Dear Friends,

I would like to share a story about a young man by the name of Corey.  Corey was born into a family of drug addicts. His mother used drugs all the while she was pregnant with Corey and his father was abusive and never there for him.  At a young age, Corey was taken from his parents and put into foster care.  Corey carried a lot of anger and abandonment issues.  He was in trouble all the time, causing him to go in and out of boy’s schools.  Corey was about to have a defining moment in his life.

Corey was struck down by an SUV while riding his bike.  He died twice at the scene of the accident, but by the grace of God, the paramedics brought him back to life.  Corey had a long road of recovery, but worst of all, he was left with severe brain damage.  Corey went from boy’s schools to group homes and mental institutions.  There is a lot more to  Corey’s story, but here is where Corey came into my life.  I got a call one day from Sandy, Corey’s advocate.  Sandy told me about Corey; he was kicked out of the mental  institution for getting into a fight with one of the staff, and they had no idea where they would or could place him.  You see, Corey had already been kicked out of all the other facilities for fighting or not getting along.  I was very concerned, but I agreed to meet with Sandy and Corey that afternoon to see if Beacon of Hope could meet his needs. 

When Corey walked into my office I was surprised to see a young man wearing a cap on sideways, a trench coat, black nail polish and a big smile on his face. I told Corey that the Beacon of Hope was all about the healing power of Jesus and that the shelter had very strict rules and as long as he was willing to abide by the rules he could stay with us.  He told me that he once worshiped the devil, listened to bad music and wrote poetry as a coping skill to deal with his anger.  After Corey and I were done talking, I prayed with him and told him all he had to do was get his belongings and move in.  That night Corey came to me and told me that he needed to talk to me and confess his sins.  I prayed with Corey that night and he told me that he wanted to make the Beacon of Hope his home.  I told him to tell me that in a week and we would see.  Every day that week Corey would ask me if a week was up, and every day I would say “keep counting”.

Corey has been with us now for several months and still has not been placed.  Every day I question if we can meet Corey’s needs because of all the medications, short-term memory loss and all the problems that he has to face day to day.  There have been problems between Corey and me because of his disabilities; however, we have a great respect for each other and always work things out.

Are we the right place for Corey?  I don’t know.  What I do know is that a young man who once worshiped the devil, wore black nail polish and wrote very sad and dark poetry just to cope, is now listening to Christian music and writes beautiful poetry to glorify God.  Every day Corey and I hug and tell each other that we love each other.  Through this action I feel that I have been touched, hugged and told I am loved by Jesus.