Today was one giant meeting.
We met with three contacts over the course of the day. Two of them ministered to people on the street and will be highlighted in our documentary. The other person we met with was different. He was my old Sunday School teacher.
He sat in the coffee shop, the light from the garage window filtering into the room beautifully behind him. He looks so innocent. So wholesome and so nice. You would never have guessed that he had been a drug dealer. That he had lived on the street for over a year. That he had been addicted to meth.
Just after high school, he was kicked out of the house and onto the cold streets. He found sanctuary in a meth house in Portland. Dealing drugs wasn't a new activity--just a familiar lifestyle that he found himself settling into. It wasn't a nice life. He stayed awake for days on a meth high, only to have his body collapse from exhaustion once he was down and try to make up for it by sleeping for three days straight. There were only a few drugs that he didn't try. He had a deep hurt that he was desperately trying to fill.
Then he met her.
She didn't make him change. Instead, she was the unknowing catalyst. They went over to dinner one night at her grandparents house and they offered to let him live with them. He accepted and moved in, more than happy to be off the street and have a real bed to sleep in. It wasn't long until the young couple split up; she moved out and he stayed living in the basement of her grandparent's house. They never got back together.
He was given a Bible by her grandmother. One night, driven to distraction, he finally opened it up. Sobs tore through his body as he read through Psalm 51, identifying with the heart cry of King David. That's when he finally surrendered to Jesus.
His life still wasn't picture perfect. He still had addictions to take care of. While reading through the book of Romans, he became convicted about the life he was leading. He quit his drugs cold-turkey, deciding to clean once and for all.
It wasn't long until he got his GED and started to take college classes. An interest in science turned into pursing a degree in Nursing. His love for chemistry soon changed his major and his life plan. Now that he's eleven years away from his conversion, he's close to finishing his doctorate degree in Pharmacy. The irony isn't lost on him. The man that used to run a street pharmacy will soon be dispensing legal ones.
His story is full of extremes. He is a man that has felt the width and depth of God's grace. Jesus was introduced to him by some people who saw "something" in him; something that wanted to change and do better. All they did was open up their home to him and love on him.
How many people just like him are we ignoring? How many doctors, lawyers and teachers are we keeping on the streets?
- Written by Caitlin Muir, Revolutionary Media team Journalist
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