Mission Moments - Snapshots from the Soul
Every person who passes through the doors of City Union Mission has a unique story to tell - every man, every woman, and every child. Some stories are gripping, some are interesting, and some are heartwarming, while others are heartbreaking.
We have captured several stories that may change the way you view homelessness forever. Here is your chance to take a glimpse into the lives of a few of our precious clients, volunteers, and donors. We hope you will take a minute to engross yourself in these powerful testimonies. Please place yourself in their shoes, and join them in their past sorrows as well as their newfound joy.
Sam
Lord, Direct My Steps
Proverbs 23:18 & 19
“Surely there is a future, And your hope will not be cut off.
Listen, my son, and be wise, And direct your heart in the way.”
Sam was born and raised in Vicksburg, Mississippi. “My mother was a bible believing Christian,” Sam says. “She was always doing good things for other people. And I know she prayed and worried over me till the day she died. I tried to keep what I was doing, the drug dealing, from her, but she knew. I regret that more than anything else.”
Sam’s dad was not a Christian. He was the one who got Sam into drug dealing. “Yea, he got me into the drug dealing when I was about 11 or 12 years old. My father had more children. I really don’t know how many brothers and sisters I have, because he thought it was better if I didn’t know. Now I know of 18 on his side, and 10 on my mother’s side. It’s kind of strange to have so many brothers and sisters because I’ve kept to myself. My life was so violent. I wanted to keep family away from that. I found out later that the other brothers and sisters on my father’s side deal drugs like I did, so now for my own sake I have to stay away from them. But I have to say that is hard.
I never was into taking the drugs, just dealing. I went all over the United States dealing drugs. I got married in 1974, and settled in New York City. I lived there for about 15 years. My wife and I have 5 children ranging in age from 34 to 18 months. We even have one granddaughter, who’s about 12 months.
It’s only been since about 2005 that I even started thinking that there might be another way to live, other than that life of drug dealing and violence.”
Sam has a brother who has lived in KC about 25 years. He had previously come to City Union Mission where he found Jesus. He and Sam met and talked at his mother’s funeral in Biloxi, Mississippi. He told Sam he needed to get out of the drug dealing lifestyle and that he had people that needed him, like all his nieces and nephews. He didn’t take it very seriously at the time. But when his marriage began to fall apart he was ready to take his brother’s advice and come to the mission. His priority was to fix his marriage. Looking back he says that was a mistake. He wished he had made his relationship with God the priority.
He went through the Christian Life Program with the wrong perspective, making plans of his own, not focusing on what God might want for him. He just simply got through it. “I made it through the program in about a year. It was hard having to listen to all the rules. I wasn’t used to having other people tell me what to do. The other thing that was really hard for me was not having everything I wanted right when I wanted it. I wasn’t used to that either.”
After graduation he and his wife agreed to work on their marriage. They decided to meet in Jackson, Mississippi, but things didn’t turn out the way he had hoped. “There was fighting and arguing all the time so I worked 2 jobs just to stay away from home. I was starting to make bad decisions getting into the old patterns, like hanging with the wrong crowd of people. I was relying on my own judgment rather than looking to God for direction. My brother could tell I was in trouble. He, along with Dan Doty and other staff at the mission, were praying for me. They ended up sending my brother out to bring me back to the Mission. I didn’t want the people I had meet at City Union Mission to know I had stumbled. They had gotten into my heart. I guess that’s a point of pride.”
He came back in September of 2006 and started the program again. “At first I still didn’t have the right attitude. Something was missing. That’s all changed. Now I’m just content each day to pray and ask God to direct my steps for the day. I’m through with making decisions on my own. I don’t make good ones.
Whether my marriage will make it or not, I don’t know. One thing for sure is that my focus has got to be on God, and what He wants me to do, and what He wants me to be in the future. I hope He can use me to touch others the way I’ve been touched.
I never knew that I could be happy without money, but having things didn’t fill the need in my heart. I always felt like I was missing something. I didn’t know how great it is to let people in your life. I didn’t know the great value of a smile coming from a brother or sister in Christ. I’m content, more than that, I’m happy being with my family here at City Union Mission. I’m glad the people at City Union Mission gave me another chance. I’m thankful that God picked me up when I stumbled. Knowing Him is the most important thing in my life.”
Philippians 3:10
“that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;”
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