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One Man's
Journey of Hope
 Today Jeff Sullivan has hope. Despite his past struggles with drugs and alcohol. Despite the spinal cord injuries that limit his movement and his ability to work. Despite homelessness.
Jeff says his life started changing the day he walked into Hope Ministries’ Bethel Mission. “I am amazed at how the people at Hope Ministries reach out to people like me. I was trying to do it all on my own before, but I firmly believe having a personal relationship with God has changed my life.”
Jeff’s hope flows from his heart and right onto the blank sheets of paper he fills with his love for the Lord.
This is how I start my dayI take some time to God I prayThe Father, Son and Holy SpiritI listen close that I might hear it.
I ask Dear Lord please take my handGuide me in this forsaken landPrepare me as I make my wayThis I need from you today.
You see it’s true what they sayJust ask for help while you prayThe Lord will take you by the handAnd lead you to the Promised Land.
– by Jeff Sullivan
My Journey of Hope
Last May, Jeff Sullivan sustained massive injuries to his head and neck resulting from a car accident. Homeless, jobless and addicted, he stumbled into Bethel Mission, Hope Ministries’ emergency shelter for men, July 7.
July 7, 2005
I’m so overwhelmed right now. I can’t believe I’m in a homeless shelter. I’m nervous and I hurt so bad. I wonder if they’ll take me to the ER. I thought I could do this, but I can’t.
July 12
God spared my life May 25, and He saved my life today! Between the Bethel Mission STEP program and my pastor, my spiritual life is taking off. I’m beginning to think the accident was God’s way of opening my eyes and saying, “You don’t need drugs. You are better than that.”
August 4
I’ve been transferred to The Door and the STAR program. Two weeks ago, I had surgery on my neck and the guys here have taken care of me ever since. I don’t even know how or why I’m walking. God must just have a plan for me.
August 27
Today I was baptized at Adelphi Baptist Church. No more drugs, no more alcohol, no more cigarettes for me. I was thinking today, it’s amazing how people reach out to people like me. The staff at The Door is wonderful. Everyone wants to help and volunteer and donate. This has been a real eye opener.
October 1
The STAR program classes help me understand so much. The Purpose Driven Life class tells me God has a purpose for each of us. That’s not hard to figure out if you surrender your life to Him. I can’t believe I’m writing this, but at 40, I’m considering going to Bible College!
November 22
My injuries have shown me my life is expendable and can change in the blink of an eye. I’m really aware of how much I’ve had to rely on others since the accident. The blow to my head has caused memory loss and my spinal cord injuries caused real limits to my arms. But the amazing thing is, suddenly I’m writing — poems!
December 15
For the first time in years, I’m celebrating Christmas for what it really is … the birth of the King of Kings. I graduate from the STAR program in April and I’ll move into Hope Transitional Housing until I get disability and college worked out. God has a plan, whatever it is, I’m in.
King of Kings
by Jeff Sullivan
The King of Kings
The King of all things
The King of me and you
The King of the Jews
The King of it all
The King that won’t fall
The King of the past
The King that outlasts
The King of the law
The King without flaw
The King of all good
The King who withstood
The King who understands
The King who reprimands
The King that’s on top
The King that won’t stop
The King to receive
The King to believe
The King that is giving
The King of the living
The King that molds
The King that upholds
The King from the start
The King of my heart.
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• Click here to listen to a 60-second recovery graduate testimony.
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Where is He Now?
Jeff Sullivan almost fell through Bethel Mission’s door in July 2005. Injuries from a car accident had left him angry at God and the world. “I thought it would be better to die at  times,” he admits. “I don’t know where I’d be if I hadn’t stumbled into Hope Ministries’ Bethel Mission.”
Today, Jeff works at Bethel Mission as an intake staff and lives in our Hope Transitional Housing, saving for the day he gets his own apartment. His life experience contributes greatly to his ability to relate to new residents at our emergency shelter. Though pain and memory problems are part of everyday life, Jeff’s grateful for his health. “When it gets frustrating, I think of when Christopher Reeves was in a wheelchair, unable to breath on his own.”
Jeff works at Hope Ministries because, “Their program didn’t just change my life, it gave me my life back. Today, I look at the world as an opportunity.”
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LOVING YOU
IS EASY
Written by Jeff Sullivan
October 2006
Loving you is easy,
It gets easier every day.
First thing every morning,
I kneel down and pray.
I take some time to ponder,
Just what it is you’ve done,
You sent to me a savior,
Your one and only son,
To offer me a choice,
To have eternal life.
My burdens you have lifted,
You took away my strife.
You told me not to worry,
You’ll see me through it all,
You’ll be there to pick me up,
If I should stumble and fall.
To the cross they nailed You,
You wore a crown of thorns,
To fulfill your Father’s promise,
The reason You were born.
In the gospel it is written,
You suffered, died and buried,
The third day your rose again,
All my sins You carried.
You took them to the cross,
On that final day.
Because you were so gracious,
My debt has now been paid.
That’s why loving You is so easy,
You love me so much more,
That’s why my gracious Father,
I keep knocking at Your door.
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