Arley Grandchamp- March 2016 Graduate
My name is Arley Grandchamp. I am a 25 year old father of two from the Blackfeet reservation in Montana. I knew I needed help but knew I wouldn't be able to get the help I needed at home around all the old stuff I was mixed up in. So it took coming to Indiana to SOS to learn this new way of life I was interested in living. At SOS I learned the Word of God and it encouraged me and taught me that righteous living is the only way to live. Through days of class, prayer, and studying now have a clearer conscious of how to approach life as I get back home. At SOS I learned a lot about addiction and the recovery process I need in life. I have found my strengths and weaknesses here. The only way to live is by serving our Lord.
Daniel Ellsworth- 1995 Program Graduate
On November 5th, 1994, my life took a turn for the good. At the time, I was heavily addicted to crack cocaine and it had a strangle hold on my life. I was sleeping in ditches or under tractor trailers when it was raining. I was rejected by my so called friends. My family couldn't trust me. I was hanging on by a thread at the bottom of my rope. I had already completed a rehabilitation program that was provided to me by the Veterans Administration Hospital, but that only lasted for three months before I was right back out there in the midst of my misery. Then, by divine appointment, God brought me to Servants of the Streets Ministry (SOS). Once there, they fed me, clothed me, and generally loved me with the love of Christ. They taught me about God, His Son, and the Holy Spirit in ways that I could understand. They taught me about Gods promises, both the conditional, and unconditional ones. They loved me enough to tell me the truth, even if it hurt. They taught me respect; for God, for others, and for myself. Servants of the Streets ministry fulfills Gods perfect fast as it is written in Isaiah 58:6-7. They loose the bands of wickedness. They set the oppressed free. They break every yoke of bondage. They feed the hungry ( physically and spiritually). I have been walking with Christ, clean from crack cocaine since the day I entered the program at SOS on November 5th, 1994.. Thanks to a couple of God-fearing people who answered the call. I will be forever grateful, and will love them always.
John Gavazzoni Program Graduate
I came to SOS for the third time February 26 2009. I had been an addict for over twenty years and have tried every kind of recovery program. One thing I realize today, if you are not sick and tired of being sick and tired and ready for a life change it won't happen. I am so grateful that SOS gave me another chance to get it right but I am so glad I didn't die or end up in prison before I made it to the home.
My life before I came to SOS was completely unmanageable. I tell you I lost everything. I lost house, cars, friends, family and fiancé, not to mention my son. I hated my life and wanted to do as much crack as I could to cover up the pain. I was a master crack addict. I would do whatever it took to get high. I would go weeks at a time getting high and wanted to be a full time crack head. I still can't believe I had justified in my mind that I wanted to be a crack head. I have been in jail three times and was on my way to a fourth. My rock bottom hit me when my brothers came and told me that if I call or come over to my parents ever again they were going to make my life very painful. I wanted to die. I hurt everyone that loved me and I knew this was wrong and not the man I was meant to be, but I just could not stop. Something in me would not let me. I was being led by a force greater than me.
I am really at a loss for words on what the SOS family has done for me. I mean, They saved my life. They put up with a man that was prideful, arrogant and depressed. They loved me unconditionally, even though I had turned my back on them two times before. They took me in when no one else would. I came to the home with no money and a basket full of dirty laundry. I had nothing, but I knew they had something I needed. I could just look around at some of the success stories and that was enough for me to know I was in the right place. My road to deliverance was a long and difficult road. I had covered up a lot of pain and had some seriously deep rooted issues, the main one being rejection.
I could write a book on what happened at SOS. I have so many incredible memories but what transformed me into the man I am today, is love. Jesus came into my heart and began to fill my heart with this amazingly unconditional love. He began to heal me from the inside out. His love is so amazing I still have a hard time believing that he wanted all my pain. Not only that, but then to replace it with this warm amazing love. I began to form a relationship with my father in heaven, my daddy God. I began to experience a peace when I worshiped my king. I began to free myself from my mind and all the torment it used to cause me. I started to learn the importance of being obedient, humble, patient and learning to trust in god. I began to develop a powerful prayer life because I was taught the power of prayer. I was taught life changing truths from the Word of God day after day. I learned my true identity. There were counselors and pastors there at my beck and call that helped me deal with my past. I started to form relationships with real men of god that really and truly cared for me. Lastly I began to love myself again.
I extend my thanks to Apostle Mario and Pastor Regina for creating such a wonderful ministry because without them none of this is possible. You two have always treated me like a son and loved me with the love of Christ. You two display Christ-likeness in such a way it drove me to become the man I am today. I also have to give Cody, there son, some glory cause he was really tough on me when I needed it the most. He literally loved the hell out of me and last but not least, Pastor Josh. Pastor Josh had so much to do with me becoming the man of god I am today. He introduced me to the power of prayer and showed me how to allow the Holy Spirit to search my heart. He lead by example, which is so hard to find these days. He motivated me in so many ways. He still does to this day. He is an amazing man of God and is doing the work of the gospel of Jesus Christ today!
