Your support is helping to heal the root of addiction

From the outside, someone caught in addiction can appear to be simply selfish and seeking self-gratification. But the truth is most of these addictions are just “fruits” masking deeper root problems. A past physical or emotional trauma can turn into a spiritual malady, which can alter the course of an entire life if not addressed. The roots of addiction can be many, but often an addiction can stem from this pain and trauma.

Freddy

As the world attempts to mend these spiritual issues like addiction or depression with only physical solutions, we at Pacific Garden Mission know Jesus Christ is the answer. You are helping introduce people like Freddy, who shares his story next, to the Friend who can truly help solve his addiction through your support of this Gospel ministry.

Freddy was introduced to drugs by his parents at a very early age. While there is no true excuse for a person’s actions, shining a light on these deeper hidden afflictions that many addicts are attempting to live with helps uncover the full problem—so they can bring their pain before the Lord and find the solution in the hope they have in Christ.

“I started smoking crack cocaine at the age of 14 with my dad, my sister and my mother. As a child, your sense of ‘normal’ comes from the adults around you, and as easy as it is to look back and see the insanity of it, at the time it was as normal as I could know. By my 15th birthday I was fully addicted to smoking cocaine. My mind hadn’t fully developed and I didn’t know anything else. The devil had me trapped in my own family.

“By the age of 24 I started going to jail repeatedly. That is when I actually started to pick up the Word and would read the Bible. While in jail I would go to church and would start studying the Scriptures. I would get close to God. But out of jail I would slip back into my life of addiction. I was sick of it. The problem was I kept going back to the same environment.

“Life continued, and I faced reoccurring bouts of homelessness and incarceration. I lived in the trunk of a car, in a cave, and in tents. It seemed like a hopeless situation. This year, I found myself living in a guy’s garage and crying out to God every day I pleaded with God to heal me and deliver me out of my sin. I needed a way out and God had done it for me before. On August 10 of 2019, I overdosed on heroin for the fifth time. When I woke up from this, I had an overwhelming desire in my heart for God. I medically detoxed from all of the drugs at the hospital and then they sent me here in a taxi. The cab driver told me Pacific Garden Mission was a place that would help. I didn’t know what a ‘mission’ was and I had no idea it was a Jesus place. When I pulled up I saw the sign said ‘Jesus Saves,’ and I asked Him, ‘All right Jesus, is this is where you want me?’

“I joined the New Day addictions program and graduated after 90 days. I then joined the Bible program and have been here ever since. I surrendered my whole heart and now I just feel at peace. I feel that God gave me my strength back. Pacific Garden Mission has been a safe home for me to begin a new life in Christ and with a new family of support I can have peace and not feel alone. I have the joy of the Lord. I feel so good I can sit here and be sober minded and share my story.

“Before I turned my life over to Christ, I was consumed by a daily anger towards my family but now that I am in Christ I have been able to forgive them and release my anger. I pray that as I change and grow they will see Jesus in me and see that a person doesn’t need drugs to cope with life. Now I am here at Pacific Garden Mission and I have joy. With the Word of God coming back into my life I have peace again. Everything is in His hands, and I feel protected and like I don’t have to worry anymore. I examine what I do every day before I do it. I have a clear conscience. I feel more at peace with God then I ever have.”

Freddy, and many guests here, are battling lifelong addictions that have been numbing their pain. It is one thing to get sober, but to get clean and then face the roots causing the addiction is absolutely vital. This can be overwhelming for someone and require a large structure of support that is hard to find. You provide this godly structure of loving support at PGM through your generous giving.

Pray that we continue to minster and provide compassionate Bible based wisdom, structure, and support. Your prayers and financial support help maintain this refuge of hope and transformation for residents in the New Day and New Life Programs. With the resources you help to provide, the Word and power of God are changing lives like Freddy’s every day.

Please help support Pacific Garden Mission today so that more men and women can overcome drug abuse and have a chance at new life in Christ.