A Life Transformed

This is Ethan’s story…  he was raised in the Church, but really wasn’t interested in God.  He knew though that if he got himself in a life threatening situation, God would come to his rescue.  Ethan admittedly struggled greatly with habitual drinking, occasional pot smoking and was filling his mind with dark movies, music and books.  He realized he had a real problem when he found himself intoxicated every night.  His parents were greatly concerned for his life as he was living recklessly.

There were a few moments that specifically marked his life as ultimate lows. One night after having drank so much he passed out on his front lawn.  Thankfully his parents brought him inside and cared for him.  This night was a blur to Ethan as he had no idea where he had been and how he had been so badly beat up and bruised.  It was during this same time Ethan’s parents attended a Friday night service at Hope City (HC) and learned of the Trade Off Program (TOP), a HC program designed to help people struggling with addictions.  Ethan’s parents invited a couple TOP leaders to meet him in hopes that he would join.  Although they were genuine and seemed like they cared, he decided it wasn't for him.  Not long after meeting these guys, Ethan was driving his car while under the influence and ended up wrecking his car and got arrested.  His parents chose to wait a few days before bailing him out only so that he could finish college finals.  Ethan was left feeling horrible, depressed about life and was without hope.

At this point, Ethan was 20 years old and his parents gave him an ultimatum of either joining TOP at Hope City or to be on the streets.  He said, “It was on December 21, 2012 that I came into Hope City.  While attending the annual Onething conference, only days after arriving into the program, I knew I needed to make a decision to follow Jesus and surrender my will and life to Him.  I didn't know what it was going to look like, but I surprisingly had so much peace in saying yes to Jesus.  Within the first few months at Hope City I got sober, no longer dealt with depression and was finally at peace.  My original plan was to only be at Hope City for one month and return to school but I decided to complete 6 months in TOP.  I have built friendships here that will last a lifetime and my relationship with Jesus grew from spending time with Him in prayer and from the many mentors that have invested and walked alongside of me on this road to recovery.  I was given a great opportunity following my 6 month completion of TOP to be a shift leader for two years and it was during this time my character and maturity improved substantially.”  

    
During Ethan’s time at Hope City, his heart has grown for the ending of human trafficking and thus he began a prayer meeting for this great burden.  This prayer meeting has grown substantially into a weekly prayer meeting every Friday from 2-4 PM.