Les Adkins

Mountain of Mercy

Honey Dew, California

My name is Les Adkins. I am 51 years old and from Jacksonville, Florida. I have 1 daughter and 5 grandchildren.

With 35 years of doing drugs you could probably say it is the only lifestyle I knew. Eventually, I didn't care if I lived or died. I knew I needed help so I called Mission Teens. I went to the Ft. Lauderdale center in 1999 and graduated, stayed on as staff and then transferred to the Iowa center. I stayed in the ministry for over 4 years.

This was a time of healing and turning my life around for something good. God used me to help change lives. After 4 1/2 years in the ministry, I felt it was time to move on, so I decided it was time to leave. I found out quickly that God wasn't finished with me yet. He had a calling on my life and I walked away from it. I wanted to go back to the old familiar lifestyle I knew. I found a good job making decent money, but after 3 months my sciatic nerve went out and I couldn't work. This wasn't easy! After being laid up for 6 weeks I finally went back to work. One week later I went to pick up something and my sciatic nerve went out on the other side. I was thinking to myself, "what are you trying to tell me, Lord?" I felt God telling me, "Les, you have a call on your life and you walked away from it." But I still wanted to do things my way, so finally when my sciatic stopped hurting I went to work again and it went out a third time. I felt God telling me again, "quit being so hardheaded and trying to things your way." I wasn't paying attention so off to work again I go. This time, 1 month later, I had a heart attack. My boss told me he didn't think it was a good time to return to work after all of my health issues - that it would be best to take a couple of months off and take it easy. I went back home and ended up smoking crack again, letting it take everything I owned. I knew once again that i had to cry out for God's help. So I called Mountain of Mercy asking to come back to the ministry. They accepted me with open arms like the lost son. I am thankful to be here and I now feel the peace that has only come from God in knowing that this is where He wants me to be!

Monica Thompson

God's New Life M.B.T.C.

Marked Tree, Arkansas

My name is Monica Thompson. I am 45 years old. I was born and raised in Paragould, Arkansas. I have a younger brother. I also have a son, 26, a daughter, 24, and two beautiful grandchildren. I don't remember a lot of my childhood because my dad beat my mom. I can remember my mom making me and my brother go to our room and lock the door so we couldn't see them fighting. My parents divorced when I was 13. When I was 15, I did my first shot of meth. After that I was hooked.

I started skipping school and when I did go to school I was high. I quit in the 12th grade and got my GED. I married at 18 to my children's father. But we were only married long enough to have two children because he beat me. When my daughter was born I divorced him. I tried my best to give my children what they wanted, but I got back on dope after the divorce and that led to me not being the mother I should have been. Meth took control of my life.

I later lost two fiancees to suicide because of meth. After that I got busted and went to prison on a 10 year sentence and did 8 months. After going to prison you would think a person would change their life, but that was not enough. I got back on drugs once again. Knowing I was on parole for ten years didn't even slow me down. Three years after being out of prison I had gotten 6 new felony charges. I went back to jail and that is when I knew i had to do something different. I was so sick of hurting my family and myself.

Since I have come to know who Jesus Christ is, He has blessed me so much. My daughter is at Grace Mission Bible Training Center getting her life right. That is a blessing itself! Also I went to court over my felony charges. I was looking at 66 years on prison and this is how awesome God is. He loves me so much that the court sentenced me here to God's New Life M.B.T.C. for 10 months. I got sentenced to something I love doing. How awesome is that!

Don't be afraid, just believe! Jesus is the answer!