Understanding Christianity did not become real to me until my senior year at Ball State University. I started to fall in love with the Bible and the stories that it told, and began to understand the purpose God had in my life. The words in this book started to become true for me, and I wanted to share it with everyone. My faith in Jesus was changing my life.
Shortly thereafter, I got married to an amazing woman of faith and we were ready to start a family. After months of trying to have children, we realized that it was not going to be possible. From doctor’s visits to prayer, we were starting to realize that the possibility of having a child was not very likely. One day, we were talking to a group of ladies about our situation, and they began to pray over us. Exactly four days later, my wife and I found out we were pregnant. This was a miracle in every sense. We had a beautiful daughter and praised the Lord for the miracle he gave us. God showed Himself to me in this situation and I trusted his plan for my life was good. He healed our broken situation and I wanted others to see the work God can do. And so my journey with Muncie Mission began.
Muncie Mission is a faith-based organization that which works to bring hope and love to the oppressed, poor, and needy. This organization houses men in the Muncie community who would otherwise be homeless. I have been volunteering with Muncie Mission for many years and have seen the lives of many men be transformed by the work of the Mission.
Men who enter Muncie Mission are usually simply looking for a place to stay and food to eat. When they leave Muncie Mission, they are filled with more than they had hoped for. Some of the men who come to our agency struggle with addictions to drugs and alcohol. Muncie Mission works with these men to address their personal needs and works to help them toward abetter life position by reaching the goals they set upon entry into the program.
I believe that not only helping people’s physical poverty needs is important, but also helping them with the spiritual needs. We are all in need of hope and for someone to share with us good news, and I feel that the Bible holds the good news; because it shares the news of hope. I have seen a change in the hearts of the men we serve because they are starting to believe in the hope of Christ. I get the opportunity to be a part of this transformation by helping support these men with their goals, showing them love, and serving them. I know that my life has been radically changed through my experience with Muncie Mission.
Poverty is not a problem that can be fixed only through providing a bed or feeding a man, but also through an emotional and spiritual change. Many people need hope and faith in something so that when everything seems to be going wrong, they have hope that it will be okay in the end. This is why I love being a part of the work at Muncie Mission. This agency sees a need in our community to house homeless men, and it has created a safe place for just that.We also spiritually invest in these men, which I feel is the most important piece to helping these men recover from the situations they face.
For me, I am a man who is a sinner saved by grace and knows that no matter how hard my life will be, God is always good. That is the truth that I hold dear to my heart and the kind of truth I want to relay to others who are struggling. I love volunteering with Muncie Mission and being a part of seeing lives change because people are willing to step out of their comfortable lives to make a difference in those who need hope in our community.
— As told to Shae Robison
Social Work Major
Class of 2012
This story originally appeared in Facing Poverty, a publication of The Facing Project that was organized by TEAMwork for Quality Living in Muncie, Indiana.