“I don’t have any emptiness in me anymore.”
Scott was forced to grow up too fast. “My father left my family, and my mom wasn’t mentally stable… I was taking care of myself and my little sister since I was 13.” Struggling with the pain of this neglect and abandonment, Scott turned to substances, and eventually lived on the streets as an adult.
“I pretty much just wandered around from state to state, city to city. Trying to escape the chaos that I would create around myself during my addiction,” he says.
“It was lonely being homeless. You don’t feel like you’re worth anything to anybody. It’s a pretty bad feeling.”
Then one day, while he was wandering the streets of San Diego, Scott met a gentleman who works in our outreach program. They started talking, and Scott was intrigued by what he heard…
“He told me about the San Diego Rescue Mission. Asked if I would be willing to learn about Jesus. That was something that had never been offered to me before, so I thought I’d give it a shot.”
Accepting that offer and coming to the San Diego Rescue Mission led to a life that Scott never knew was possible. In our care, he surrendered his heart to Jesus and found healing from the hurt and pain he had carried all his life.
“The power of the Holy Spirit is just phenomenal. It can change people’s lives… it’s changing mine.”
Through counseling and classes, Scott was able to overcome the resentment and abandonment issues left over from his childhood. He was able to see how his mother’s neglect after his father left led to false feelings that he was unloved and unwanted.
“It changed my life knowing what God did for us. I’m the happiest person in the world right now, and I try to spread that around as much as I can.”
Today, Scott takes courses at a community college and serves as an intern at the Rescue Mission to help others. He’s joyfully and patiently waiting on the Lord to guide his steps.
As Scott celebrates this Thanksgiving, he feels incredibly thankful for your compassion and support – and how it’s given him a fresh start in life. “I want to thank the Rescue Mission and everybody involved. I don’t know if you realize how appreciated you are from people like me.”
To read this issue of Mission in Motion, click to download.
