It takes more than a few meetings...

This morning Cesar and I spoke to a homeless man named Charles. He came in for the usual (food, clothes, money), but left with something else...hope. The hope of sobriety was in his heart. He sat there and wept for what seemed like hours (it was actually only a few minutes). I told him that we (meaning "we" at this building called Mosaic) could merely offer him food, clothes, and a welcoming church home. But he needs much more than that. When asked the last time he smoked crack, he replied, "It's been a few weeks." Further probing revealed that it had only been 14 days if all he said was truthfull. "I've been going to meetings," he said. To my knowledge, nobody ever stopped smoking crack cocaine by attending a few meetings. I asked Charles if he wanted to get off crack to which he responded with a yes. Then I explained to him that it would require significant commitment for that to happen. He would have to enter a 29 day dry out program followed by a 4-6 month rehab program in Memphis. Charles said he would go. We are still waiting to hear from Bruce Patterson and Harold Nash regarding the rehab. Please pray that God would continue to move in Charles' heart and that he will come back to Mosaic on Tuesday to begin his journey towards sobriety.