What if you opened a letter from Union Gospel Mission and ready a story about someone you had known and loved?
That’s exactly what happened to Wayne’s ex-wife this past Easter! Her reaction? “I’m so proud of you!”
“I was hallucinating. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep. My body was completely shutting down,” Wayne recalls. “I spent all of my money drinking and I knew I was going to be homeless. I didn’t want to hit bottom and grab a shovel and keep digging. I wanted to work my way out of that hole.”
Wayne knew there was a way out. He had spent a week at UGM two years before and decided to try it again. This time, Wayne was determined to make it work for the sake of his two daughters. “Those girls need me, they need a father. I need to straighten up,” he told himself.
“I was able to jump right into the program,” Wayne says. After several months, this spring’s Easter letter from the Mission featuring Wayne reached his ex-wife. “That letter was huge for me because my family saw me making progress and started to trust me again. I started seeing my girls and rebuilding relationships,” Wayne says.
Wayne’s relationship with the Lord was restored as well. “God is leading the way. I know He loves me and I try to put Him in every decision I make. Just trust Him and He will get you through it.”
Now a recent program graduate, Wayne is looking for a job in plumbing or with outdoor power equipment. “I’m going to live here until I get my license back, save enough money to get my own place and have some savings,” Wayne says.
“I have confidence and hope now and those are two things I didn’t have before. This program has given me a lot. I just hope to give it back someday.”
Check out other stories of hope in our upcoming newsletter and on our blog, 365 Days of Hope.
