Mark

I spent a lot of time trying to figure out who I was as I grew up. I didn’t have a father figure for much of my childhood and we moved a lot so did not have a chance to make lasting friendships. By the time I got into high school, I was introduced to pot and alcohol, becoming friends with others who used them. By the time I was 19 I was using and selling drugs full time. After a few run ins with the police and being robbed a few times, I quit that lifestyle only to fall into a horrible addiction with alcohol that finally brought me to my knees. I tried everything I could to quit on my own, and finally decided that God had to be the answer.

I came to Adult & Teen Challenge, where I have started a relationship with Jesus Christ. I no longer have the fears, stresses, anxieties, and worries of the life I was living before. Now I have been given a future that has hope and purpose.

When I was introduced to crystal meth my life spiralled completely out of control and sadly this went on for years before I finally came to the end of myself and knew I needed help. I entered the Adult & Teen Challenge Manitoba Women’s Centre and everything changed. God met me there and showed me a new meaning and purpose for my life.

At age 13, I experimented with ecstasy, marijuana and alcohol. I felt worthless and hopeless and the next 17 years my drug use escalated into crack cocaine and fentanyl. I had been charged with many criminal offences and my lawyer told me about Adult & Teen Challenge. I was accepted to Thunder Bay men’s program and a month later I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour and was baptised. I have learned how God loves me and has a plan for my life, discovering my true identity in Christ. He healed me, giving me joy, peace and purpose.

Before I entered the Adult & Teen Challenge program I used and sold drugs. I was a violent person and did things that landed me in jail. I believed I was coming to the end of myself with my only options being death by drugs, violence or spending the rest of my life in jail. But God had a different plan. During my last time in jail I committed the next year to ATC because of the love of my family and Robby Ahuja. Getting to know Jesus has changed my life. Slowly but surely he is growing inside me. I sing and I dance because He lives in my heart. Now I have love and forgiveness and am committed for life