Josh's Story

My name is Josh, and I'm from south Florida. Growing up, I had a lot of issues from an early age - I was thrown out of school, had behavior issues, and used drugs. I was the class clown, always doing stupid stuff to be cool. I went to jail multiple times, and each time I thought it would be the last. However, I would read the Bible in jail, only to go back to my old ways once I was released. I started smoking pot in elementary school and then as i got older i started using hard core drugs, wound up i prison, but I hadnt faced enough consequences. I sold drugs at the club, starting as a fun experience that eventually became a dependency and lost its appeal. I had young kids, but I couldn't stay clean and started using opiates, among other things. I was lost and lost ties with my family. I was a mess, and even people on the street thought I was messed up and wouldn't hang out with me. I became homeless, went to prison three times, and held signs saying I was hungry. I slept on a box, stole a Sharpie from a gas station, and held signs asking for money, which I would then use to buy drugs. Despite being hungry, I would spend all my money on drugs and then find food in dumpsters. I'm not trying to glorify my drug use - it was horrible, took everything from me, and broke me down to my core. My kids would see me on the streets holding a hungry sign while they were on their way to school with their mom, who would tell them to look away and say that I was sick. It was pitiful, and I caused great sorrow and hurt to those I loved.

 I met Amber the founder of Jacob's Ladder Outreach, several years ago.

 She would reach out to the homeless where I would hangout make food for them, pick them up and bring them to church with the church bus from New Life Church of God.

One day we were talking, and she prayed with me, and ask me to come to church. I would go but then go back to my old ways. She would tell me to keep coming to church and to keep crying out to God. I went to Church for 10 weeks straight, never missing a service. Amber would say, 'Josh, keep coming! You're going to get free! Fight through it, Josh! You're going to get your kids back in your life, and you're going to get your mom back in your life!' One day, while I was holding a hungry sign, an old buddy pulled up and asked me what I was doing. He told me he had gotten clean and stayed clean, and he offered to help me. He had a treatment center in Kokomo, Indiana, and I agreed to go. I wanted to change and be free from drugs. I went through detox and rehab and found the help I needed to get free. In two months, I will have been free from drugs for three years. Today, I am a father to my kids again, by the grace of God. I am a father they can be proud to call dad. Today, my mother, who wanted nothing to do with me and had a restraining order against me, is now a part of my life. Today, I own a health insurance agency, and I have a beautiful fiancée in my life. I feel good about who I am, and I am no longer the person I once was.