A few years back, Larry had a friend named Don. Don had been a drug user--even going so far as selling his blood for money to buy drugs. But then Don came to the Milwaukee Rescue Mission. Here, in Larry’s words, he got the “glow of the Lord.” After that, Don started showing Larry how much God loved him. He even read Scriptures to him when Larry came over to borrow money...money he used to buy drugs.

 

     Finally, Larry couldn’t take it any more. He stopped borrowing money from Don, just so he wouldn’t have to hear more Scriptures.

 

     The seeds were planted, though. Larry had heard God’s truth, and even after he stopped hearing it through Don, God was working on his heart. “The Lord woke me up. Monday morning, I packed my bag to go to MRM, and I went on Tuesday. I had no ID, no nothing, but MRM accepted me as I was.”

 

     "As he was" means a drug addict. Larry even calls himself “a versatile, all-around hustler,” someone who would steal in order to pay for drugs. But that’s not what you see when you look at him today. “Now when you look at me, you see Christ.” He’s confident when he says this because he’s learned at MRM to live for Christ.

 

     “This place is more than a building. It’s full of godly love. I can go to the staff and talk to them. I have become a very peaceful person since I got here. I don’t have to worry about the dope man, the people I cheated, nothing,” he shares, his excitement at this new part of his life spilling out.

 

     Larry knows that he couldn’t have changed so drastically without two things: God’s love and the support system he’s built at MRM. Recovery classes--which we can offer because of your support--have helped him get over his addictions, and the Bible classes have shown him a whole new way to live.

 

     “The Lord taught me that this life isn’t the 50-yard dash. It’s an everlasting race.” As part of his race, Larry has realized the importance of rebuilding relationships, so he’s working on connecting with his daughter again.

 

     Ironically, the man who once ran from Scripture now quotes it. Larry still feels tempted at times by drugs and his old life. That’s when he brings out 1 Corinthians 10:13--“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”

 

     Larry is standing firm in the Lord--walking beside Him even--as he lives with a renewed purpose and passion. He’s working on his GED while holding down a job at Marquette University...plus, he just got married in April! This is a new life for Larry, and he’s grateful that supporters like you care enough to give to help people like him.