I really appreciate this message. I ask that you, Leah, and the rest of your family pray for another homeless man. His name is Jarrod, and he is the man that I believe God wants me to marry. I was engaged to him until I found out that his addiction to drugs has such a great hold on his life. I have gone through a lot with him during this last year. We both know that we cannot get married with his life like this. A few months ago God told me that I need to step away from the relationship and let Him work. I went back before it was time, and God quickly showed me that I was stepping before Him. Jarrod is saved and has gone through the Teen Challenge program in Lansing, MI. He has worked for them from the time he graduated from the program till this November. After the director discovered Jarrod had used again, he decided the only thing he could do for Jarrod was to ask him to leave. Jarrod has taken great steps forward but then has stepped back. I did not fully know his struggle until after I fell in love with him and agreed to marry him. He has gone back and forth for several years. He hates it, but he hasn’t been able to walk away. When he was asked to leave Teen Challenge, he went to stay at a shelter in Lansing. It is part of a ministry that requires its residents to attend their church and Bible studies each day. I know that Jarrod loves God and doesn’t want to be addicted. I have only talked to him twice since he was asked to leave Teen Challenge. I pray for him daily and pray that God will bring people into his life to listen to him, pray for him, and encourage him. I was touched to read how Leah took the time to listen to the man she encountered. Thanks for reading and praying.

Blessings and Merry Christmas,
Carrie (food service manager at Youth Haven in MI)