Is There Hope for Aldo?

Aldo Perez had a reputation. Other campers in the homeless tent camp where he lived along the Des Moines River tried to steer clear of him, especially when he was drinking. And though he came regularly to Hope Ministries' Bethel Mission to eat at Hope Cafe, he was sometimes asked to leave when his anger led to altercations.

Hope Ministries' staff often encountered Aldo as they led volunteer Service and Mission (SAM) Teams during their weekly visits to homeless tent camps. A sense of something almost sinister seemed to permeate Aldo's presence, yet he was polite to the groups who came through distributing food and health care products. Repeatedly the staff invited Aldo to Hope Ministries' Bethel Mission emergency shelter and encouraged him by saying, "Aldo, you are a good man."

Perplexed, one day Aldo finally asked a staff member, "Do you really think so? You don't even know me or all the bad things I have done!" The staff member responded, "Yes, I do believe you have goodness inside you. And when you get sick and tired of living this way, come to Hope Ministries because we have a plan for you."

One night in early spring, Aldo was attacked by an intoxicated intruder who beat him nearly unconscious and then shattered his leg with a concrete block. Bleeding profusely, Aldo crawled to the street where he flagged down help and was taken to a local hospital. There, he spent hours in surgery. When the time came for his release, Aldo remembered the repeated invitation by Hope Ministries’ staff and asked to be taken to our emergency shelter, Bethel Mission.

As Aldo recuperated at Bethel Mission, he felt God speaking to him through the kindness of the staff, volunteers and other residents there. He began to wonder if he could be a good man. And, he made plans to join Hope Ministries’ Journey of Hope recovery program. But as his hope grew, Aldo fell desperately ill—blood tests revealed he had leukemia.

After Aldo learned he had less than a 30 percent chance of surviving leukemia, he made an urgent call to a Hope Ministries staff member he’d befriended. “Please come now!” he begged. “I want to surrender my life to Jesus Christ.” His friend prayed with him over the phone, but during a later hospital visit Aldo told him he wanted to be remembered for good in his life and not the bad he had done. How could he accomplish anything for Christ if he was dying?

“You are in the perfect place for ministry!” his friend said. “You can be a blessing to the nurses and other patients here. Your acts of kindness can be your legacy.” Weeks later, a nurse told Aldo’s friend, “Whenever I come into Aldo’s room, my spirit is lifted.” He turned to look at Aldo who grinned self-consciously. God was using him!

One night, men at our Bethel Mission emergency shelter were startled when the evening chapel speaker asked them: “How many of you know Aldo?”

Whispers rustled through the room, hands raised. Aldo! The guy with the temper? The guy you wanted to avoid whenever possible? Yeah, we know Aldo!

“Aldo is in the hospital with acute leukemia,” the speaker said. “But I want to tell you a story ...” As the men heard of Aldo’s heart transformation, they began to wonder, “If this is true, maybe I can change too!” That night, seven men surrendered their lives to Christ. Then some asked about our Journey of Hope recovery program.

Today, Aldo is in remission, but must have a bone marrow transplant if he is to survive. Now a member of our Journey of Hope recovery program, he has forgiven his attacker. But the pull of addiction is strong; please pray for Aldo and all of those in our recovery programs.