“The first time I started coming to this church, I just let a few little things get to me, and I fell right back into the old me. I was having a hard time reading the Bible. I didn’t really even know how to pray or talk to God that well. This time, it’s come so much easier. I’m totally ready for it now.

“I don’t care what anybody thinks when I walk out in those streets. I haven’t really left too much. One time I did leave to take one of the leaders here and another lady to the bus stop. On the way there and on the way back, there were at least five people who wanted something related to Kush or blunts. After they got on that bus, I could not get back here fast enough. I ran back like a little kid.

“I’m not ready to go back out there yet for good. I ask for patience. But be careful what you ask for because I’ve had test after test after test. And I find myself getting mad over the littlest stuff. I know it’s the devil just eating at me, saying, ‘You’re not going to do it. You can’t do it this time.’ Yes, I am, man. I’m doing it. This is the longest I’ve ever been clean since I really started smoking weed around 19 or 20. Now, I’m just taking it one day at a time. All I know is that I don’t want to be the old me. I know that for a fact. I want to be better.

“I have a son who’s going to turn 19 on Dec. 30. I haven’t gotten to be around him very much because of the drugs and the alcohol and just being ignorant. I have pretty much neglected my son through all of this. But I don’t think he’s ready for me to come see him yet. I want to be totally clean. I want to be good. I want to have a job. I want to be a good dad. I want my son to see the change in me. For so many years, I was good at being bad. Now I want to be real good at being good.”

— Larry Pool Jr.

Having struggled for years with drugs and alcohol, Larry believes he’s on a better path in life thanks to House of Mercy. He’s currently staying at the local church, which is planning its second annual Christmas banquet on Dec. 7 for those without homes. It hopes to help 300 people from Baytown and surrounding communities by providing dinner, gifts, clothes, shoes, haircuts and showers. To learn how you can support this effort, contact Teresa McCartney Hoffart at 713-702-2848.

Related:

• After friend’s death, ‘I just let go of the wheel’

• ‘I should be gone, but I’m still here’

The post Church helps on way to turning life around appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“After all I’ve been through, I’m fortunate to be here alive today. I’ve had heart surgery. I’ve been shot multiple times. I’ve lost close friends. It got to the point where I didn’t care about life anymore. I was done. I turned to drugs, alcohol and all that because I wanted to feel numb. Just numb the pain.

“I used to think it was just me, and that God didn’t really have a hand in any of it. But now, it’s the biggest part of me changing my life. It’s the biggest part of me still being here.

“One time, I was in the middle of a drug deal, where I was on my hands and knees. I just looked up and started praying. And out of nowhere, the idiot on one side with a .45 to my head and the idiot on the other side with a 9 millimeter, they put their guns down and began arguing. As they got into a little wrestling match, I started crawling backwards. As soon as I hit that door, I was gone. Now that I look back at it, there’s not a doubt in my mind that was God.

“Many times when I was in jail or prison, I would promise, ‘Hey, man, if you can just get me out of this, I’ll be good.’ When I got out, I was good for about two weeks. Then, bam, back to the same old stuff. I just don’t think that was right. I spit in God’s face a lot. It hasn’t been cool.

“I believe he has a calling on my life. I just don’t know what it is. I should be gone, but I’m still here. Now I’m trying to identify what my calling is and move ahead in a more positive way.”

— Larry Pool Jr.

Having struggled for years with drugs and alcohol, Larry believes he’s on a better path in life thanks to House of Mercy. He’s currently staying at the local church, which is planning its second annual Christmas banquet on Dec. 7 for those without homes. It hopes to help 300 people from Baytown and surrounding communities by providing dinner, gifts, clothes, shoes, haircuts and showers. To learn how you can support this effort, contact Teresa McCartney Hoffart at 713-702-2848.

Related:

• After friend’s death, ‘I just let go of the wheel’

• Church helps on way to turning life around

The post ‘I should be gone, but I’m still here’ appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“Another time, I was working at a gas station. I was out there cleaning the pumps one night, and three women got out of a Suburban. They came walking toward me at the pumps. At first, it scared me because I didn’t know what they were going to tell me. They walked up to me, and all three of them handed me a $20 bill. I asked what’s it for, and they said, ‘We just appreciate what you do.’ Stuff like that is unexpected. If you’re expecting it, it might come or it might not. But when you don’t expect it, that’s when it hits you right in the eye.”

— Glen Henson

Related:

• He makes the most of second chance at life
• He’ll help homeless if they’ll help themselves

The post In times of need, others have come to his aid appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“I was driving to Columbus, Texas. I was going up there to work. Back then I was drinking, and I ran my truck head on into a tree. It was at night, and I had gone to sleep. I’m pretty sure that drinking had a whole lot to do with it.

“When the law finally arrived, they took me to the hospital. My bottom lip was hanging there. I guess it hit the steering wheel. After they sewed it back together, they took me to the jailhouse.

“There was a woman deputy on duty, and she said, ‘I’m the only person with you tonight. There’s nobody else on this floor but you.’ She said, ‘If you need anything, just holler.’ I didn’t say a word. When she locked those doors, I was holding onto the bars.

“Then I heard an audible voice, just like I’m talking now. It said that if I didn’t quit doing what I was doing, I wouldn’t get another chance. I heard that just as plain as day. I’m thinking maybe I was hallucinating at the time from all the alcohol.

“Anyway, I laid down and went to sleep. When I woke up the next morning, I had sobered up a little bit. And those exact words came back to me again, just like I heard the night before. So I fell on my knees and said, ‘Lord, I need help.’