Today my life is a miracle I wake up everyday and can't believe all god had done in me and through me. I give god all the glory. I am so honored to be an elder at SOS ministries. I teach from time to time and love to give back to the home. I have a purpose today and that is to expand the kingdom of heaven here on earth. I love Jesus more today than ever before and what is so amazing to me is.....his love for me just keeps getting stronger and stronger. The bible says it is beyond comprehension. My family has been restored. My son is back in my life. I have a great job that allows me to have just about anything I want but what I want most is to help other people that are struggling with addiction. Oh and I just met an amazing women of god. I am what you call a nothing BUT god blessing because if it had not been for Jesus dying for me none of this would be possible. Glory to the king of kings and the lord of lords.
If you are seeking a life change come to SOS and join our loving family. You owe it to yourself and the other people around you that love you. You don't have to live in bondage to your addiction there is a savior that can save you and break the bondage of addiction. Come to SOS .....come home ...Jesus is calling you home. Be the man god created you to be you won't regret it. Can't nobody do you like Jesus!
My life before I came to SOS was completely unmanageable. I tell you I lost everything. I lost house, cars, friends, family and fiancé, not to mention my son. I hated my life and wanted to do as much crack as I could to cover up the pain. I was a master crack addict. I would do whatever it took to get high. I would go weeks at a time getting high and wanted to be a full time crack head. I still can't believe I had justified in my mind that I wanted to be a crack head. I have been in jail three times and was on my way to a fourth. My rock bottom hit me when my brothers came and told me that if I call or come over to my parents ever again they were going to make my life very painful. I wanted to die. I hurt everyone that loved me and I knew this was wrong and not the man I was meant to be, but I just could not stop. Something in me would not let me. I was being led by a force greater than me.
I am really at a loss for words on what the SOS family has done for me. I mean, They saved my life. They put up with a man that was prideful, arrogant and depressed. They loved me unconditionally, even though I had turned my back on them two times before. They took me in when no one else would. I came to the home with no money and a basket full of dirty laundry. I had nothing, but I knew they had something I needed. I could just look around at some of the success stories and that was enough for me to know I was in the right place. My road to deliverance was a long and difficult road. I had covered up a lot of pain and had some seriously deep rooted issues, the main one being rejection.
I could write a book on what happened at SOS. I have so many incredible memories but what transformed me into the man I am today, is love. Jesus came into my heart and began to fill my heart with this amazingly unconditional love. He began to heal me from the inside out. His love is so amazing I still have a hard time believing that he wanted all my pain. Not only that, but then to replace it with this warm amazing love. I began to form a relationship with my father in heaven, my daddy God. I began to experience a peace when I worshiped my king. I began to free myself from my mind and all the torment it used to cause me. I started to learn the importance of being obedient, humble, patient and learning to trust in god. I began to develop a powerful prayer life because I was taught the power of prayer. I was taught life changing truths from the Word of God day after day. I learned my true identity. There were counselors and pastors there at my beck and call that helped me deal with my past. I started to form relationships with real men of god that really and truly cared for me. Lastly I began to love myself again.
I extend my thanks to Apostle Mario and Pastor Regina for creating such a wonderful ministry because without them none of this is possible. You two have always treated me like a son and loved me with the love of Christ. You two display Christ-likeness in such a way it drove me to become the man I am today. I also have to give Cody, there son, some glory cause he was really tough on me when I needed it the most. He literally loved the hell out of me and last but not least, Pastor Josh. Pastor Josh had so much to do with me becoming the man of god I am today. He introduced me to the power of prayer and showed me how to allow the Holy Spirit to search my heart. He lead by example, which is so hard to find these days. He motivated me in so many ways. He still does to this day. He is an amazing man of God and is doing the work of the gospel of Jesus Christ today!
Today my life is a miracle I wake up everyday and can't believe all god had done in me and through me. I give god all the glory. I am so honored to be an elder at SOS ministries. I teach from time to time and love to give back to the home. I have a purpose today and that is to expand the kingdom of heaven here on earth. I love Jesus more today than ever before and what is so amazing to me is.....his love for me just keeps getting stronger and stronger. The bible says it is beyond comprehension. My family has been restored. My son is back in my life. I have a great job that allows me to have just about anything I want but what I want most is to help other people that are struggling with addiction. Oh and I just met an amazing women of god. I am what you call a nothing BUT god blessing because if it had not been for Jesus dying for me none of this would be possible. Glory to the king of kings and the lord of lords.
If you are seeking a life change come to SOS and join our loving family. You owe it to yourself and the other people around you that love you. You don't have to live in bondage to your addiction there is a savior that can save you and break the bondage of addiction. Come to SOS .....come home ...Jesus is calling you home. Be the man god created you to be you won't regret it. Can't nobody do you like Jesus!
