I met Pastor William MacCallum and his lovely wife Linnea at the Best Western Hotel in Frederick, Maryland where I had been staying for several months prior to our meeting. I was very lost in life and believed that I had no place to go. There seemed to be no hope for me.

I lived my life by my own rules, on the edge all the time. I lived a life of intentional sin. I was put through rehabs, had many intervention attempts made by family and friends, and was nearly killed so many times I can’t remember them all. It is only by the grace of God that I’m still here to type this letter. I kept trying to run from the reality that I could not control my own life. That’s the reason that I tried running again, this time back to Maryland hoping to get away from the life I was living in Florida. In less than a week I was back into the same lifestyle, only in a different location.

I got to this terrible place in my life through bad decisions and blaming the world for my problems. I had moved to Maryland with the hope of starting my life over again. See, I was a full blown drug addict and it had taken over my life for nearly four years. Every day of my life, I lived to get high, to escape reality. I lost so much; my three children, two houses, three cars, a Harley Davidson Motorcycle, a sports boat, and two successful businesses. But God never left me. I left him.

While staying at the hotel, I kept seeing Pastor MacCallum and his wife in the conference room right next door to the room I was staying in. I would see them and wave or occasionally say hello, however I could never bring myself to go in and ask for help. I now know it was not a coincidence that God put my room right there next to their meeting room. There must have been fifty rooms in the hotel, but God already had plans for my future. The day came that Pastor MacCallum came outside to the parking lot and approached me. He was just extending his hand to introduce himself and tell me what he was doing each week in the conference room. I didn't know that moment would change my life or how important this couple would be to me and my future.

During that time of my life, I was seeing a counselor three times a week and had a lot of old friends trying to give me guidance and hope. I was so blessed to even have that. But I failed to realize the piece of the puzzle that I had been trying to find was right there all the time: it was God using the Pastor and his wife as His tools to show me the way back to the Lord. They were never pushy or judgmental, they just kept being there for me, no matter if I had a good or bad day. They just did not stop working to keep leading me to the right path. Finally, I agreed to a weekly Bible study with them and stayed in contact by phone at least twice a week. Pastor MacCallum helped me find a great Bible-based church to attend and depend upon for my new foundation in Christian life. Between Pastor MacCallum, my friends, my church, my counselor, and caring parents there was not a lot more a man recovering from the lowest point in his life could ask for.

Today, I am happy to say God is in control, not me. I am drug free. I now have my own apartment, a nice car, furniture, great friends, and I just started a new floor covering business. Wow, what miracles have happened in the last year of my life! Pastor MacCallum always said, "Be patient, God will provide when needed.” I hated when he said that. However, God's and Pastor MacCallum’s promise has proven true and can be clearly seen today in my life. I thank God for His blessing. Without great people like Pastor and Mrs. MacCallum I'm not sure if I would have received His message and wonder where I would be today.
Jeremiah 29:11

Jeff S.
Gaithersburg, Maryland

Sunday, May 19, 2013

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

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Raymond & Sharon Shull -  CAMBODIA
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