“I kept trying to reason and make out why I heard those words. In the end, I have to believe that was the lord talking to me. All I know is that I don’t mess with the stuff anymore. That’s when I quit drinking. I left it alone after that night.”

— Glen Henson

Related:

• In times of need, others have come to his aid
• He’ll help homeless if they’ll help themselves

The post He makes the most of second chance at life appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“I’m from West Africa. I was born in Cameroon. I’m here for my education. Back in Africa, I always strived for a higher opportunity. I always seek to acquire knowledge and learn new things. Traveling is another way of learning. It’s a kind of adventure, getting to meet new people and learn a different culture. Education is my treasure, and I value it so much. It’s something that I can take with me everywhere.

“I have a sister and a brother. My mother is dead. But that’s in the past. I look forward to the future because there is nothing you can do about the past. I don’t think about any tough times. I don’t want to focus on something that will make me depressed. I just welcome every day as it comes. I live my life according to the three E’s: empathy, energy and enthusiasm. Overall, I just want to be happy. You need to enjoy this bright and beautiful day. Every second is a new adventure.”

— Constantine, 25

The post Education is his ‘treasure’ and key to his future appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“When I was a little kid, I went to church all the time. As I got older, I began asking questions like, ‘What’s the aim of human life? Why are we here?’ And they had no answers. They just told me, ‘You need to read your Bible more.’ I was into martial arts as a teenager, and one of them said that was a false religion. I was told that I needed to make my choice of whether I wanted to do that or follow Jesus. So I said, ‘Bye. See you later.’

So what have you followed in life?
“I’m a devotee of a yogi from northern India. In his country, they called him Balyogeshwar. It means the born lord of yogis. He became an American citizen about 40 years ago. I’ve met him many times. I followed him around once for about a month. He would do these festivals, and thousands of people would come to hear him. He would speak on God realization and truth. He showed me what I was looking for. He showed me knowledge of the soul. He gave me wisdom, truth. 

“They say the musk deer runs through the forest, he smells this beautiful musk, and he doesn’t realize that it comes from his own navel. Still, he runs around the woods looking for it. Similarly, all the people of the world, they’re constantly running through life looking for something — satisfaction, peace of mind, whatever you want to call it. But it’s not in all these material things we have. It’s really inside all of us. It’s really simple. Truth has been in front of our eyes all our lives.”

— John Bounds

The post ‘Truth has been in front of our eyes all our lives’ appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“You have that hope for things being better the next day. And that’s really what helps many people survive and transcend. But I’ve added to that whole thought process.

“One day, for some reason, I thought, who am I really? Am I somebody who is constantly going to look at someone and think he’s the guy who attacked me or the guy who raped me? Am I going to continually encounter people and put up a shield?

“And what I realized was that when something happens in your life — while it can be for just a minute or, unfortunately for some victims, it can last years — it’s still a very short period in God’s time. In reality, you have so much more life to live. So are you going to spoil the rest of your life by carrying that instance when you were victimized?

“Sure, you need to go through the whole process of grieving and acknowledging, then accepting and moving on. But then you should ask yourself, who am I really? Am I a gun-toting mama? Am I going to allow those instances to change the type of person that God made me to be? That’s what it all came back to for me, when I realized that those things don’t have power over me because I’m God’s child.

The post Rape survivors should reflect on ‘who am I really?’ appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“My faith, my family and some good friends are what’s getting me through. They’ve helped me a lot. Still, there are times when I get mad at God. I’ll say, ‘God, you have all these angels. Why didn’t you send them down to save my girls?’ I have a lot of questions for God when I see him.

“After they passed, Cynthia came to visit me in a dream. Her girls were with her, and they all looked perfect. Cynthia talked to me. She told me that she was more alive now than she’s ever been. That was a confirmation to me. They’re in heaven.

“I know they’re OK. But it’s just the idea that they’re no longer here physically that hurts so much. Sometimes I laugh to keep from crying. I just wish I could wake up, and it would all be a bad dream.”

The post ‘I have a lot of questions for God when I see him’ appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“One day I told my wife, ‘I don’t feel well. I’m going to lie down and take a nap.’ She was going to school at the time. When she came back from class, she couldn’t wake me up. She told my son to call 911. Next thing they knew, I was in an ambulance heading to Hermann Hospital in Houston.

“I had suffered a brain aneurysm. They had to remove a portion of my skull and do surgery. Afterwards, they put me in a medically induced coma. I was out of it for seven months.

“When I came to and they brought me home to recover, they had me in a hospital bed by a window so I could see out. Eventually, I went from a wheelchair to a walker to crutches to a cane. I was doing physical therapy at a rehab place in Baytown that we just loved. They were so good to me. Every day, they had me do a little bit more.

The post Brain aneurysm, coma survivor points to prayer appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“My mom and dad raised me to always help people regardless of your race, your color, your gender, your creed or your religion. When I go places and meet people, I don’t look at color. I judge you as a human. That’s the way I’ve always been.

“I, as a human being, believe that everybody is equal. From day one, I was raised to get along with all the kids in the neighborhood. So once I got to junior high and high school, I hung around everybody. That made me who I am.

“I have friends of all shades and colors. It’s my parents’ influence. They taught me to get along with everybody.

“In the end, God created us all equal. We all have to go before him on judgment day. We’re all in this together.”

— Kenneth Clark

Related:

• ‘I never, ever look at anybody’s skin color’
• ‘We’re trying to go forward, not backward’
• Traumatic situations open door to depression
• Spreading positivity helps him cope with depression

The post ‘I, as a human being, believe everybody is equal’ appeared first on The Baytown Project.