What Happens When a Meth Addict Rides a Bike in Reno?

We got to Reno late afternoon and met our Hostess, Tammy, at the Prayer House.  Tammy is the Women’s Services Coordinator.  She took us to the Men’s Center where the men and women eat.  She introduced us around and told them we would be there to help them the next day.  We were invited to eat dinner with them at the shelter and then we went back to the Prayer House and met all the ladies and got settled in.

The Prayer House has one section for women off the street to come in, nightly, to stay.  Both single women and women with children.  The other side houses approximately 14 women that are in the Mission’s program.  They are all remarkable women trying to get their lives back.  Over the time we were there, we spoke with each and every one of them, and by the time the week ended, we had grown very close to these girls.

Our first morning there we went with the ladies to the Men’s Center dining room for breakfast and then we joined all the program attendees (men and women) in Chapel.  After Chapel, Paul (Food Services Manager) gave us a tour of the Men’s Center and Kitchen, where we signed up to serve.  Kathy served in the kitchen, and I was Prayer Chaplin.

On Wednesday, I had the honor of being the Chaplin for the morning chapel service.  It was packed, word had gotten around for everyone to be there if possible and they were!  Joan and Dwight Grover had come from the corporate office that morning to set up everything for me and had made it special.  Joan is a photographer and social media person (Director of Communications.)  Dwight is Worship Team Leader.  Chapel had a wonderful praise and worship team made up of both men and women from the program.

When chapel was over, the four of us (Joan, Dwight, Kathy and I) went out on the streets to pray with all the homeless that congregate in the area around the mission. Joan wanted to take pictures as she said “I want to see you in action and take some pictures.”  So…I started doing my talking and praying with people.  I ran across a lady named Heather.  She gave her heart to the Lord right there on the street.  Joan took pictures of it and heard it.  

(Heather’s picture is the one with me in the article Joan wrote for the Reno-Sparks Mission web site.  You can view this article on their Facebook page at Facebook.com/renomission.  It’s on their home page dated April 4, 2013.  They have over 1200 hits on their page from this article alone, the most they’ve ever had for one article. It’s a great article, please check it out.)

We also went to the corporate office and the warehouse to meet the Executive Director, Rick Redding.  Rick is quite a nice guy and really knows his business.  He gave us a tour showing us all they do to recycle EVERYTHING possible both to make money and save money for the missions work. They recycle TV’s, computers and even boxes and clothes no one wants.  You’d have to see what they do to believe it.  It’s quite an amazing operation.  

The mission has several thrift stores, one of which I visited.  It was quite amazing.  They sold everything from A to Z and, if I was fortunate enough to have a house, I could go there and fill it up cheap.

After the tour, we left and hit the streets to talk to the homeless.  Reno has more homeless than you would think since the weather there is so cold much of the year.  There are several other places that help the homeless there but, definitely, Reno-Sparks Gospel Rescue Mission is outstanding.

I met some incredibly special people, with incredible stories I want you to hear, but this post is already getting long, so you’ll just have to wait and read them in the book!

But I do want to give you a quick story about Tammy.

Tammy is in charge of Prayer House operated by the mission.  The ladies there call her “Mama” and she in very well respected.  In 2004, Tammy was a meth addict by day and a casino employee by night.  Eventually, as is often the case, she lost everything.

On a hot sweaty day, out on her bike she stopped in front of a casino and just broke down, whaling for a very long time, broken and hurting with tourist going by and no one helped, asked God to help “Have your way God however you want.”

Getting high wasn’t fun anymore.  She wasn’t living.  She was just existing.

Tammy remembers bargaining with God while on the bike saying “Get me out of this and I promise I’ll go back to church.”

She ended up at the Reno-Sparks Gospel Rescue Mission.  While there, God came to her in the shelter and showed her a vision of her whaling on the bike saying she’d do anything if He took care of her. She went into bathroom to talk to God and said “OK God, I’ll give you a shot.”  Then she took her glass pipe, rolled it in paper and crushed it on the floor.

That was 2004, and this is 2013, and she’s still at the mission.

When Tammy got out of the program they asked her to stay, and put her in charge of dispatching the trucks to pick up donations and deliver to resale shops. Then she was asked to be the Women’s Services Coordinator where she’s in charge of all the women in the Women’s Program.  She oversees anything and everything to do with the women in the shelter. 

When asked, Tammy said,  “My favorite thing is when a woman graduates from the program and to watch God transform her right before my eyes.  I get to see the women come in broken and hurting with all these scars and when she leaves I get to see what God has done.  That’s the best blessing, to watch the transformation happen.”  “My advice to an addict reading this is, I would ask you are you living or are you existing?  Because if you are existing, you’re probably not living.  I know someone who can give you life and that’s Jesus.”

Now, do me a favor, scroll back up and look at the picture of Tammy.  In 2004, she was a strung out Meth Addict that the world had given up on.  I imagined she looked much different than her picture above.  No one would give her a second look back then. But God looked beyond what we can see with human eyes and He saw "this" Tammy.  HE never gives up on anyone.  I wish we could see through His eyes.

Sidenote: - I know we are behind in our stories.  We're catching up!  But the work on the street takes precedence over the work on the computer!  Keep reading, keep sharing, give when you feel led, and keep praying!

-Sammie