Amanda
“GOD IS REAL AND HE SAVED MY LIFE.”
After using drugs and alcohol for nearly 20 years, Amanda thought she had a handle on her addiction. In retrospect, she says, “I was on a dead-end road.” A health crisis sent Amanda over the edge. “I had a blood clot in my leg. I was on bed rest and medication and then the drugs took over. I lost my jobs, lost my house.”
Amanda was homeless for four years before a drug overdose served as a wake-up call. “I almost died. When I came out of that without any brain damage, I thought, ‘This is it, I’ve got to get back on the right path.’”
That path brought Amanda to Montana Rescue Mission. During her first two months, she tells us, “I did my chores, went to chapel. I just did every small thing they ask us to do. Doing that every day got me back in the mindset of stability.” More important, she says, “I didn’t even think about drugs or alcohol.”
Because she had been working part-time at the Mission’s thrift store, Amanda was approved for housing. However, she decided to go through our New Life program to ensure that she would get closer to Christ and stay on the right path. “Since I’ve been here, I can say I know God. I know that He’s real and He saved my life.
Amanda shares her love for God with her children, who live in Colorado with her parents. “I talk to them every night,” she says. “It’s wonderful.” By the time you’re reading this story, Amanda will be a proud graduate of our New Life program. Looking ahead, Amanda would like to go back to her family in Colorado, but admits that “God may have something else in play.” Wherever God leads her, she knows it won’t be back to that dead-end road. “I’m happy,” she says. “It’s a good feeling.”