Portland Men's Campus February 2025 Newsletter |
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What's Happening at the Campus? |
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Thank you to all that came to the campus for our first Open House! It was a huge success, great connections, great questions and student sponsors were able to connect with their students. Our next Open House will be in April, watch for a save the date and plan to invite someone to come with you! |
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Bowl For Hope Saturday, February 22nd
Mt Hood Lanes 5:30pm Arrival - 6:00pm Bowling $25 per player All players are encouraged to raise additional funds for this event!
Prizes! Prizes! Prizes! For most strikes and most donations raised. Come and join the fun!
To sponsor our event, register, or create a team visit our website: bowlforhope.org |
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This month we are proud to highlight Jared. He is our Peer Support Specialist working at our Oregon City Super Thrift Store. Here is his testimony in his own words: |
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“I was born in Puyallup, WA. I was baptized as a baby and went to Sunday school as a kid but we stopped going to church when I was about 4 or so. I went to kid's and youth camp with a friend when I was in elementary school and I accepted Jesus into my heart at kids camp. He has been with me ever since.
I made the decision to get into recreational drug use in junior high. I fell away from friends that were making good decisions and started living to feel good and please my flesh. I gave up football and everything that I once loved to pursue drugs in one form or another. I had started firefighter training, then I broke my leg playing backyard football, drunk, and decided not to go back to firefighter school until the next quarter. I never went back.
I started hanging out with my friends in a barn on my parent's property. We ended up trying harder drugs in the barn after a while. I got shot up with heroin a few times. One time, my brother came and picked me up and he must’ve noticed something and said something to my Mom. I was in the barn playing cards with my friends leaning over a trash can. She threw the door open and started screaming at me and slapping me in front of my friends. I remember looking at myself in the mirror, pale and green being like “this is not me.” I never shot up with heroin again after that. I thought that was too close and did not want to risk dying. I ended up smoking and selling it later on though, along with meth. I was homeless for quite some time after God pulled me off of the streets for the first time and back to Him in jail.
I must’ve not believed one of the guys I was doing Bible study in jail with, he told me that after doing Bible study and getting close with God, it won’t ever be the same going back to the streets. I went back and became schizophrenic and thought everyone could hear my thoughts. That went on for seven years until I turned back to God after coming to Adult and Teen Challenge as my after care for a court ordered secular inpatient program. God has been blessing me ever since, I have reconnected with my family and am serving in the ministry, my schizophrenia has gone away. I was trying everything to make it go away and the only solution that ever made it any better was Jesus. Praise God for His mercy."
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This month we are proud to highlight Klo. He is an intern at our campus. Here is his testimony in his own words: |
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“This month we are proud to highlight Klo. He is an intern at our campus. Here is his testimony in his own words: “Hello, my name is Klodoaldo Cuevas, I'm 49 years old; I was born in Mexico but migrated to the USA when I was 3 years old. Growing up in Southern California in a poor migrant family was very tough, my step dad and mom did their best to provide for me for my brothers and sister. At the age of 7, I was kidnapped and sexually abused and then abused for years after that by my grandma’s boyfriend. That led to a life of drugs and alcohol and all that goes with that lifestyle. When I was 24 years old, I moved in with my brother in Washington state, he just became a born-again believer, he led me to Christ. That's when I met my beautiful wife and we both served God together and we raised 2 girls and a boy. When I was 36 years old, I decided to start drinking casually again thinking I could serve God and still catch a buzz. I was deceived.
Within one year I became an alcoholic and drug addict, but this time I was worse than before. For the next 12 years I would struggle to control my addictions, there were years of sobriety but still would keep falling, I was running from God’s call in my life and my past issues of sexual abuse. It all came crashing down in 2022, this time my wife kicked me out. I went deeper into my addiction living out of my van, my own family disowned me. One day freezing, drunk and high, living in my van in eastern Washington by the Columbia River I believe God spoke to me. He put this thought in my head to find a Christian recovery program. I started looking and found Victory Outreach. While I was there, they had a 3 day revival, the Pasco Teen Challenge joined us and that's where I first heard about Teen Challenge. I left Victory Outreach because I wasn't ready to surrender, I went out again to the streets in the middle of winter to get high and hang out with drug dealers and prostitutes. I was bound and enslaved to that lifestyle. I didn't recognize myself anymore, but I still felt God dealing with me in those dark moments.
One day I decided to call my mom to help me out, she said she would, but I needed a plan. I told her about Teen Challenge in Southern California and we both decided I should go. She bought me a Greyhound ticket, all I had was a backpack. I entered Teen Challenge February 20, 2023, and my journey of restoration and relationship with God started,I was left with nothing, no kids, no wife, no identity, no self-esteem. I was so broken all I could do was beg God for my wife and my family. In my moments of grief and brokenness, I knew that I was going to be ok, I felt this peace that I never felt before, I was in love with Jesus again. I was ok if my wife left me, and my kids didn't talk to me, it sounds crazy, but I finally answered the call that Jesus had on my life. The story doesn't end there, because of my obedience and making Jesus Christ the Lord of my heart and life again my marriage was restored, my wife told me that the Holy Spirit told her not to leave me, I knew then that God had a purpose for me here on earth but also in ministry with Teen Challenge.
I graduated February 20, 2024, my whole family, including my beautiful wife were there, it didn't seem real, but I truly experienced full restoration and the love of God. I graduated and went home for 6 months and still was strong in the Lord and helped my local church. My heart and call were going back to Teen Challenge, so I applied for the internship, and I got accepted to the Estacada Teen Challenge campus. With my wife’s support and her sacrifice, I serve the guys here in whatever they need. I'm so honored and privileged and thankful I’m here serving my brothers. My future of course is to become full time staff anywhere the Lord sends me in the Teen Challenge ministry.”
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THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS! |
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Thank you to all of our sponsors!
Our students love receiving cards, letters and gifts from their sponsors Our center goal is to have 200 sponsors Monthly commitment is $45 - Please call (971) 255-0658 to become a sponsor today! OR Check out our website for more information and to sponsor a student: https://teenchallengepnw.com/donate/sponsor_a_student/ |
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Student Room Remodels
Our plan is to have 3 students to a room - 3 twin beds, 3 nightstands, new built in closets A Big Thank You!
Special thank you to Discount Tires - furniture & flooring have been purchased! We are still in need of the following:
Mini-splits (heat and air conditioning units) If you would like to help, please include a note with your gift designating funds. |
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A BIG THANK YOU!
Thank you to our generous donors for your consistent and generous support - you are a big part of keeping our program running smoothly! |
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