My name is T.J. Martin. I am 19 and I am a resident of Youth-Reach Houston. I’ve been here for over 2 years. Like many of the residents here, I came from a broken home. When my parents divorced I began looking for an escape by using drugs, having sex, and hanging with a bunch of thugs. Life went into a downward spiral and just brought more pain. I constantly had run-ins with the police, was put on probation, saw many people arrested, and suffered the loss of multiple friends who died from drug-related incidents.
In December of ‘03 this became very personal. I lost an uncle to drunk driving. At this point I lost it. I was either going to overdose, go to jail, or get shot. The enemy’s plan for my life had almost come to completion. It was during that time that God reached out to me. A good friend of mine had recently gone to a program called Youth-Reach. One night I received a phone call from him telling me of a way out of the trap our lives kept us in. I had heard of many jailhouse style religions but I knew this guy and he seemed to speak with a life and passion I hadn’t heard before. Something was different.
Unfortunately, life was still the same. I still had the same friends, still stayed strung out, still dealt drugs, and my many issues were still there. It wasn’t long before I felt hopeless again. I sought to do things to hurt others to make myself feel better. I robbed drug dealers and gave the drugs away, stole from my parents and surrounded myself with drug addicts and thieves. My kingdom came crashing down one night when I was involved with some guys who robbed and pistol-whipped someone else. Everything about the situation pointed to me. After everyone else involved had been arrested the investigators eventually came to me. Youth Reach was my only option.
I entered Youth-Reach in February of ‘04. I was quickly faced with myself and realized it wasn’t just my surroundings causing problems in my life. For the first time in my life God began to do a work in me. Three months after I arrived here I received a phone call from my probation officer. She told me all my charges had been dropped and I was being let off probation. This blew me away. I was no longer held here and I could go back after my old life if I wanted to. On the other hand God was setting me free. He gave me the chance to pursue Him with no strings attached. For me, this was a no-brainer. I chose to embrace the life God was offering me. A year and a half later, God is still revealing truth and building character in my life. My friend, Andrew, has been a big inspiration in my life. He graduated Youth-Reach, went to ministry school, and has recently come back as staff at Youth-Reach. I have the pleasure of learning from him and his walk with God. His passion for God and heart to see people have that same passion ministers to those around him.
Since I’ve been at Youth-Reach I’ve come to know Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I’ve completed high school and started college. I’ve spoken before the high school students of two cities as well as to my former senior class. My relationship with my parents has grown tremendously. I’ve had the chance to get involved with a couple of local ministries and most importantly been able to sit under Godly men who lay their lives down to benefit God’s work. I know I’ve come a long way from who I used to be, but God is still doing a work in me. I don’t know how long I will be here or where I will head afterwards. I’m open to wherever He may lead me.
