Progress Reports
“And
let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall
reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore,
as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those
who are of the household of faith.”
Galatians 6:9,10
Greetings!
Since we bought the
apartment building and duplex to house, feed, clothe, care for, and
teach souls in crisis, many opportunities have come our way!
Some of these
opportunities have been very easy and rewarding.
Some of them have been very hard and disappointing.
Galatians 6:9,10 encourages us as it must have
uplifted the Church of Christ in Galatia.
Before I update you on the men
(opportunities) participating in our program, I must first explain
an opportunity that has recently overwhelmed us:
Will was recently sent to us by a criminal
court judge. Will spent 10-months in
jail for stealing bacon from a grocery store.
Will is 25-years-old and has been addicted to drugs for some
time.
The opportunity
that has surprised us is that Will’s 21-year-old wife,
daughter, and son, recently became homeless!
The children were on the brink of being taken from their
mother by Children Services. They were
also in danger from having to stay with strangers.
I believe these
parents, because of their bad choices, deserve to suffer.
However, the children did not choose their parents.
This is an opportunity that we could not walk away from!
We have stepped out in faith and have committed finances to
house, feed and clothe this whole family as we minister to them
regarding their spiritual crisis. Will &
his wife have signed up for one-year in the program.
They will be our first family.
We already rented
an apartment for them.
Regarding the
fourteen other opportunities that have come our way, most are doing
well, but a few have wearied us greatly.
The promise of Galatians 6:9,10 and the souls who succeed keep us
from losing heart!
Randy became our
opportunity when we met his preacher at the 2008 Freed-Hardeman
lectures. He came from his home in
Indiana 438 days ago. He has grown much
spiritually after many ups and downs.
Van
came to us from Texas. He did very well
for the first 5-months. Then we were
devastated when he relapsed on prescription drugs.
Van lost all his privileges (debit card, car and his own
apartment) for a few months. He has
since earned those privileges back. Van,
like Randy is a great help to us in the program.
Timothy (265 days with
us) loves to study the Bible and attend all the services of the
church. However, Timothy has relapsed
numerous times. We are at a loss of how
we can help him. He recently got his car
back and moved into his own apartment.
He worries us very much! He has daily
classes with Frank Parker (the preacher who taught me the Gospel
when I was in prison in 1986). We hope
Timothy gets it now!
Todd
(250 days with us) is very blessed to have computer skills that
enable him to make three times as much as the other men.
It has been 95 days since his last relapse.
He has a good attitude about Bible study.
Craig
is one of our easiest opportunities! He
has never relapsed in the 229 days he has been in the program.
He also has a good work ethic. He
has learned a lot and grown much after being baptized.
Joe
has been one of our hardest opportunities!
After three months Joe was allowed to move into his own
house, drive his own car, have his own debit card, and enjoy life
with little restrictions. The only
requirements were attending all the classes, meetings and services
and submit to random drug testing. When
Joe relapsed on pot and cocaine he lost every privilege and had to
return to live in our facility. Joe did
not accept the consequences of his actions but went to war
(figuratively) with me by bad-mouthing the program to his probation
officer, boss and grandmother. After
30-days Joe is still without the privileges he lost.
He is not a happy-camper! Like a
typical teenager, when Joe is miserable everyone around him is
miserable.
Jason (168 days with us)
had relapsed on drugs and been caught sneaking out at night so many
times that I had to make him live with his parents to keep him out
of jail. Jason has been doing well for
the past month. He is about to move into
his own apartment. It’s
sink or swim for Jason.
He is facing 10-years in prison if he sinks!
Robert is an opportunity
that popped up 151 days ago. He has been
a very easy one! He wants to do right
and grow spiritually. However, his
trucking job is dangerous and consumes much of his time.
He needs to study more!
Curtis (105 days with us)
disappointed us when, on his first day, he invited a girlfriend onto
our property. However, after a strong
rebuke, Curtis has been another one of our enjoyable opportunities.
He now helps us with the new members who enter the program.
He is about to move into his own apartment.
Bryan (93 days) has been
very challenging for us due to his back problems that cause him
severe pain. This has prevented him from
finding a fulltime job. However Bryan
has not given us a hard time regarding the rules.
Ralph (84 days) and I
argued several times in the first couple weeks after he came to us.
However, Ralph has been one of our greatest encouragements.
He recently was promoted to shop-manager on his job.
Stephen was the greatest
opportunity to come our way! He has also
wearied us more than any other member.
Stephen, a preacher, has great potential to do great works for the
Lord. This is why it hurt so much when
he resisted every step we took to help him overcome his addiction to
drugs. Stephen quit the program after
304 very troubled days with us.
Mickey & Rusty became our
opportunities at the same time 41 days ago.
Mickey is having a hard time finding a job.
Rusty found a good electrician job.
They both have a good attitude toward the Bible.
Landon
came to us 23 days ago.
He wants to do right and learn the Bible.
His wife was killed in an automobile accident leaving him
with two precious children who are being cared for by their
grandmother.
Regarding our
graduates, most of them continue to uplift us as they continue to
live faithful lives.
David Wallace is now serving as one of our managers along
with Chris Walden.
Billy Youmans is continuing to live a
drug-free and faithful life!
Beau
graduated after 422 days and broke our hearts!
One month after his graduation, he relapsed on drugs and
alcohol. The hardest thing about Beau’s
relapse is the harm it has done to his 4-year-old daughter.
A family from our congregation regarded this little girl as
an opportunity to “do good” and is caring for Alice until Beau can
get back on track! We are trying to
encourage him to enter a program of the church in Dothan, Alabama.
Bill
& Gerry Nicks continue to
assist in the ministry in many ways.
Frank & Betty Parker
have been a big boost to the program as they use their many talents
to assist us.
Of course, your prayers and all your support
have kept us from growing weary in the good we are doing in
Waycross. We appreciate it very much!
Please pray especially for our ministering efforts for Will
and his family!!
In His service,