STORIES OF FREEDOM

Eduardo

My name is Eduardo, I am 30 years old and originally from northern New Jersey. Since the age of 9 I knew who Jesus was and I had sincerely accepted him into my heart. But since God Himself had hand selected me to live a godly life, I believe the enemy was trying to distract me from that and steal away the seed that God had planted in my heart. For a while, I believed his lies and my heart became filled with anger, hate, and so much rage. I felt like I was held hostage for 20 years of my life! That entire time my life consisted of only lust, crime, and jail. 

I had burnt every bridge in toxic relationships and broke all family trust. I almost completely fried my brain with PCP. I finally realized that I was on a one-way trip to hell. All I could do at that moment was yell out to God and beg Him to help me. I couldn’t go on living the way that I was living. Once I finished crying out, I felt as if Jesus Himself had kicked down the door, broke the chains that were binding me and told me: “It’s going to be ok, just hold my hand and Don’t look back!”. And ever since then because of my obedient “yes,” I have been free! 

At the time of writing, I have been in Brooklyn Teen Challenge 7 months and have been blessed with a renewed purpose in my life. I strive every day to follow the Lord’s voice and to soak in everything that He has for me. I can never be a fool again and return to my old ways because I know that the Lord has prepared a feast for me. All I have to do is obey Him, bow down to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and praise Him for who He is! I don’t know what the Lord has for me after BTC but I am certain that it will be incredible and blessed. I will never lean on my own understanding now that I have tasted and seen that the Lord is good! I won’t settle for anything less than what He wants for me. 

One of my favorite scriptures I stand on is Colossians 3:10:

“Each of you is now a new person. You are becoming more and more like your creator and you will understand Him better. You have put off the old self and have put on the new self.” ESV 

God is good and He will never fail us no matter what! Thank you for reading my testimony. God bless you in Jesus Name.

Mike

My name is Mike and I am 42 years old. I come from a divorced family as my parents split when I was 4 years old. My sister went to live with my mother and I went to live with my father. My stepmom became my lifetime mom and together with my dad we were a broke but not a broken family. We had love in our home, but we just showed it differently. Both parents worked hard and all my extra time was spent helping my dad. I did not know the Lord. That is how I learned to become an all-around blue collar worker. 

I started drinking before I was a teenager. I saw my dad and his friends drinking after work and having a good time so I followed in his footsteps. At 16 years old, I was getting in trouble at school all the time for fighting and skipping class, and by 17 years old I dropped out completely. I left home to start my own life because even though my father and I were close, I felt ready. I continued working in construction and started to do well for myself, even though I continued to drink after work. 

I met a woman, fell in love and got married. We had a beautiful baby girl together and bought a home. I felt good with my life at the time. I was working very hard until I hurt my back and I became hooked on pain pills. After a few years, pain pills and alcohol became my new marriage. Not surprisingly after trying several times, my wife saw no hope and divorced me. I didn’t change even in the face of that. Things just got worse. Shortly after that my father died of cancer and my mom was also given a short time to live due to cancer. My life spiraled further out of control. 

After losing jobs, suffering several overdoses and even a suicide attempt, I thought my life was over. But God had other plans. My ex-wife was now married to a man who had graduated Brooklyn Teen Challenge and they offered to help me if I wanted the help. They paid my air fare and my first payment towards the program. I had no idea what I was getting myself into but through this program I was given the opportunity to learn how to live for Jesus and give my life to Him. That is exactly what I did! I surrendered my life to the Lord Jesus, and He has been faithful in healing me from my addiction and the causes of it. 

I have been reunited with my daughter and I have a great and amicable relationship with my remaining family! The brothers here at BTC and the body of Christ have become my family as well! This has been the best season of my life and when I graduate next month, I am planning on serving as an intern here at Brooklyn Teen Challenge! I want to answer the call God has put on my heart and see what He has for me! I have the best life that a once hopeless man could ask for and I am never going back! God is so GOOD! 

The scripture I stand on is Romans 12:1: 

“Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.” 

Thank you for reading my story. 

Ricky

Hi, my name is Ricky and I’m a recent graduate of Teen Challenge Brooklyn. I was born in San Diego, California, and my sister and I were raised by a single mother. My father was never around so I didn't know much about him. My mom went to church, so I knew of God, but I didn’t have a relationship with him. By the time I was middle school I also realized that my mom was involved with gangs. 

Toward the end of middle school, these kids that I went to school with knew my mom came up to me. They said, “We know your mom, and we want you to hang out with us today." They forced it upon me and that was that— I was part of the gang. Once I joined the gang, everything started going downhill. I went from trying marijuana to using cocaine, and my mom and I started committing crimes and doing drugs together. 

We established a relationship based on that life. By the time I was in my 20s, my mother passed away from her drug use. Two years later, my sister passed away. I went deeper and deeper into my addiction and I started doing a lot of bad things. I didn't want to live anymore. I remember sitting there on the beach and crying. I said, "God, if you're real, just give me something, speak to me now." I felt peace come over me, and I got up and I started walking along the boardwalk. I gave my life to the Lord that next week. 

A little over a year ago, I entered Brooklyn Teen Challenge and I started to work through the issues that I had; selfishness, grief and pride. With the help of the brothers here, I started to recognize that I had to surrender them to the Lord. In the past year, as I have put my trust in Him, God has shown Himself strong. One thing I've been praying diligently is “God, I pray that you transform me." It’s an ongoing process, but I can see and feel the change. 

I just graduated from Brooklyn Teen Challenge a few weeks ago. I’m excited to be back at home with my wife and son. I want my son to grow up knowing that his father loves him and that God loves him. I have a love for the streets and I want to give back. I love the mission of Teen Challenge, that we reach the unreachable, we teach the unteachable, we love the unlovable. I'm grateful for the opportunity to give back what was freely given to me. Jesus has been so good to me!

Ryan

My name is Ryan and I am 33 years old. I was born and raised in Fayetteville, NC. I grew up in a big family that was very close. Thanks to my grandmother I knew about God. Where I am from, we went to church every Wednesday and Sunday, but it was just did like eating dinner and it was kind of forced on me. So I never really had a relationship with God. 

By the time I was 13, I was smoking cigarettes and weed. At 18, I was introduced to pain pills and started drinking a lot of alcohol. By the age of 25, I had been in and out of jail, received 2 DUI’s, and became a severe heroin addict. When I started using a needle to inject heroin my life got out of control. Through all of this, I got married and had 2 beautiful sons. Because of my drug use, my relationship with my wife became toxic. After 6 years, we divorced. I became very depressed without having my kids around and my drug use escalated. I went to places I never thought I would go. 

I started lying, cheating, and stealing … and my family wanted nothing to do with me. Right before coming to Brooklyn Teen Challenge, I overdosed twice and a friend was shot and killed right beside me. I was homeless and at rock bottom. I just knew there had to be more to life than this. Because of God’s mercy and grace, I walked into the doors of Teen Challenge. I have reestablished a relationship with my family and my kids and more importantly, I have a relationship with Jesus Christ. After I graduate from BTC, I plan on staying on to serve as an intern to give back and to serve the Lord. 

The scripture I stand on is Psalms 126:5-6:

“Those who sow in tears, shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seeds for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing.” 

Thank you for reading my story. God Bless you!