This is the third installment in a series chronicling this year’s theme of “Rescue.” This month, we look into the stories of six men, recounting their journey to a new life.

As Christians, Easter is a time of profound meaning as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We acknowledge the price that was paid for our redemption and how we have been transformed through God’s sacrificial love. We recognize that we have been rescued from death and our old lives and that we now live for and through Christ. We are then called to act out this sacrificial love through caring for the poor, the hungry, the unsheltered, and those who have lost hope in the struggle to survive.

In the spirit of the Easter season, we asked some of our program men who are about to graduate from our Life Recovery Program what their old life was like, how they have been rescued in body, mind, and spirit, and what the Resurrection means to them.

Eddie

I had become so comfortable in my way of life-the drug use, homelessness, and incarceration-that I had lost all hope of ever changing. With all the obstacles in front of me I just figured that my chances of any kind of normal life were over. I remember thinking at one point ‘I’m done.’

But my time at the Rescue Mission changed everything. My hope was restored, and I found acceptance, forgiveness, and a reason to live. As part of the Culinary Arts team, I have learned the value of hard work and what it means to contribute to something greater than myself. When I think about what Christ did for me on the cross, I can’t help but be grateful for all that I have been given, and I want to help others in whatever way I can.

Jordan

I was in a deep depression and felt lost and alone. I can’t remember having much hope about the future. Sometimes I would try not to think any further ahead than the next hour because when I did that, there was only darkness.

I have now been sober for over a year and my time at the Mission has brought me many blessings. I have restored relationships with family and friends, grown closer to God, and now have plans for a better future, including pursuing a bachelor’s degree in business at Oxnard college.

To me the resurrection of Jesus Christ means new life and new beginnings and hope for a better future. This keeps me motivated and full of gratitude.

Rome

The best way to describe my old life is chaotic. It was truly a mess, with mental health struggles, daily drinking, and drug use. I hadn’t seen my family in three years, and I couldn’t see how things might change. I felt myself shutting down and my heart hardening.

Since coming to the Mission over a year ago, however, the change I couldn’t see before has happened. My heart has been softened, I have opened up to both forgiving and being forgiven, and I finally feel as though I have a bright future ahead of me.

I didn’t grow up knowing God, so my time here has taught me a lot about his love, mercy, and forgiveness. I remember my cousins made a big deal about Easter and I just didn’t get it. Now I know what it means and why it’s celebrated. I am now full of the new life that Christ’s sacrifice paid for.

Jesse

I had lost control of my life and was fully in my addictions. I spent years trying to cover up and forget my childhood traumas and that meant drugs, alcohol, and time in and out of prison. Things were truly a mess and looking pretty dark.

Now after my time at the Rescue Mission and with a year of sobriety, my life couldn’t be any different. I feel the Lord’s presence deeply and I realize now that he had always been with me even when I was at my lowest. I have peace and clarity that I didn’t know was possible.

The resurrection of our Lord gave me forgiveness for my sins, and I am a new creation because, as the Bible tells us, I have died and risen with him. I am truly a new creation.

Michael

My life was fast and out of control. I was constantly traveling while smuggling drugs and many times I managed to avoid getting caught. I knew what I was doing was wrong, but I was unable to stop until my son gave me an ultimatum: the only way I could see him was if I went to the Bible study he was a part of. It was there that he made me commit to doing three months at the Rescue Mission.

God had more than three months planned for me and now I am about to graduate from the Life Recovery Program. My heart has been opened, and my relationships have been restored. I know now that God used my son to get me here and once that happened things started to fall into place.

When I think about the resurrection of Christ, I think of the hope that is given to the believer for a new life. This keeps me striving to live up to what has been given to me.

Sergio

I don’t see how things could have felt any more hopeless for me. I was so lost in my addiction that I thought I would never be able to do anything else.

It’s not like I didn’t try, but I could never make a change. I felt so completely worthless that instead of asking God to help me, I just asked him to end things.

God did end things, but not in the way I was thinking. Instead, he led me to the Mission and ended my old way of life. I have hope now, maybe for the first time and I have learned to rely on God in all that I do. I feel that I have value, that I am worth something.

I grew up knowing about Easter, but I never understood what it was about. Now that I know about the sacrifice that was made for me, I feel nothing but gratitude. It’s really amazing that I have been set free from my past and thinking about it brings me great joy.

Knowing where these men have been and what it took for them to be made whole, bears witness to God’s powerful love, redemptive mercy, and infinite healing power. We work to facilitate all this while humbly acknowledging that in the end it is Christ’s power that works through us. Remembering what was done for us on the cross and that we have been made whole as well, we rejoice at Easter and are renewed to do the work of bringing God’s Kingdom to life in the midst of all we love and serve.