02/29/2024
In 2005, at Wheeler Mission, Sam had come to know Christ. However he’d quickly slipped back into addiction, and prayed often for God to pull him out of it.
18 years later, last February, Sam was using and living in a tent in the middle of a roundabout at an exit in Indianapolis. He had finally reached a point of knowing that his life needed to change. He gathered enough money to buy a phone and made a call to Hickory Treatment Center in Indianapolis. They set up a ride for him, but they had to keep pushing it back because they were understaffed. Days went by as Sam continued to live in his tent, on the highway, in the cold weather and rain.
In frustration, Sam used again and thought, “I tried, but I can’t even get help.”
At that very moment, he says, “God tugged on my soul and He meant business.” He threw the drugs out of his tent and started walking toward Hickory Treatment Center in the rain. On his walk, God provided food, water and everything else he needed. He walked hours to the nearest Hickory Treatment facility and told them that he couldn’t wait for a ride- he needed help now.
They offered him a bed in Indianapolis, but he told them that he couldn’t stay there. He knew he needed to get away. They told him that there was a bed available in Linton and he responded with, “I don’t know where that is, but let’s go!”
During his twenty-eight days at Hickory Treatment Center in Linton he was deeply impacted by a Christian woman named Miss T. She put him in contact with Brian Patterson from Rebuilt Recovery and Discipleship. Sam chose to go straight from Hickory to Rebuilt R&D because he knew that he needed more than twenty-eight days.
In November 2023, Sam graduated from Rebuilt R&D’s seven-month residential program. He is now engaged, living in his own apartment, working for Mike & Sons Stone Mill and for the Town of Bloomfield.
Sam wants those still living in addiction to know that “Even though it may not seem like it, there are people out there who do care. Give it a chance. Give it to God and give God a chance to work on your life.”