Winter 2006Chris Hoke, Assistant Jail Chaplain
Jose* throws on a clean shirt as he steps out of the trailer where he lives with his mom. She hands him a lunch she's prepared for his dinner at work, and smiles and waves as we pull out of the RV lot. This is the first of her four sons to return to her. She has been alone, with one dead and the rest in prison or jail, all from lives of drug addiction, violence and crime.
Already two months have passed since I picked up Jose from the curb in front of the jail and brought him to Tierra Nueva where Roger and I prayed with him, for his freedom from addiction to live into his destiny. Now, en route from his house to his stable job, we get to catch up in the car once again.
"That was one of my biggest fears: getting out of jail. Not having friends, other than the ones that tore me down, who were only there for me when drinking and drugging. But when I went straight to Tierra Nueva, and each time I come there now, I feel like I got family. I love coming to Tierra Nueva. Along with the Zion church."
Jose's excitement about his recent experiences at a lively, Spirit-led, Messianic congregation deepens our growing belief that people coming off lives of heavy substances and action have a spiritual thirst that needs to be met by the full vitality and experience of God's Presence and Life. If not, drugs will eventually be more satisfying than humdrum church or some 9-5 job that gives no meaning to their unique, God-breathed lives.
"When I was drinking and doping I always looked forward to Friday to get drunk, to numb my sadness. But after enough suffering, like now, I look forward to Saturday at Zion. There I can pour out my soul to God, you know, where we all sing, really loud."
*name has been changed
