All Marcel could feel was panic at the thought of not getting the money to buy more drugs, not being able to get high that night. The gun was weightless in his hand as he aimed toward the one obstacle standing in the way of his next fix--his aunt. He was ready to choose drugs over his own flesh and blood.

 

It was nothing short of a miracle when Marcel’s cousin intervened, forcing him to the ground and wrenching the weapon away. And in that moment, Marcel knew everything had gotten insanely out of control.

 

 

Marcel had grown up in a loving family who encouraged him in his desire to become a chef. While he was in culinary school, he suffered an accident at work that left him severely burned from the waist down. Marcel spent weeks in the hospital recovering, and received a settlement from the restaurant, but he could not return to work because of the pain.

 

“A friend called me and told me I could make some good money with a high return on investment,” Marcel remembers. “So I started selling crack.” It wasn’t long before Marcel was using his own product. Over the course of six months, he went through $30,000 worth of drugs, and ended up living in the park.

 

Marcel was too ashamed to face his family, but he also knew he was out of options. In despair, he called his sister. She wanted him to go to their parents and ask for help. “I didn’t want to talk to my mom and dad,” says Marcel. “But she brought me to their house anyway.” His parents knew that he had to learn to help himself, and there was only one place he could learn to do that.

 
“I want to do it God’s way.”

 

Your support made it possible for Marcel to find a place in the men’s program here at the Mission. And within that program, he’s finding the structure and discipline he needs to grow into the man God wants him to be. Through Christian counseling and classes that prepare him to live a healthy, stable lifestyle, Marcel is moving into a brighter future. “Before, I wanted to do it my way. Now I want to do it God’s way,” he says. 

 

Marcel enjoys being a part of the chapel choir and giving his testimony to other men in the program. “That’s a good feeling, when you can sit and talk about where God has brought you from,” he says. In addition, he’s rediscovering his old passion for cooking, and making plans to finish his culinary degree.

 

Marcel wants you to know, “I appreciate everything the donors do. I could never afford an 18-month program with everything provided.” Without friends like you, transformations like Marcel’s just wouldn’t be possible. Thank you for your commitment!