Ours is a faith of second chances, and third, and fourth, and fifth… forgiveness, grace, and hope without limit. When asked if we should forgive our brother seven times, Jesus responded, “seventy-times-seven,” a Jewish hyperbole for unlimited forgiveness. And when His friend Peter betrayed Him at His moment of greatest need, Jesus not only forgave, but fully restored Peter and lifted him back up into a life of joy and service. This is the hope of the Christian faith: that no matter how hard we’ve fallen, there is always HOPE for a new start. And it is our privilege (and responsibility) as followers of Christ to offer that forgiveness, restoration, and hope to one another.
So with that little sermon behind me (😂), let me tell you about how your support of OnRamp allowed us to share this restorative love of Christ with a brother named Tyler yesterday. This young man has been through hell and back. Some caused by others; some caused by his own bad decisions in the past. Addiction led to jail and stole his hope. Fortunately, by God’s fortuitous grace, at his lowest point approximately two years ago, Tyler reached out to our local addiction recovery ministry, The Nest. That’s the ministry to whom OnRamp gave a Tahoe a few months back to support their addict outreach efforts! Their work is absolutely essential to countering the devastation of drug addiction in our state.
By calling The Nest, Tyler connected with one of our dear friends, JoAnn Willis. A former meth addict herself, JoAnn found her way to sobriety and healing through Jesus’ grace and the love of a Christ-like community. She dedicated her life to serving other addicts who were ready to be set free, addicts like Tyler. Through JoAnn’s ministry, Tyler was placed with Adult and Teen Challenge of Texas in Brenham, a residential, faith-based treatment facility that helped him become sober. JoAnn has continued to followup with Tyler as he’s now moved into a place of his own in Brenham, secured stable employment, and become involved in church. He has even begun to follow JoAnn’s example and serve those seeking freedom from drugs.
But Tyler’s employment and service options were severely limited by lack of a vehicle. He could only go as far as his bike could take him. When better employment opportunities came his way, he couldn’t accept due to lack of a vehicle. Similarly, his opportunity to serve alongside JoAnn was severely limited by his inability to get from Brenham to BCS. So JoAnn nominated Tyler to OnRamp, and we gladly accepted! Thanks to his dedicated work ethic, he was able to save up a significant portion of the purchase price for a vehicle. OnRamp added the rest, and we purchased this great Mazda2 for Tyler. It’ll get him around the Brazos Valley reliably and, just as importantly, fuel-efficiently.
I am so grateful that we have a God who’s shown us unlimited grace. I need that. You need that. Tyler needs that. The world needs that. And it is OnRamp’s privilege to be a conduit of unlimited grace to those in need. Thank you for donating the funds and the time that allow OnRamp to be a light of HOPE in the Brazos Valley.
As always, thank you SO much to Rami Cerone for helping us get this car for Tyler, Cassidy Somervill for leading this case, and Christian Brothers Automotive for doing all the needed maintenance.
