Vincent’s Success Story

For most of my life I considered myself an ordinary guy. I grew up in Northern Utah and have lived in the Ogden area for most of my life. For 32 years I was married to a wonderful woman. We couldn’t have children, but we loved each other deeply and built a good life together.

We weren’t rich by any means, but we worked hard and were grateful for what we had. I worked manufacturing utility trailers, and together we were able to buy a mobile home. It wasn’t fancy, but it was ours. Life felt stable, and we were happy. Then everything changed.

When the COVID pandemic came, my wife got sick. At first, we hoped she would recover, but her condition got worse. Eventually she passed away from the virus. Losing her after 32 years of marriage devastated me in a way I can hardly describe. She had been my partner, my best friend, and my family.

After she died, I didn’t know how to move forward. The grief was overwhelming, and I sank into a deep depression. I stopped caring about things that used to matter. I kept going to work for a while, but my heart just wasn’t in it anymore. I also didn’t want to stay in the mobile home anymore because it reminded me so much of the life my wife and I had shared. Eventually I walked away from our home.

Before long, I found myself living on the streets of Ogden—even though I was still working. I would go to my job during the day and then figure out where I was going to sleep at night. It was a lonely and discouraging way to live. Not long before Christmas in 2024, I was laid off. Suddenly I had no work and nowhere to go. I felt I had reached the lowest point of my life.

That’s when someone told me about the Ogden Rescue Mission. I didn’t know what to expect, but I decided to give it a chance and entered the Mission’s New Life Program. The program gave me structure and direction at a time when I desperately needed both. It also gave me hope, which is something I hadn’t felt in a long time.

I started serving in the Mission’s kitchen as part of my work therapy assignment. I worked with some great people there, and together we prepared meals for the men and women who came to the Mission for help. I know what it feels like to be hungry and unsure where your next meal will come from. Being able to help provide a good, hot meal for someone who needed it gave me a sense of purpose again.

One moment that stands out was serving in the kitchen during the Mission’s Easter banquet last year. There were so many people there, and you could see the gratitude and happiness on their faces as they received their meals. Being part of that event made me feel incredibly blessed. While working in the kitchen helped me regain a sense of purpose, the spiritual and personal growth I experienced in the program changed me in ways I didn’t expect.

I participated in the Genesis Process curriculum, which challenged me to look at my life and the choices I had made. One thing that surprised me was looking back at some of the answers I wrote early in the workbook and comparing them to the answers I wrote later. I could see how much God had changed my heart.

The classes and Bible studies at the Mission were also meaningful. I even had a community mentor who met with me and walked through the Mission’s “Purple Book,” which helps people learn more about God and the Bible. Through all of this, my faith began to grow in a way it never had before.

Another blessing during my time in the program was getting connected with a church called Crossroads Church. From the first time I visited, the people treated me like family. They didn’t judge me for where I had been or the mistakes I had made. I felt like I belonged as a brother and a friend in Jesus Christ.

I now work at Crossroads Church as the building supervisor. I take care of the grounds and help maintain the church building. The church has also allowed me to live in a parsonage next to the building, which has been an incredible blessing. For the first time in a long while, I have stability again. I have a job, a place to live, and a supportive church family around me.

Today I’m working hard and saving money. The church even gave me an older SUV, and one of my goals is to get it fully repaired and running well. Once I’ve saved enough, I hope to move into an apartment or house of my own in the next few months.

But the biggest change in my life isn’t just having housing or employment again. The biggest change is my relationship with God. Through my time at the Ogden Rescue Mission, I’ve come to know Jesus Christ in a real and personal way. I truly believe that God used the Mission to save my life.

I do have several siblings, but unfortunately, we’ve become estranged over the years. Since my parents have passed away and I never had children, my siblings are the only biological family I have left. I hope that someday I might find a way to reconnect with them, and I would appreciate prayers for that.

At the same time, I’m incredibly grateful for the church family God has given me. The people at Crossroads Church mean so much, and they remind me every day that I’m not alone.

I want to say thank you to everyone who supports the Ogden Rescue Mission. Because of your generosity, people like me have a place to turn when life falls apart. You may never meet many of the people whose lives you help change—but I’m one of them.

And I’m truly grateful.