Christopher "Cody" Villela
This is intended to glorify God, the Lord and Savior of my life. I spent my childhood with two of the most powerful people of God I have ever known and those individuals happened to be my Mother and Father. As a children we fail to see things clearly, and as adults we trade our vividness of visual perception for an entertainment of visual enticement. I would love to say I have been serving the Lord all my life but that would be a lie. Enticed by the world
and it’s way’s I found myself in a place that is very similar to a scripture in the Bible. (Luke 15:11-32) that is the story of the prodigal son or lost son. Except I was not given an inheritance, now when I think of it I walked out on my inheritance and that was greater than any money I could have I left the inheritance of love, a relationship with Jesus Christ. In my sin the Lord protected me and I truly believe that is because of the calling that he has bestowed upon my life. I found myself addicted to pain pills and an alcoholic to say the least, but I remember the day it all changed, I had been partying for about 3 days straight barely sleeping, hardly had eaten anything as we continued on into day 3 of the party I found myself vomiting in between shots of whatever we were drinking I would vomit every 10 seconds after a shot. Finally I had collapsed on the floor of my bathroom to vomit for the last time and I had my prodigal son moment…. this was what I told myself that day there has to be something better in life than porcelain thrones meaning the toilet I had been vomiting in all night. And that was the moment God put this love inside my heart for him and a week after that I left everything I had in San Antonio, TX. to go back to Indiana and be restored to my family and since that day I have never had a craving or a thought about alcohol or going back to that lifestyle again. There is an old saying that, God work’s in mysterious ways in my case I realize that God’s way of working was nothing of mysterious character but it was of a loving nature calling me to come home and I simply answered the call. Now that I have experienced God’s love first hand I can’t just keep it to myself I have to share it with someone, somebody, anybody who is willing to give God a chance and just let him love you. I pray this testimony will be used as a platform to demonstrate the power of the love of God in all who read it.
God bless you……
and it’s way’s I found myself in a place that is very similar to a scripture in the Bible. (Luke 15:11-32) that is the story of the prodigal son or lost son. Except I was not given an inheritance, now when I think of it I walked out on my inheritance and that was greater than any money I could have I left the inheritance of love, a relationship with Jesus Christ. In my sin the Lord protected me and I truly believe that is because of the calling that he has bestowed upon my life. I found myself addicted to pain pills and an alcoholic to say the least, but I remember the day it all changed, I had been partying for about 3 days straight barely sleeping, hardly had eaten anything as we continued on into day 3 of the party I found myself vomiting in between shots of whatever we were drinking I would vomit every 10 seconds after a shot. Finally I had collapsed on the floor of my bathroom to vomit for the last time and I had my prodigal son moment…. this was what I told myself that day there has to be something better in life than porcelain thrones meaning the toilet I had been vomiting in all night. And that was the moment God put this love inside my heart for him and a week after that I left everything I had in San Antonio, TX. to go back to Indiana and be restored to my family and since that day I have never had a craving or a thought about alcohol or going back to that lifestyle again. There is an old saying that, God work’s in mysterious ways in my case I realize that God’s way of working was nothing of mysterious character but it was of a loving nature calling me to come home and I simply answered the call. Now that I have experienced God’s love first hand I can’t just keep it to myself I have to share it with someone, somebody, anybody who is willing to give God a chance and just let him love you. I pray this testimony will be used as a platform to demonstrate the power of the love of God in all who read it.
God bless you……
Matt Swick-SOS program participant
Hello. My name is Matt Swick, and I am contacting you today to thank you for the impact that your ministry has had on my life. I was enrolled in the program in the summer of 1998, and then returned in early 1999. I was fortunate enough in my time there to go on a trip to South Dakota with Pastor Mario and Pastor Regina. I still remember vividly the work that we had accomplished there. I was recently reminded of the experience when a professor had posed the question,"What was the first time that writing or reading literature truly impacted your life?" The answer was easy. Until our daily bible readings at S.O.S., the only thing I would pick up was sports page. I had been a musician before entering the program, and the paper that I chose to write revolved more around how I had been given the opportunity to write and perform an original song at the pow wow that we had attended, and the effect it had on those around me at the time. It was nice sharing praise with the locals up there, and gave me a feeling of purpose. I was not sure if the program was still active, but I am very pleased to see that it is. I'm not sure if I am remembered by anyone there, but wanted to share that I will never forget you. God bless you, and I love you.
-Matt Swick
-Matt Swick
Tim Brunner, SOS Graduate
I started my criminal life and drugs at the age of nine years old. I was in and out of group homes until age 14 and after that I dropped out of school and continued using . I soon found myself locked behind the prison walls at age 17 for 5 years. Got out of prison at age 21 and I started using drugs even heavier than before. I continued using and when I was in my late 30's things were getting at their worst. The voices were getting worse and they had told me to Kill my wife. At that point my wife called the cops on me and had me admitted into a mental rehab. The doctors put me on a medicine and diagnosed me with Schizophrenia..things were slightly better for a few years due to the medication. I went to Servants of the Streets a couple of times and walked off. My wife and I separated and at that point, I felt the Lord calling me back to Servants of the Streets. I went back to SOS at that point and that is where I found my deliverance and found the Lord. I am back with my wife and family and have been ministering to troubled teens..I have been sober and clean for 2 years now. I would say for sure that SOS is hard, but it is hard because we have been out of control for so many years that when someone tries to bring order to your lives it is not an easy process. I would recommend Servants of the Streets to anyone, their willingness to open their house and lives has helped me and many more to find the Lord and deliverance.
-A Son of the King
-A Son of the King