Meet Darin

Darin was heartbroken when his beloved father passed away, but there wasn’t time to grieve. He had to be strong and provide care for his disabled mother. But when she died three years later, his grief sent him spiraling into a deep depression. “I wanted to leave this world and go be with my mom and dad.”

He began drinking to numb his pain and grew distant from the Lord and his family. “I was ashamed and tried to hide my addiction,” Darin says.

But eventually, he landed in trouble with the law and as he sat in his jail cell, he thought about his niece and nephews. It had broken their hearts when their grandparents died, but Darin had been too wrapped up in his own grief to help them heal. Now, he wanted to become the kind of man they could look up to and lean on. “They really needed me and I wanted to be there.”

When he was released, Darin came to Waterfront and, through our LifeBuilder Recovery Program, his faith in God was restored. “I not only found my way back to Him, but the Mission helped me trust Him even more than I did before,” he says.

“Now, I’m walking with Christ.”

Through one-on-one counseling and life skills classes, Darin also processed his grief and developed healthy coping skills. “It made me appreciate life more than ever and filled me with joy.”

Darin graduated from the program, got married and has been working at the same job for six years now. He’s become the godly role model he hoped to be. “The Mission helped me become a good man who takes care of responsibilities, someone people can count on,” he says. “My niece and nephews are proud of me.”

Darin now has strength for his future because of your heart of compassion for him and other neighbors in need. Because you chose to share God’s love, he has a path forward in life. “The Mission gave me the tools to rebuild my life.”

To read this issue of Waterfront Mission Rescue News, click here.