I’ve seen a lot of brokenness in my life. I grew up in a broken home with broken people and I think, consequentially, I became broken as well. Years of being addicted to meth didn’t heal anything, but only brought me in contact with more broken people like me. I continued on a spiral of drug addiction for years, but this year was different. This year, I lost a lot of things in my life: my license, my home, my brother to a drug overdose, and my ten-year-old son—Jadyn—to CPS (Child Protective Services).

I was almost arrested for driving on a suspended license six months ago. I was handcuffed, interrogated, and then left on the street in the middle of the night with no transportation and nowhere to go. After that night, I ended up here at the Christian Aid Center. Not only have I been clean for six months, but I am learning so much every day. I’ve graduated from the parenting classes; I’m now in class learning about boundaries, and I’ve even started leading tours of the Center when we have visitors. The people here at the Christian Aid Center believe in me, accept me, and are constantly pushing me out of my comfort zone to the place where I can grow. I am so grateful for the Christian Aid Center for showing me God’s love, peace, and acceptance, and for bringing me to a place where I can begin to heal.

Time to Reconnect

Graduates of Rebuilders, our life-change program for men, and CAC staff held their first alumni retreat at beautiful Wallowa Lake. The purpose of this weekend event was to reconnect the men with each other and share the successes and challenges of living in this new phase of their lives, while resisting the negative temptations of the past. The CAC staff also wanted to get feedback on how effective Rebuilders had been for the participants and brainstorm ways to strengthen the program. One graduate admitted to struggling before the retreat. Gratefully, the love and encouragement given to him during the weekend gave him a new outlook on life and his hope was restored.

CAC is planning to institute an annual alumni retreat as one of the activities of Master Builder—a new program for alumni. Another component of the new program is monthly support meetings for graduates that live locally.