Carl was a tough case. Before joining the church in
1995, he
fed on four grams of heroine a day, prostituted
women, robbed banks and carried a pistol to hunt down his hated father. He
was approached by Pastor Jerry, who kept coming to see him untill he enrolled
in the Amsterdam home.
Carl’s salvation did not come easily, he struggled for three weeks of
withdrawal with the bible as his only medicine. "Heroine is Satan itself.
You are going into the kingdom of God, so Satan is not going to let you loose."
Carl (42) says. Carl has since risen the ranks of "Home Director-Overseer"
for the Amsterdam home.
of his construction work salary, as do all the members. He lives
in a humble apartment with his wife, whom he met at Victory Outreach, and their baby daughter. Every few days Carl leads
a sermon at the men’s home.
Each morning at 5:30 a.m, residents jump out of bed for hours of prayer, bible studies and worship before breakfast. Further religious instructions follow after lunch and dinner. The intensive program culminates on Sundays, and every two months they pray through the night. The ex-addicts are thus broken, kneaded and rebuilt along the lines of the church.
