My name is Donald. I live at the Fred Jordan Mission and I’m part of the in-house men’s program. I’ve had a hard life and endured some tough situations, but with the help of Christ and the people at the Mission, I’m really getting back on track. 

 I know what life is like on the streets.

 When I was a kid, my father left my family, so my mother moved me and my twin brother from Cleveland to Los Angeles. We lived in poverty, so my brother became involved in gangs to help provide for his needs. When we were teenagers, he was murdered in a gang-related shooting. I was at the scene of the crime, and I watched my twin brother die. This event greatly affected my life. Afterwards, nothing seemed to make sense. I felt like I had lost everything, and the difficulties of life in the inner city didn’t allow me to deal with my grief like I needed to. I became a different person, carrying around a burden that I wasn’t strong enough to hold. I struggled from job to job and apartment to apartment in LA, trying to make my life work. Eventually, I just couldn’t cope any longer. I lost yet another job and felt like I had nothing. I didn’t know what to do. Soon my situation took a turn for the worse, and I ended up homeless.

 I came to the Mission when I had nothing else.

 After losing housing, I began making the rounds at various missions in Downtown Los Angeles to get food and a place to stay each night. I felt like I had hit rock bottom. Then one day I came upon the Fred Jordan Mission. I learned that they had a housing program for men, so I met with the pastor in charge of the program. I was so thankful when he allowed me to join the program and live at the Mission. I suddenly found that I was in a supportive environment, learning about God every day and making new friends. My life really began to change, though, when I received prayer and counseling for the loss of my brother. This was something I had never dealt with but desperately needed to. I accepted Christ as my personal savior, and I allowed him to carry the burden my heart felt over my brother’s death. He took my sadness, and my soul began to heal. Slowly but surely, life started to make sense again. I found that I was happy for the first time in a long time. I felt like I might actually be able to get my life back on track.

 Now, I minister to new men in the program.

I’ve lived here at the Mission for over a year now, and my life has truly changed. I’ve grown so much in my relationship with Christ, and I know that things are better because He is in my life. I now have a job and am saving up money to move into my own apartment. I couldn’t have done this without the Mission. I needed to work through my grief over the loss of my brother before I could really put my life back together. The people at the Mission helped me do this, so I want to give back all I can. Now that my life is on track, I’m sort of a mentor to men who are new to our program. I encourage them and support them as they work through their own situations. I know God has given me a significant testimony, and I feel blessed to be able to use my experiences to help others.

 Even though I may be moving on soon, I know I will never stop my involvement with the Fred Jordan Mission. The people there are like my family, and they will always be a part of my life!