Thanks to you… Rob has been given a life-changing gift this holiday season.

“I hope people find what I found at the Mission.”

One day, Rob’s father sat him down and said, “Your mother asked me to leave.” Rob was confused; he was adopted and had grown up in this close, loving family, where he was well-taken-care-of. But he learned that his father was unfaithful to his mother, which left her devastated – and left Rob upset with the pain his father caused.

At age 14, full of growing resentment, Rob started drinking with his friends, which soon led to becoming an alcoholic. Alcoholism, however, did not keep Rob from success. He got a great job out of high school, and his rock band was nearly famous. He got married, had three children, and enjoyed the money he made.

Eventually his paycheck made him materialistic, and the constant yearning for more – combined with resentment and the new stress of caring for his sick mother – caught up with him. His drinking worsened, and he ended up in the hospital from alcohol poisoning.

Though they rarely spoke, Rob called his father. He told Rob he needed to change, and recommended the recovery program at the Market Street Mission.

Not yet ready to commit, Rob began as an overnight guest for a week. But as he walked around Morristown with trash bags full of clothes, he asked himself what he was doing. He decided to follow his father’s advice and give the program a try.

The first month was an emotional struggle, but when Rob talked to his counselor, she suggested he pray on it. And when he started praying, everything changed.

“I didn’t come here to find God,” he said, “but when I slept on that chapel floor and prayed to that cross, I begged Him to make me well.”

Rob had always tried to find healing through his own power, but now he knows that God is the only one who can truly change his life. “He’s making me into who He meant for me to be,” Rob says.

Now, Rob has graduated our program and serves as a Mission Intern, working at our thrift store and leading worship music at Celebrate Recovery every Thursday night. Moving forward, he has two goals: deepen his relationship with his three sons, and spread the message of the Lord’s hope and healing to people who are struggling like he once was.

It’s going to be a Christmas filled with joy for Rob – and he is so grateful to you for this wonderful gift of a new life. “I hope people find what I found at the Mission.”

To read the rest of this issue of Market Street Mission Messenger, click here.