Time to Reconnect

Graduates of Rebuilders, our life-change program for men, and CAC staff held their first alumni retreat at beautiful Wallowa Lake. The purpose of this weekend event was to reconnect the men with each other and share the successes and challenges of living in this new phase of their lives, while resisting the negative temptations of the past. The CAC staff also wanted to get feedback on how effective Rebuilders had been for the participants and brainstorm ways to strengthen the program. One graduate admitted to struggling before the retreat. Gratefully, the love and encouragement given to him during the weekend gave him a new outlook on life and his hope was restored.

CAC is planning to institute an annual alumni retreat as one of the activities of Master Builder—a new program for alumni. Another component of the new program is monthly support meetings for graduates that live locally.

I’m sixty-one, I have a Ph.D. in social work, and before I came to the Christian Aid Center, I was sleeping on a picnic table in the park.

I had a bad home-life when I was young, so at 17, I quit high school and moved out on my own. I began working factory jobs and drove trucks for twenty-five years. I was an atheist and an alcoholic, but I always had a job and a home. After giving up alcohol, I became depressed, and without any substances to drown my thoughts and sorrows, I began to contemplate my life, the meaning of life, and if life even had a meaning. That’s when God found me.

Ever so slowly, God built up my faith in Him. I gave up truck driving and decided to help others. I enrolled in a social work program at the age of 42. From there I got a Master of Social Work degree, and then a doctorate. I haven’t been able to find a job since graduating, so I became homeless. After four months of sleeping outside, God brought me here.

Being at the Christian Aid Center has blessed my life in every way. Being here has allowed me to take Bible classes and to cultivate relationships with spiritual people in this community. I am learning that God doesn’t do things on my time, or according to my plans, but that’s okay. He’s blessing me now through the Center, and I know He will continue to bless me in whatever comes.