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Stories of Changed Lives

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"I'm here today because of God."
Dan's Story

"My social worker told me that, although he doesn't believe in God or in miracles, when he sees me he sees a miracle!"
Mike's Story

"If you follow the programme properly, it will help you…”
Shaun's Story

Dan's Story

“I started smoking cannabis with friends at the age of 12 and by 14 I was using heroin. By the age of 16 I’d robbed everyone in my village; my dad didn’t want to know me, so I ran away to Sheffield. I used to beg on the streets, even eating out of wheelie bins. I was just in a cycle of crime, prison, homelessness and drugs.

“When I was 20, I was in jail one Sunday when this prison officer came along. He said, “I’ve got two options: you can clean the toilets or you can go to church.” So I went to church. It was nothing special really and the wooden pews were horrible. But I met a man there and, before I left prison, he said, “If you ever need me, I’ll be in Sheffield Cathedral every Sunday morning.”

“It was round about February, I’d left jail and was using heroin. I’d just sold my coat. I was freezing. I was hungry. I walked past Sheffield Cathedral and I remembered that guy. I thought, “He’s a Christian; he must be good for a bit of grub.” So I went in and there he was. I was absolutely scruffy but was so joyful to see me. He took me to a nice restaurant and bought me some clothes. He said, “If you come back next Tuesday, I’ll be here, but the ball’s in your court.” I went on Tuesday, and he was there. He was there every week. Derek never let me down once. Derek never preached to me, he just said, “Listen, God loves you. You know He can help you out of this.”

“My recovery from drugs came through Yeldall Manor, a Christian drug and alcohol rehab in Berkshire. Through Yeldall, I started using a chainsaw as part of the work programme and I found that I had a talent for it. I got employment with a local tree surgery company and I got a lot of support from my church, where I also met Beckie (now my wife).

“Now I’m back at Yeldall as a staff member, working with the residents as they prepare to leave rehab. I really believe that this is where God wants me to be. I just want to be able to help more guys who’ve been where I was.

“Basically, God changes lives. He changed my life. I’m here today because of God.”

Mike's Story

From his teens, alcohol was Mike's refuge - from grief over his father's early death, from severe loneliness and low self-worth. It was also a lubricant, "a couple of pints gave me all the self-confidence and self-esteem I had previously lacked."

Although life improved when he met and married June, Mike's drinking continued. "With anxiety and depression as well as the drink, I hurt my wife very badly and, sadly, I cannot ever repay this time as she died in 1998."

After his wife's death, Mike's drinking spiralled out of control. "There was no enjoyment; I was just desperately trying to suppress my feelings of grief, bitterness and anger.

"I was drinking several bottles a day to keep me going. I used alcohol to get to sleep and to stay awake. People often think of alcoholics as men on park benches with a bottle beside them. My park bench was the sofa.

"At the beginning of 2000, I nearly died due to alcohol. Strangely, after all the times I felt I wanted to die, I now wanted to live. I attempted to get to the phone but couldn't, so I just prayed for help. My prayer was heard as several minutes later my mother arrived, let herself in and called an ambulance.

"After being released from hospital, my social worker told me about Yeldall Manor. I arrived there in May 2000 and, as soon as I got there, I sensed God's presence.

"By taking away alcohol, I lost my comfort, my strength, my courage and support. I realised that only God could fill this big hole in my life, so I let Him in. Whatever I need, He provides. Life isn't always easy, but whenever I'm struggling emotionally or physically, He provides what I'm lacking.

"The social worker who referred me to Yeldall Manor told me when I completed the programme that, although he doesn't believe in God or in miracles, when he sees me he sees a miracle!"

"After completing the programme, I knew that I didn't want to go back into working with computers; I wanted to do something with a purpose, preferably God's purpose. I now work at a Christian project working with vulnerable people in the Earls Court area of London. This has been a huge challenge, but I really enjoy the opportunity to share something of my faith and hope to others who are feeling as desperate as I once was."

Shaun's Story

"For the first three years of my life, I was given away to my mum’s older sister. This felt like a huge rejection for me. Growing up I had a very low opinion of myself and felt unloved by my parents.

"When I started school, I found it hard to be left alone. Mum would take me to school and I would cling to her for dear life because I didn’t want to leave her again. I used to get teased and was always picked last for sports teams.

"At secondary school, I started hanging around with the wrong sort of people. Where I lived it was normal to get drunk and go out fighting in gangs. Deep down, my conscience told me I shouldn’t be doing this, but I did it to fit in with the crowd. It was the same when I got into drugs. I started smoking cigarettes, then drinking, smoking cannabis and then heroin, again just to feel part of the crowd.

"Next I was introduced to crack cocaine, which blanked out all the pain in my life. It was like I had a void in myself and needed something to get rid of it. I was injecting crack and heroin for around fifteen years. You can imagine the chaos I was in - I was barely seven stone, I wouldn’t eat at all. I would just get up and go shoplifting to get money for drugs. That was my routine, day in day out. Finally, I just broke down in tears in a police cell. I just wanted to kill myself; I couldn’t go on like that anymore.

"Eventually I went to detox and then a Salvation Army hostel before coming to Yeldall Manor in April 2004. I began to get my life back. It’s a difficult programme and, when I was there, there were some residents who weren't taking it seriously, but you need to be selfish in a way and just get on with what you need to do. If you follow the programme properly, it will help you. While I was at Yeldall I got baptised, having become a Christian whilst I was at the Salvation Army.

"I've now got a job in landscape gardening and am part of a church where I feel really loved. It’s been a hard path but God has worked miracles to get me where I am today – clean from drugs."