Meet Ronnie

I was in my mid-40s, locked up in a psych ward for the third time in three months. Night and day, I was lost in visions of all the terrible things I’d done in my life – decades of alcohol and drug addiction, abusing women, running with gangs, and preaching white supremacy. I could smell death coming for me.

I was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. But I knew better. Like King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4, God had turned me over to madness so I could see the monster I’d become – and what I was doing to my young son.

Lost in my despair, I fell to the floor, cursing and wrestling with God – but for the first time in my life, it was a fight I couldn’t win. I finally cried out, “God, I can’t do this anymore! Help me!”

“God had turned me over to madness so I could see the monster I’d become.”

Emotionally and physically exhausted, I fell into a deep sleep. When I woke up, all the visions, burdens, and sins of my past were lifted. In my right mind, I was released from the hospital, but I had nowhere to go. 

I prayed again, and God led me straight to Waterfront Mission.

I not only received three meals a day and safe overnight housing, I gave myself over completely to the Lord, and to my chaplains, counselors, teachers, mentors, and accountability partners. It wasn’t easy, but like a child, I slowly learned how to live a new life in Christ. As Christ promised, I became a new person, a new creation. 

Today, I’m five years sober, remarried, a committed family man, a successful businessman, but most of all, a man of faith. 

All my life, I was a fighter and a warrior for myself. Now, I’m a strong warrior in Christ. I hope you’ll continue to support Waterfront Mission, because God is using you to help transform lives like mine.