Helping the Hurting - Spring 2003
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My name is Jose. I'm 43 years old and giving God all the glory because on October 9, 1993, I came into Youth Challenge a broken man. I was beat up by drugs and alcohol, running the streets of New York for 13 years. I was in three car accidents that nearly took my life. One accident left another passenger crippled. I used to drink till I passed out. Heroin was my drug of choice. I sold my soul for it. My family, my son, my job (if I had one at the time), could not stop the love for drugs I had. I sold for it, lied, and could not be trusted. Everyday, all day, what I thought about was "How am I going to get my next bag of heroin?". I was shot in my arm. The bullet was headed for my neck, but God is gracious... I believe God loosed one of His angels upon my life and guided the bullet away from my neck to my arm. Why do I think that? The person right next to me was shot in the neck and died. I knew the Lord when I was young, and I had turned my back on Him. I believe He took care of me all the way from then until now. In one of my car accidents, my car went out of control. It spun around, I was faced with oncoming traffic. I could have gotten hit by an 18-wheeler, but instead I was hit by a small Volkswagen. I walked away from the accident, and brushed it off. Although I had loved my drugs, I came to a place of being so tired one Friday afternoon after spending all I had on payday (once again). I looked up to the Lord and said, "I know you're real. If you say the word, I shall be healed." I went to church that evening and cried to the Lord for help. Bishop Raúl was preaching about Peter that night, and being restored to what the Lord has for you. He made the call, and I took the challenge. It has been 10 years and I thank the Lord for helping me to not look back. This picture is of my family. My wife, Jenny, and my son Joshua, so named because the Lord used him to help me cross my Jordan. I had stolen his milk money when he was a baby and I would not come home. I would cry in the streets, praying to the Lord - to change me. My wife Jenny is truly a gift from the Lord to my life. Although I used and abused her, she has forgiven me. Only the Lord can do that after everything I had done to her. We have been married for 14 years now, evidence of the Lord's keeping power. In addition, the Lord chose to take me back to my church in the Bronx, Love Gospel Assembly. After three years in Youth Challenge, I now run the biggest soup kitchen, The Love Kitchen, founded by our late Bishop Gerald Kaufman. We serve 300 people per day and 100 kids in the afternoon. I have also been selected to be a Deacon. God is great! Thank you for supporting this great ministry that God used to change my life. Amen.

My name is Alicia....and this is my story. I was born and raised in New York City and at the age of 25 began a journey of addiction. I went from heroin to crack to methadone. At the age of 27, I gave birth to my daughter but prayed that she would be okay. At the age of 33, I entered the Youth Challenge Mission for Women. I was tired of being tired and knew that this was my last chance to renew my life. After completing the program, I remained in Connecticut and began a new journey, a blessed journey, not one of addiction but one of blessings, one of which was reuniting with my precious daughter. Though I have had many, many trials, they have made me stronger in the Lord. I thank Bishop Raúl and Lady Willie González for always having an encouraging word, not just for me but for my family as well and also the rest of the Leadership in the house. I wanted to be able to help others that were in my situation so I became a foster mom and since then have adopted two children. I am now a single mother of four, looking forward to what God has for me, my children, and grandchildren. If I can still be standing and going forward after all the trials and the tests and 15 years under my belt, then it can only get better from here on. I pray that this has not just blessed you, but that it has encouraged you to know that God is real and that "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil 4:13). I thank Youth Challenge Ministries from the depths of my heart.