Guest Post: Joey's Story

Here is the testimony Joey wrote for our mission trip to Africa:

Hi, my name is Joey. I want to tell you my story. I grew up in a small town just south of Dallas, Texas. My father left our family when I was five years old. For my two older brothers and me growing up was hard. We went to church prior to my parents getting a divorce, but I was really too young to understand what Jesus was all about.

I experienced a lot of pain as a young child. Not only did I feel rejected, but I also had to deal with being abused. In fourth grade, I started using drugs to cope. My life was going downhill fast. By the time I became a teenager I had moved on to heavier drugs and started sleeping around.

All my life, I went to church with my Mom but really never got involved or felt like I was a part of the group. No one ever reached out to get to know who I was as a person, and the decisions I was making definitely made me feel like an outsider.

I had a lot of friends growing up that I thought were my friends, but they turned out to only care about themselves. One night, I combined two different drugs that I shouldn’t have and almost had a heart attack. My heart would race one minute and then beat so slow that I wasn’t sure if another beat was coming. The friends I was with told me, “If you’re going to die, you need to go die somewhere else.” I went home to my house and laid down in my bed not sure if I would wake up the next morning. I prayed and told God, If you will keep me from dying, I’ll give you my life.

My life wasn’t fixed overnight, but in time God has made me into the man I am today. I haven’t used any kind of drug in over seven years. God sent me a miracle named Melissa, a true childhood friend who became my wife. I have been incredibly blessed by the gifts of my two beautiful boys.

Our miraculous God has shown me mercy in the midst of my sinful life. He can do the same thing for you today.