Mark Norris, Current Good News Rescue Mission Resident

I was born in June of 1963 in Orange County, California. After over 30 years of drug abuse I was homeless and had no place to turn. A friend dropped me off at the Mission in December of 2008 hoping I could find help. I had heard of the Mission, but wanted no part of it because I had heard that it was Christian based. That turned me off because I thought pretty much any religion was ridiculous.

 I didn't learn until I was an adult that I had a condition known as A.D.D. I started using drugs and alcohol as a teenager and as an adult learned that the A.D.D. may have exacerbated my substance abuse addiction. I can credit Narcotics Anonymous with helping me with that discovery which ahs helped me in my efforts to ow remain clean.

 After arriving at the Mission, in ways I can't fully explain, God touched my heart one night in a Chapel service and I turned to Jesus Christ as my savior. I experienced a peace in my heart and mind that I had never known before. So many people here have been helping me, many whose stories are so similar to mine.

I'm now attending Bible studies, praying and I even volunteer to help out around the Mission. I love that especially when I get to help other guests, just like so many here have helped me. And, I am very excited that I will be going back to school in the fall to study sound engineering. Thank you for planting seeds of hope here at the Mission, for giving people like me a chance to know Jesus and to get my life back.