The Victory Center Rescue Mission
Sowing Fruits of the Spirit into our Community!
Peace - Steven's Story
What does a typical twelve-year-old boy do when his father shakes him violently, throwing him on the floor as blood pours from his face? A typical twelve-year-old boy becomes angry, very angry.
And that was exactly the case for Steven. Yet, the man sitting in front of me peacefully bared little resemblance to the lost and angry man that Steven described from just a few years prior. As Steve declared, “When I handed my last addiction over, it was a defining moment in my faith and I owe it all to the Victory Center.” The scripture that came to mind when I heard Steven’s story was 1 Corinthians 14:33a “God is not a God of disorder but a God of PEACE!”
The journey Steven took to become at peace has been a long one, he grew up going to church but as he put it, "I was not living the Christian life." At the age of fourteen, Steven's youth group was going on a big mission trip to Kosovo and his youth pastor felt that Steven was not ready spiritually for such a trip and so Steven walked away from his Christian faith and the church. Steven stressed that from this point on he found himself addicted to porn, alcohol, he started smoking cigarettes and in his mid-twenties, his addiction became worse from marijuana, prescription pills, all the way to crack which was his drug of choice.
One day, when Steven was working in an upper state New York pizza parlor, a man passed out right in front of Steven, where he performed CPR on him. The man passed away right in front of Steven's eyes shaking him right down to his core. At this point in Steven's life, he was snorting cocaine three to four times a day, this man's death caused him to ask the question “What are you doing with your life Steven?” Steven made the decision right then and there to move back to Clinton, Iowa for a fresh start and he decided to make the move in July.
The remainder of June was met with drugs and booze so when Steve finally made his move to Clinton, he was left with a mere three hundred dollars and nowhere to go. "Every place I called kept directing me to the Victory Center. So on July 6th, 2019 I moved in and I gotta say the first month was the longest month in the history of months." While the first month Steve spent at the Victory Center Rescue Mission was spent detoxing from June's binge of drugs and booze, the next few months were still an adjustment as Steve still struggled "I would still sneak out and drink or smoke weed from time to time." It wasn't until Steve was pulled into the office at the Victory Center Men's Shelter and admitted he was still struggling with his marijuana addiction that he was offered a second chance and grace.
Victory Center exemplified Grace just as the scripture shows: 2 Corinthians 12:9 "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
Steven's second chance was exactly what he needed to set his life on the right course and as he said, "I am so thankful!"
In mid-September 2019, he was hired full-time at Fulton Corp.
On Easter Sunday 2020, Steven left Victory Center Rescue Mission having bought his own home!
"When I walked in the doors of Victory Center Rescue Mission, I can say I had no faith but over time I grew….I can honestly say my faith in God is unshakable!"
When looking towards the future, Steven shared that he plans to finish his degree in Bible and Theology through Inste-Bible College with the hopes of becoming a youth pastor. "I am willing to follow wherever the holy spirit leads!" Steve declared proudly.
An old Irish prayer summarized Steven's story by saying "When we put our problems in God's hands, God puts peace in our hearts."
Life changing stories like Steven's are made possible because of the amazing support of our donors! Help us as we continue to sow into our community!