02/09/2021
ATCB Cleaning Services helps to continue to support students like Austin to a better future full of hope!
STUDENT TESTIMONY TIME:
(PLEASE SHARE TO GIVE HOPE TO THOSE WHO NEED IT!)
Austin:
I grew up in a small town in Western Maryland- Oakland. It is near the well known Deep Creek Lake. In my town we don’t have much entertainment to offer and the restaurants only remain open until a certain time of night. The entertainment mostly consists of going to the woods and drinking alcohol. I grew up in a good family. They were well renown in my town. As a kid I was always running for adventure- goofy and outgoing. As I grew up in my teen years I began to experiment with liquor and ci******es. I quickly became addicted. I couldn’t stop and I wouldn’t stop.
At the age of seventeen I tried Suboxone which led me down a path of prescription drug abuse. By the age of eighteen, I was using powdered co***ne regularly. The year I graduated high school, I withdrew all of my savings to buy drugs and ended up totaling my vehicle. That is when my family discovered the depths of my addiction. They then forced me to go to my first rehab- Serenity Acres.
Due to my unwillingness to admit I had problem, I didn’t retain any of the information offered to me during rehab. I came out depressed and ashamed of who I was and what I was. I moved to Baltimore from Annapolis. I found my feet and began to work for UPS. About 2 weeks into my UPS job, I began using again. A month after returning to drugs my shame was overwhelming. I decided to pack my jeep in the middle of the night and move to Denver, Colorado. I drove 26 hours straight. I was hoping for new beginnings, but that didn’t happen.
Christmas rolls around and I began to miss my family. I decided to call my mother and let her know I wanted to come home but didn’t have the money to drive all the way back. I ended up driving to Indiana where my father, grandfather, and uncle met me. When I got back to Oakland my father decided to let me work in the tire shop. I didn’t use for 2 years, but was still battling depression and shame.
After 2 years of working at the tire shop, I started using hard drugs. For the next 4 years I led a life of debauchary and sin due to my addiction. I still could not fill that void in my life with any of the drugs I was using. Within the 4 years I had gotten arrested a few times and my decisions were getting progressively worse. I was always rowdy and looking for trouble. I withdrew myself from family, friends, and the community. At the time I had no idea the God of the Bible was.
I didn’t quite grasp it, but God was already working on my heart and led me to shop a bunch of rehab facilities, to where I eventually chanced upon Adult and Teen Challenge Baltimore. God gave me a way and opened up a path leading directly into Teen Challenge. There were many obstacles on the way, but I persevered because God strengthened me.
The first month in Teen Challenge was not without its difficulties. Yet I knew the Lord had big plans for me. I stuck to my guns and kept steadfast. Eventually, I accepted Jesus Christ and have begun the process of entrusting him with my life. I now see things through the light of Christ. The spiritual darkness that once permeated my thinking no longer leads me down a path of destruction. As each new day arises I view Teen Challenge as a massive blessing. It gives me a strength I never thought I would have. I am removing the plank from eyes so that I can be a usable vessel to bless others the same way Teen Challenge has helped me.
The verse I stand on is Deuteronomy 28:13. God will answer the door for anyone who chooses to knock. To anyone reading this, I want you to know that God can deliver you from whatever problems you are dealing with. I am a living example of this because the program of Teen Challenge and the power of Jesus Christ.
