support to help us with our
transportation needs. Van’s mother is a
member of the church of Christ in Baytown, Texas.
Marcus
has been with us 71
days. Marcus is addicted to a great
amount of prescription medicines. He has
already quit taking 2 powerful antidepressants.
He has also reduced by 1/3 his intake of another.
He is having a hard time sleeping at night and is hearing
voices in his head. His dad is a member
of the church of Christ in Gainesville, Florida.
Paul,
has been with us 69 days. He is now
attending school to learn to work for a Georgia Power Company.
He is struggling to quit smoking.
He is also struggling with a failed marriage.
He worries about his children.
Paul has lived in Waycross most of his life.
His mother has been attending our morning services.
We baptized Paul into Christ after he was with us a month.
The remainder of our program members are not members of the church
of Christ.
Timothy,
Todd, Billy, Daniel, and Craig
are studying the Jule Miller, John Hurt and Searching For Truth
Bible Studies. The first 30 days in the
program is primarily a time to clear their heads from the chemicals
they were abusing. Bible study,
meditation time and hard work helps this process.
Timothy,
has been with us 36
days. He recently started working in a
buffet restaurant.
Todd
has been with us 24 days. He has a
degree in computer programming and webpage design.
When he completes 30 days Todd may move into our Jacksonville
apartment. Todd’s parents, who are
long-time residents of Waycross, visited our worship service
yesterday.
Billy
has been with us 23 days. He is an
electrician who was recently laid off from a job he had for 5-years.
He is also struggling from a failed marriage and worried
about his children. He has a great
attitude and sees his need to be baptized.
Billy’s mother is a member of the church of Christ in
Valdosta, GA.
Daniel
has been with us 20 days. He is
24-years-old. Therefore it will be
harder for him in the program. In 10
days he will have to quit smoking. This
is going to be a big test for him. His
parents live in Warner Robbins, GA.
Craig
has been with us 7 days. He was living
with his sister who is a member of the church of Christ in Valdosta,
Georgia. She recognized that Craig was
going to need help to overcome his addictions.
Stephen
decided to exit the program on August 28th.
He was with us 70 days. Stephen
was a preacher for the church of Christ in Texas when he became
addicted to alcohol and drugs. We were
using the Galatians 6:1,2 and James 5:19,20 process to win him back.
However his inability to control his anger undermined all our
efforts. Stephen could do a great work
for the Lord as a minister; but he first must overcome his demon
like addictions.
Like
the demon possessed man in Mark 5, the souls in our care are running
to Jesus in their hearts. Through
prayer, Bible reading, Bible study, Bible doing, and Bible teaching,
they are being restored to their “right mind”(Mark 5:15).
In His service,
Ronnie Crocker, minister