Joni
(As seen in the March Newsletter)
My name is Joni. My
addiction to drugs actually started at birth – I was born a drug baby to a
mother who was fourteen and a prostitute. The state soon took me and my
sisters and placed us in an orphanage, where I was adopted by a wealthy
family. They seemed very nice, but they turned out to be violent and
terrible role models, teaching us how to smoke marijuana at five, and giving
us speed and alcohol. I didn’t understand that this wasn’t normal, as it was
the only life I had. I never had any role models.
When I was twelve, my adopted dad
raped me. When I got pregnant, we moved to Mexico to abort the baby. At 13,
my adopted father sold me into marriage to an abusive man. We had two
children before I was sixteen, and I stayed with him for over ten years
before I had the courage to leave him. My life was a mess - I prostituted at
times, and I was always high. Methamphetamine was my drug of choice.
In 1989, I married again and had a son who is now 15 years old.
I began to question my drug use
for the first time last year. One day a friend was at our house, saw my
husband injecting me with meth, and decided that was it. She drove me
straight to City Light, where I filled out an application, had an interview,
and went into the New Life Program two days later. I had bad withdrawals and
many ups and downs, and would not talk to anyone or eat or sleep.
Despite my struggles, I was learning
about God, and I went to church for the first time in my life. In March, I
accepted Jesus as my Savior, but even with Jesus to help me, I still had a
long way to go. Soon after I became a Christian, I had to go to the
hospital; I was dehydrated. I was scared to go to sleep because of
nightmares. Having to face things brought back bad memories, and I ended up
in the hospital for four months after a nervous breakdown. People here were
so nice to me: they visited, called, and sent me cards. On October 28th of
last year I returned to City Light. The girls and staff hugged me and I
hugged back, and told everyone I loved them. I’ve never had real family, but
now I do at City Light.
John
(As seen in the February Newsletter)
John entered the New Life Program at the Lighthouse Rescue Mission in Nampa in December of 2006, three months after finishing a seventeen-month sentence in prison. He had been raised by a Catholic mother who loved him and taught him to live right and believe in God, but she died when he was in high school, leaving him alone. He had worked hard since he was fourteen, and was able to make it on his own, but made some bad choices in those years that led to a drinking problem. He did well in high school despite the difficulties of his life, and attended BSU for a year and a half. John got a job at Albertsons, where he worked for eleven years in management, until his drinking caught up with him and brought his normal life to a halt.
When he came to the Lighthouse and joined the New Life Program on his probation officer’s recommendation, John was ready to change. There, he overcame his addiction to alcohol and learned a lot about himself, and about the Bible and God. The program strengthened his faith, and taught him humility and how to let God be the judge. On Labor Day of 2007, John got a job at the Target store in Nampa, where he was soon being honored as the October employee of the month. He is working hard and doing well. The HR Manager at Target says of John that “No job is too big - he is very self-motivated and self-sufficient, and we’re happy that he joined our team!” He graduated from the New Life Program on December 6, and moved into the new Next Step transitional housing in Nampa. He is especially grateful for his apartment there because he was just reunited with his daughter on Father’s Day of last year, and having this apartment means he can spend a lot more time with her. The staff at the Lighthouse are so proud of John!
Debbie
(As seen in the October Newsletter)
Debbie grew up in Burley, Idaho in a home that seemed normal, but was eaten away internally by her family’s drinking. She always felt a need to be accepted and loved, and her home didn’t meet that need. Her teenage years were troubled; she began drinking and smoking pot in junior high, and dropped out of school in the ninth grade. In her search for acceptance she married a man who was an alcoholic, and after twelve years, she divorced him. Her second and current husband introduced her to methamphetamine, and after trying it once, she was addicted. They have three children, Sierra, Selena, and Tito. Debbie’s love for her children enabled her to remain drug-free during her pregnancies, but she couldn’t break the habit, and as soon as she was out of the hospital, she would use drugs again.
On July 2nd, 2005, Debbie and her husband were taken to jail, and the kids went to live with their father’s sister. Debbie applied to the New Life Program at City Light, but at that time they didn’t have an opening, and she was going to have to wait. God intervened, and two weeks later she got the call that she was in! Debbie has accomplished amazing things with God’s help at City Light, one of which was earning her GED. She had studied for many months, and when she took the test the first time, she failed math. But she went right back to studying, worked another two months with a tutor, and took the test again, and three weeks ago, she found out that she passed!
