October 2019 Newsletter

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A New Life Has Begun

Jason lost his job and place to live at the same time. He was living with his sister and her boyfriend, who got into a fight over their commitment to one another. Drugs were involved. She was under Department of Human Services supervision. It was the third and last time her three children were taken away.Jason was the child care provider. DHS paid him $1,200 per month for the five years he lived in that house. He was approved, because he is the children’s uncle, there were not more than three children, he passed a background check, he did required training, his sister had a job, the home environment was approved, and periodic inspections passed. Yet, all three adults were codependent. Intervention stopped drugs from affecting the third generation and scattered each one to new destinations. His sister and boyfriend were in trouble. The children went to foster care and perhaps adoption. Jason looked on our website to see what the Roseburg Rescue Mission would be like.

When Jason was 15-years-old, he was curious about all the foot traffic in and out of the house, and what his father (now deceased) and these people were doing behind closed doors. When he opened the door, his father introduced him to a deceptive, hopeless lifestyle of drugs. Instead of nurturing his children, the father hurt them and indirectly set in motion an uncertain future for his grandchildren. His twisted reasoning was, “I would rather you do it with me than anyone else.” Like it would protect him from bad drugs and people!Jason said, “Now I think that it was wrong and I wish I had never done it.” He said meth caused him to lose his teeth, friends, family, school time, ability to concentrate, manage his dream business, deal with people, and have a marriage relationship.

Jason’s work ethic is still intact. He worked three hours a day to stay here.He was held accountable to be drug free and look for employment. Prior to being a child care provider, he was regularly employed. While at the Mission,he started by doing outside day labor jobs, then landed a job in fast food.

He went to church as a child, but said, “When I first came here, I really wasn’t sure if I was a Christian.” He voluntarily went to some of our morning chapels for men in our programs. Only evening chapel is required for non-program men.One morning a Mission staff member presented a message that Jason related to his own past. As has been testified before, the conversion did not take place during the message. After chapel while walking to a store, he prayed for the Lord to forgive him of all his sins, get a job, and be on good terms with his mother. All three prayers have been answered and a new life has begun.