My name is John and I work for the Merced Rescue Mission as a Peer Navigator at the Hope for Men program. I would like to share how good this program is if you stay connected. Prior to coming to the Mission, my life was a mess. I went through the Hope for Men program and then went on to work with Restore Merced. One day, while working with Restore Merced, I was helping to clean up a homeless encampment. As I was working, I came across a person who was camped there. His name name was Larry, and he asked me how I got my job with Restore Merced. I told him, “from God, through the Rescue Mission.” Then he told me that he was alumnus from the Mission.

After telling me that, I told him that he had the necessary tools, and he knew what to do in order to get his life back on track. I told him that i hoped he would come back to the Mission. I prayed with him and we parted.

About four months later, I came upon Larry at Jesus Saves Men at Yosemite Church. I asked him if he remembered me, and he did. I told him how glad I was to see him back at the Mission and how much better he looked. I asked him what brought him back, “Was it my talking with you or the Spirit?” He said it was a little of both and that he had never let go of God. Being homeless and sick, he prayed and he contacted the director of the Mission and then David Carr, the Chief Operating Officer who helped get him into housing.

The power of prayer and connections with the Spirit of God kept him connected and helped to bring him back into the Mission. When he was out on the street, he was hurting and had a spirit of despair, living under a bridge. Now, he is connected with the Mission, looks great and goes to church and many meetings that are helping him. Every day, he is pushing forward, doing the right things that are helping him stay focused and connected.