Hi, my name is Joe Rice. My story starts 21 years ago. I started using
cocaine and my life spiraled out of control. Near the end I lived under
the 30th Street Bridge for seven years, in and out of jail and
hospitals, wasting my whole adult life.
One day me and a group of friends were wandering around center city
streets and walked up on a man and asked him for some money. He refused,
but he said ‘I’ll buy y’all some food,’ so we went with him to a
restaurant named Tony’s and we tried to be funny and order a lot of
stuff. But he didn’t care. He read the Bible to us and said, 'Try Jesus
and your life could change.' He told us we didn’t have to live this way
and offered to take us to the Whosoever Gospel Mission.
I did eventually go to the Mission where I overcame my addiction, built
a new relationship with my family and got a full-time job. In 2004 a
full-time position in the Mission’s Lighthouse Thrift Shop became
available and they hired me. I was on staff at the Mission for over
3 years. Since the arson fire, a lot of people ask, ‘Where are all
the men?’ I am one of them. I thank God for the Whosoever Gospel
Mission.
