My Story: From the Tent to the Tabernacle – 2013-06-05

My name is Clyde Alan Hensley. I am proof that God is in the business of miracles. I drank myself into homelessness in 2009. I had burned every bridge and opportunity of redemption with family and friends. All I had left was an addiction, the clothes on my back and a guitar sitting at my sister’s house. I had nowhere to go except The Haven of Rest. I stayed there and learned to “fly a sign” a.k.a panhandle.

After drinking my way out of the Haven I received a tent and some new found friends. I drank only out of necessity, to keep the shakes off. If I was without alcohol for 5 hours I would get ill.

While out on the streets I slept behind a funeral home, on a porch of an abandoned house, and under bridges when I was too intoxicated to get back home to my tent.

I would get up at 6 a.m., get sick and then go to the gas station and get a couple 24 oz. beers, chug them and fly a sign until 12, then take what I had and get another one or two to get me through until 6 p.m. At the end of the day I would get my beer for the night, hiding my surplus for the night shakes, and a half a can to get me “right” for the walk in the morning. This was an everyday occurrence.

Salvation Steps In

Then, late one spring, I had made my day’s wage and drank a bit more than the norm. People were giving me more money than usual, so I bought and drank more often. As I was walking the railroad tracks to get home I saw some others from (homeless) camps near mine. We sat on the tracks drinking. I blacked out.

Next thing I know I heard ‘HEY BUDDY GET OFF THE TRACKS”! It was Jon Soza of The Salvation Army, out checking on the homeless. He pulled me off of the tracks a moment before the train would have struck me.

Soza tried and prayed every which way for me to get into the Adult Recovery Program (A.R.C.). It took 5 or more months before God broke me down and started what I call “The Journey”!

The Journey

I arrived at detox at around 10:30 a.m. one morning. I had already flew my sign and made enough to get a couple drinks in behind the dumpster. I had every intention of going back, but the Lord had other plans…

In retrospect, I had a spiritual awakening.

I turned left and walked over to detox. I had been there before, but this time I knew I was either going to find a way to get sober through my Higher Power – Christ – or go back to the woods and die by mid-winter.

On October 6th, 2010 I transitioned from detox to the Salvation Army A.R.C. This is when the work began.

It took me 3 weeks to memorize my social security number. I was beat down, tired and thought there was nothing left to salvage, let alone repair.

Once I started to come out of the haze, I realized that God forgave me, so to stay sober I had to forgive myself. The program gave me tools to use in everyday situations and it watered a seed of faith that was one of the few things I had left.

Blessings Pour Out

After graduating the program on April 1st, 2011, I was blessed with housing by Springtime of Hope, employed by The Salvation Army, and decided to make amends with a former employer. I soon began working for my former employer, Liberty Harley Davidson.

I am active in the Salvation Army Praise Team and Thursday night Men’s Bible Study. I recently recorded a Christian rock cd “From the Tent to the Tabernacle” and preform at local coffee houses. I have videos on YouTube and am currently writing again.

A new chapter of my life is beginning. I just got married to a wonderful woman who was homeless at the very same time I was. We are on a spiritual journey together. I am employed at Rubber City Harley-Davidson and I am able to edify Christ in music and the word.

RAHAB Ministries Restores Hope in Women through Faith and Friendship (Part 2) – 2013-05-31

By: Katie Sobiech

Not too many people would want to walk the streets of Akron’s most crime-ridden, strip-club-dotted areas past midnight, but RAHAB Ministries does.

Fear of any possible danger doesn’t stop them. They pray and go to the most lost, hurting people in this area.

RAHAB Ministries Founder, Becky Moreland, has been doing this for almost 11 years.

Lately, the ministry has begun to focus even more attention on providing a way of escape for women caught up in the human trafficking industry.

A community garden plants a few miracles, growing a new community – 2013-05-29

by Tom Crain

“Gardening is cheaper than therapy… and I might even get tomatoes.”

“Gardening requires lots of water…most of it in the form of perspiration.”

“Why try to explain miracles to your kids when you can just have them plant a garden here this summer?”

These are just a few of the things I heard in my community garden over opening weekend. It told me a lot about the people involved and the expectations of what the new Glendale Community Garden means to this community.

RAHAB Ministries Restores Hope in Women through Faith and Friendship (Part 1 of 2) – 2013-05-24

By: Katie Sobiech

Amy has a sparkle in her eye, a light from within that she didn’t have before.

Before colliding with RAHAB Ministries and their message of transformational faith, life wasn’t easy for Amy. It was actually a very dark place.

“I’m a product of RAHAB,” Amy shared, “I was a prostitute and drug addict, but because of RAHAB, I’m at where I’m at today. They’re amazing.”

Interestingly, Amy used to live right across the street from the RAHAB home.

My Life: Linda’s Story – 2013-05-17

I couldn’t understand why God gave me this child, conceived through “marital rape.” My marriage was in a shambles, the pregnancy threatened my health, and I had no idea how I was going to support another child. I was confused and angry. My co-workers and family are pro-choice and encouraged me to get an abortion. For me, that was never an alternative. I was extremely scared about my situation, but I was not angry at this child I was carrying.

I delivered Erika, a beautiful, perfect child and shortly thereafter had to return to work. When she was 10 months old, I was finally forced to quit my job and go on disability due to being in and out of remission from multiple sclerosis. At this time, my husband physically abused me for the last time, and I found one too many love letters from other women in his possession. I found it necessary to file for divorce for the protection of my children and me.