DEAR CHARIOTS4HOPE FAMILY

For those of you that don’t know me my name is Drew and I am a former recipient, a volunteer, and a former employee of Chariots4Hope, but most importantly I am a part of the C4H family.
  I’m honored and blessed to be able to share my C4H story with you in hopes that it brings encouragement to your entire team.

Most of us don’t get a chance to turn our mess into a message.
   So.. my grandparents raised me for most of my childhood and thankfully so because they were able to instill in me some good morals and values that I was unaware of until later in life. When I began staying with my mother around middle school/high school it was in a pretty rough part of North Omaha and that is where I fell into a portion of my life full of alcohol, drugs, and gangs. I wasn’t much of a drug user but I was a drug dealer which could be considered worse. It was actually the alcohol that took ahold of me at a very young age and this mixed with gangs caused years of violence, chaos, and manipulation.

I had my first daughter at 17 I neglected her for many of those years just like my parents did to me. Here I was a child paying child support without a clue of how to be a parent. Luckily though, because of her, I was able to escape most of that lifestyle by my mid 20s except for the alcohol. It still had a grip on me and it caused me to expose my daughter to many unsafe situations.

I met a woman around this same time who had 3 kids and I thought that if I just had a family all would go well. We ended up having 2 more together so if you’re keeping track that makes 6 children we were raising (ha!)

At this point I felt like I had it all figured out. What I had was all the pieces of what seemed like a normal life, but under the surface it was anything but normal.
   The alcohol slowly drove a wedge between me and everyone I loved or cared about. It got especially bad when my best friend passed away. I began to spiral out of control. As time went on my relationship with the mother of my children became very toxic. Toxic to the point of abuse. Not really physical abuse as most would think but both of us became mentally and emotionally abusive. It felt like a horrible game of who could hurt who more. The worst part about all of this was that the children became the real victims.

I went to jail a few times over the final 2 years of our relationship, but it was May of 2021 that was the last and worst time. While in jail I found out that the state had taken my 2 youngest daughters. I also remeber being told by their mother that she would have them calling someone else daddy. I thought I lost everything in that moment. No more family, no more friends, and no more love. I felt like I had been unloved my whole life. My parents left me in my childhood, the so called friends I had, left when I changed my lifestyle and now the woman who bore my children hates me. All of which I could have accepted maybe as a part of life, but i could not accept losing my children. I was supposed to protect them and provide for them. I was supposed to be better than my parents, but I wasn’t. I failed them and I felt hopeless. I was broken at this point and I know now this is exactly where God needed me to be.

    I sat at a cold metal table in jail opened up my Bible to this verse and was set free.

Romans 8:37-39 says,
   “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jeusus our Lord.”

 After this point the real work had to begin. I knew I had to get my girls back. And I knew Jesus wasn’t some magical creature that took all my problems away but I know He promised to walk through them with me and carry me when I needed it. So I began seeking Him everywhere.
  Now as I sat in jail I studied the Bible as much as I possibly could. Upon my release I found a recovery ministry that was Christ centered and allowed me to continue my studies. While in recovery I received many opportunities to do ministry work including discipling youth, giving a sermon, leading the worship team and even helping plant a church.
   This is where my journey with Chariots began. Their offices were across the hall from where the church was planted. I had volunteered to put some flooring in their big meeting space and I met a beautiful soul that day named Michelle. There was an air about her that was full of joy and love which still was foreign to me but at the same time inviting. It made me curious to know what Chariots was all about. When I inquired about their program from some people I thought this is awesome they’re like Oprah and just handing out cars (HA!)

I learned quickly that was not the case once I joined the program. Cassie and Jeff interviewed me and made sure I was financially capable of even owning a car before approving me. I felt comforted by this because it meant they truly cared about my situation and didnt want to add any burden. I wasn’t working much around that time because of court dates, meetings with the state for my girls as well as balancing all of the recovery ministry work, but when I first met Jason and told him my story we came up with a plan.

   Jason offered me a part time job that quickly grew into a full time job helping run their shop. I couldn’t understand how someone believed in me enough to give me such responsibility. This not only gave me the ability to provide for my girls but it gave me a sense of purpose. While working I was able to be involved in many blessings and give back to people who struggled in life just as I had. I was even bamboozled by Chariots with my own blessing where I detailed my own car expecting to give it to someone only to open the garage door to see Cassie with a huge grin pointing at me. I’m glad I was good at my job cuz I knew that car was clean (HAAA!)

The vehicle I received became instrumental in getting my girls back home. I was finally able to have visits with them outside of the recovery center. When I was granted unsupervised visits I was able to pick them up from school and take them to appointments. I even used the vehicle to move into my new apartment. I’ve had many cars before this but this one was special. It was given to me from a place of love. This wasn’t just a car, it was hope, it was peace of mind, and most importantly it was a chance to be a father again.

I tell people a lot that when I came out of my mess the hardest part wasn’t loving people, it was actually being loved again. Even when the recovery ministry faded away because of a disagreement I had with the leadership, Chariots still was there to love me through it. They never left me hanging as many people had before. It didn’t matter what mistakes I made, or how good of a Christian I was, or even about what I could do for them. They just loved me. And they truly showed me that unconditional love does exist. It was exactly what God needed to show me and He used Chariots4Hope to do it.

   The thing is it’s real easy to get wrapped up in the tangible aspect of the car but I can promise everyone here from my own experiences that what they give is so much more. They give people a chance, a chance to change, to be loved, to be a part of something bigger than themselves. A community, a family, even a sense of purpose.

   Chariots has played a huge part of how I got here today. Currently I am exactly 2 years sober tomorrow. I now stay in my uncles 3 bedroom house where each of my girls have their own space. I have a great job as a bookkeeper for a realty management company and plan to start some part time work again with Chariots; I recently even decided to rejoin Chariots through their matching program and most importantly I am only weeks away from having full custody of my girls.
Without the generosity of your donors, there wouldn’t be stories like mine and I am extremely grateful to each and every one of them. Family is what this ministry is all about and I couldn’t imagine any better people to have that responsibility.

Much Love!
Drew

JOIN THE JOURNEY

We often say, “you can’t make this stuff up” at C4H. God truly has His Hand on this ministry! If you were inspired by this story, we can’t encourage you enough to keep reading more stories, or consider joining the family. You’ll never regret being a part of someone’s life-change!