SUCCESS STORIES - A Time for Redemption

With a little Help and Guidance, Former Drug User and Inmate
Terry Turns to God and Finds his Way Back to his Family

Meet Terry…who was born in Idaho, the youngest of four children. He started his drug use at a young age, when at age nine, his older brother first introduced him to drugs.  He was kicked out of Junior High for his use, and by the time he got into High School, he was dealing.  “For every ten joints I sold, I got two free ones,” he remembers.

Terry describes his life after high school as a train wreck.  He went into the army with the desire to make his Dad proud, but was kicked out.  Terry recalls, “From there, cocaine literally took over my life.  I got married and had my first child, but that marriage was short lived as we were abusive to one another.  I then had a short affair with a girl name Daniela and produced a son we named Elliott.  Before he was even one, he was taken away from his mom and lived with me until he was in kindergarten.  One day I was high and forgot to pick him up.  I don’t know how I could have done that.  Shortly after that day, his mom showed up at school and took him.  Unfortunately, I have not been able to find him since.”

“After that I just lost my will to live and my drug use continued to spiral out of control.  I was consuming massive quantities of cocaine and meth and therefore, stealing more and more to support my habit.  My phone was ringing 24 hours a day.  It was crazy.  Over the next few years, I was incarcerated in 11 different county jails in six different states.  My last stop was a three year visit to the Minnesota prison system.”

 Hitting Bottom… “I was sitting in county jail waiting to be sentenced knowing I was going to prison, knowing that Daniela was trying to terminate my parental rights, when I finally broke down and just started to bawl.  I could not do this anymore.  I begged God to forgive me, to heal the horrific pain I had inside.  And He did!  Who would have thought that I had to go to prison to find freedom?”

FreedomWorks…Upon completing his sentence, Terry entered the FreedomWorks program.  When asked about his first impression of FreedomWorks, he stated, “Overwhelming generosity!  When they handed me that envelope with gift cards to Cub for food, Kohls for clothes and that bus pass, I could not believe it!  Why would these people—these strangers—be so nice to me?”

“Then they connected me with George to mentor me and that has just been wonderful.  He knows the word and he lives it.  He really has been helping me to level off in my walk with God.  He accepts me the way I am and helps me to know that God loves me the way I am.  I now want to get much more involved in serving others.  I can honestly say that has become a passion for me.”

Life today…“I still have struggles but through prayers and the help of the community at FreedomWorks, I just don’t desire the drugs.  I remember how drugs took my home, my family and my son.  Now I have peace and money in my pocket—and it is legal money.  I have a good job. And best of all, I now have a relationship with my daughters, my mother and my father.”

What Terry would like you to know about FreedomWorks…
“It is a great place for guys coming out of prison to start over.  ¨    If someone is in need, you can count on someone to be there to help you out.  ¨    It is just a great place to grow spiritually.  ¨  I know that God has a plan for me and He will get me there. ¨    This is a personal responsibility place—you are not told what to do—you are given the opportunities to choose and that is awesome. ¨  You guys are awesome!”

Back to Top