I brought my 26 yr. old son here for a life change. When he was younger I divorced his drug and alcoholic father, then two years later I remarried and moved in 2009. My son didn't want to go out or meet people after growing up in another town and having to leave his life long friends. We pushed him to go out, to meet people. I missed having our kid's friends over to play and eat. We let the kids spray paint the basement, added gaming machines, a big tv, seats for everyone. It was a teenage hangout for my children. My son did start bringing over new friends slowly and they'd go to the basement. One friend showed him how to huff down there without our knowledge. He's always been so good and we trusted him. He then continued getting more friends that I didn't care for, they were quiet, never would speak to us, just walk on by to head to the basement. When we told him we didn't care for the group he was bringing over he got very defensive and irritated. Then, he started staying away more from home. We'd drive all over town looking for his bike or anything we could think of to find him. He even started sneaking out through the night and sneaking back in, sometimes with others. We never knew who would be at our house, and we had other children to think of too. He began stealing from us and others... we had cameras put in the house and caught him many times sneaking in purses, pockets, we even saw him on video pull our couch out and cut an opening in a hidden door to steal from our locked bedroom. He stole our keys and broke into our safe. Stole all my coin and $2 bill collection along with his and his siblings inheritance money and overseas money I had. He even called the cops on me after I found the cash for our house payment on his bed..my husband, who believes in tough love kicked him out, it broke my heart in pieces..my baby. This didn't help my son, he became worse and then became addicted to meth and weed. He would then break into our house through windows or picking locks. Each time we confronted him, he would get so angry and hateful. Even just looking at him was like looking at a stranger. I no longer knew who this person was in my sons body. The boy I raised was so nice, so cute and full of manners and had such a great love for God, this person was not him. My son was gone and I had no clue how to get him back. I felt ashamed when cops would call me or people told me that my son stole from them or from stores. He was arrested over and over. He lost his driver's license, then got caught driving under a suspended license. The son that once wanted to grow up to be a marine so bad, the son that had such promise, such faith. I cried so many times and prayed and prayed and prayed. I knew I had to give him to God, there was no other choice. We took him to teen challenge in 2017. He ran away three times and we'd go get him. The last time they told us he needed to pack his things and leave. I was at a loss, again I prayed for my son. In 2019 he was arrested and went to the sheriff's office with meth in his mouth, which is an automatic felony. He hasn't worked a real job in years, in and out of different houses. Now in 2020 he's banned from two stores in our small town, after just getting to go back in another store he was banned from. He's so slick and I've lost all trust in him. When I take him shopping and he bends down to tie his shoes twice in a store..my first thoughts are he's stealing and putting it in his socks. In my car I keep my wallet with me, at home I watch him move from room to room and wonder what he has in his pockets. He's gotten now where he'll tell me a couple days later that he stole, what it was and that he is sorry. He moved in with my brother and mom when he was kicked out of about every place in town and he had people after him and threatening to harm his family. He steals from them and has gotten caught with broken lightbulbs, pipes..caught stealing medications to sell on the streets. Again I pray, and now on his own he's signed up with Life Changers as I continue to pray. read more

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