"I was high all day every day"

Life is hard. And when young adults are lonely (which many of them are) addiction comes easy.

Desi is a student who shared about her journey at our weekly meeting. Here's Desi's story:

“By the time I was in high school, I was high all day every day.

From the minute I woke up to the time I went to bed, I was high.

During school I was poppin’ edibles. When I wasn't in school,

I was cooking and selling.

I was addicted.

I was numbing myself. I was trying to escape my trauma.

One day while I was at home, I felt like my body was on fire. So I went and smoked some more. But that wasn't it. I realized that the experience was spiritual.

God got my attention.

I looked at my blunt on the table. I grabbed it. And I flushed it down the toilet. Then I walked over to my mom and I told her that I'm done.

I started reading God's Word. But I couldn't understand it. I had to start by reading one verse a day. I prayed that God would help me understand. Now I love reading the Bible.

Today, I have been [addiction] free for 496 days.”

GOD is changing lives!

Desi’s story represents both the trauma and brokenness many students have experienced. But her story also represents the depth of transformation and healing that is happening through our Community Groups.

Amazingly, 600-700 students have joined Community Groups across our 7 local campuses this fall! These groups are true communities: places where students bring their real lives and genuinely seek to follow Christ.

Because of your partnership with us in ministry, students like Desi are finding life-changing communities of faith. We are grateful that God has continued to allow us to minister to students full-time for almost 25 years.

Truly, we couldn’t do this without you––our team of prayer and financial partners.