Success Stories
This is just one example of the many real lives that have been filled with HOPE by a combination of compassionate giving, hands-on ministry and the grace of God. Thank you for your role in bringing it to pass!
Manny: Running to Win
Manny’s life has changed dramatically since he came to the Orange County Rescue Mission this past spring. When he first arrived, he was burdened by shame: his wife left him, he lost his job, his home and finally, the right to be a part of his children’s lives. With nothing else to live for, he ended up living on the streets.
His drug problems had started when he was just 12 years old. Living in a broken and troubled home with a violent stepfather, Manny and his siblings learned to fend for themselves. “I joined a gang at 17,” Manny recalls. “I did things I wasn’t proud of. Proving yourself on the streets is a constant battle. On my 18th birthday, I was shot — five times. I had four operations and spent the next six months in the hospital. I got out and got hooked on meth. It took my whole life.” Manny thought once he got married and had kids that he would stop, but he didn’t and eventually, his marriage crumbled.
The Mission was Manny’s last chance, and he has made the most of it. He says, “Here at the Mission, I’m accountable. I can’t be selfish. I know that this is the 2nd, 3rd, 4th chance God has given me, and it moves me. I know God has chosen me and I’ve given my life to Him. I’m worth something — that’s why God spared my life. I have a will to live that I didn’t have before. Not just for my kids, but for myself. I want to know I’ve accomplished something, not wasted my life.”
The Mission’s life-changing programs, provided by friends like you, have turned Manny’s life around. In October, Manny and 17 other men and women from the Mission ran in a half-marathon — the Long Beach Marathon. The experience was more than he’d bargained for. He worked hard, got up early to train before classes and his job at the Mission. He hadn’t run since high school and never had he run long distance.
“Running kept me occupied,” Manny mused, “and took my mind off a lot of things. The marathon was indescribable and being with the other runners, so encouraging. It built a lot of confidence — I could accomplish something and meet my goal.”
If it weren’t for the Mission, Manny says he knows he’d be lost — and bound to his past. But today, he’s working on an education and building job skills that will open doors for him when he completes the program.
“I’m not ashamed of who I am anymore,” he says. “I’m not ashamed of where I came from. They’ve shown me how to be a father again, how to be a person. They’ve connected me to God.