In addition to that blessing, God has also begun to rebuild Debbie’s family. For a year at City Light, she didn’t have her children. Her husband’s family kept them from her, and Debbie eventually had to go to court to reclaim custody of them. When she thought she would never see her children again, Debbie cried out to God for His help, and she realizes now that that is exactly where she needs to be for her family. Her children came to live with her at City Light on August 8th of last year! Debbie’s husband will be in prison for the next few years, but she has faith that if it’s His will, God will restore their entire family, and in the meantime, He is healing the years of hurt caused by drug abuse. She says, “I came City Light alone and broken, and I’m leaving with all my faith in God and a renewed heart and family.”
Zoran
(As seen in the September Newsletter)
I was born in
Sarajevo on March 6th 1947. At that time
Sarajevo was the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which
was part of Yugoslavia. Growing up, I never attended church
- my father was Greek Orthodox, and my mother was Roman Catholic. As part of
my education though, I read the Holy Bible, the Koran, and the Talmud.
I graduated from the University of
Sarajevo’s School of Economics with a degree in Sales Management, and went
to work with a company. It was there that my problem with alcohol first
started, simply because everyone around me drank. I traveled a great deal
with my non-English speaking colleagues, and most of our meetings,
negotiations, and contract signings were held in bars, restaurants, or
private offices, all full of alcohol. When war broke out in 1991, I spent
three months in the military, and later joined the United Nations as an
interpreter. During wartime I didn’t drink, because I decided to survive the
war, but when it ended I start drinking again.
On June 5th 1997 I
immigrated to the USA. After several jobs here in Boise, I moved to Florida,
then to Chicago. When I returned from Chicago, I couldn’t find a job and I
went to the Boise Rescue Mission’s River of Life. Here, I found very helpful
and friendly people, and I received Jesus as my Savior. I regularly attend
any occasion where I can hear the Bible read or Jesus’ teaching. Thanks to
my previous knowledge of religion, it was not difficult to understand and
accept Jesus’ teaching, which
has helped me to overcome my drinking problem after so many years of
struggle.
For the last five months I have
had a job, and I hope that very soon I will have my own apartment. In fact,
I am approved for a single bedroom apartment in Pioneer Square apartments as
soon as there is a vacancy.
This is a brief story of my life, and if my
testimony can help other people to achieve a different life, I will be
happy. This also shows that with firm belief in God and with a strong will
to work, nothing is impossible.
Thank you and God bless you all,
Zoran
Bill's Story
(As Seen in the August Newsletter)
Bill has been addicted to methamphetamine for 20 years. He finally decided to change after he’d spent some time in prison, and realized as soon as he got out that even after months of sobriety in prison, he couldn’t control the urge to use drugs. He has been drug-free since March 30th, and is working hard to stay that way. He joined the Work Program at the River of Life a few weeks ago, taking classes to learn marketable skills and developing a strong work ethic. He has become the Floor Manager at the River of Life, a position of responsibility that Bill capably fulfills. He says, “Nobody’s ever trusted me or given me responsibility before.” His mother has seen the change in her son, and decided to trust him with his father’s wedding band, which Bill cherishes as a reminder of his father, who passed away a year ago. He is also attending the Vineyard church, and enjoys the Christian fellowship and teaching there. Bill, who used to think that “being a drug addict is the only thing I know how to do well,” is now working for a grant from BSU to become an EMT. He says that the people at River make all the difference for him – they put their arms around him and accepted him, and they continually encourage him to expect things of himself and grow. Just five months ago, Bill was a drug addict at the end of his rope; now, thanks to people like you who believe in him, he is on his way to a new life!
Pam and Nichole
(As seen in the July Newsletter)
A few years ago, Pam and Nichole arrived in Boise with no place to stay. Pam had lost her job, and they were in pretty grim circumstances. An acquaintance told them about Boise Rescue Mission’s shelter for women, so they came to City Light. Nichole was just thirteen, but she saw something in the staff and environment at City Light that made an impact on her, and she became a Christian while they were staying there.
After three months, they moved to Las Vegas to be with Pam’s older daughter, but three years later, when Pam and Nichole needed to come back to Boise, they knew where they could go to have a safe place to stay while trying to get back on their feet. Both of these women are extremely grateful for the physical help and the spiritual encouragement they’ve received at City Light. Pam and her grandson will soon be returning to Las Vegas to join Nichole and her older daughter there, where they will have a fresh start.
They wanted to say to all of the Mission’s supporters, “Your efforts are working – you are helping to improve lives, and we thank you for it.” “If it wasn’t for the people who donate, that place wouldn’t be there,” said Nichole. Pam wanted to emphasize, also, that City Light is a very necessary place. Many of the women have nowhere to go, and City Light welcomes them with open arms. “It doesn’t feel like a homeless shelter,” she says. “It feels like a community of women working to help each other, and your gifts have made that possible.”
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Since 1958 the Boise Rescue Mission has been serving the community. All Rights Reserved