Seven Days That Changed Everything

Within hours, everything he had been trying to build collapsed.

Just as the world was created in seven days, George was led to his path of redemption in the same amount of time. But before we reveal the succession of signs that led George to Pennsylvania Adult and Teen Challenge (PAATC), it’s important to know his past.

Before addiction took hold, George had been a proud father with a daughter and granddaughter who loved him dearly. But addiction slowly stole the relationship he had with this family.

He tried escaping his addiction by moving into a recovery house. It worked for nearly two years as George found steady work and was able to get a car and save money to rebuild the life he had lost. Then, one bad decision to use again became a spiral back into darkness.

George lost his job and his bed at the recovery house on the same day. Within hours, everything he had been trying to build collapsed. For the next four months, George slept in his car and panhandled on the streets of Kensington.

Then came the seven days George will never forget.

Day 1: A stranger handed him a Bible with one page folded over. George could not bring himself to throw it away.

Day 2: An older woman invited him to church and George remembers feeling “seen” for the first time in many months.

Day 3: A man approached with food and asked if he could pray for him. George said yes.

Day 4: After months of no contact, George’s daughter suddenly appeared. She said that she had felt prompted to get off at an unfamiliar exit, which led her directly to him.

Day 5: George turned his old phone back on. The first message he opened was from his granddaughter, now ten years old. “Pop Pop, I know it is really hard. I just want to hear your voice,” the sweet voice on the message said.

In that moment, George realized his addiction was not only hurting him, but everyone he loved.

Day 6: George made the decision to seek long-term help. At a rehab intake, he requested something longer than a 28-day rehab. He wanted recovery to work this time. While he was speaking, the phone rang. It was Pennsylvania Adult and Teen Challenge (PAATC) saying they could pick him up if he was within two hours away. George was exactly one hour and forty-seven minutes away.

Day 7: A PAATC van pulled into the parking lot the next morning. George got in and left everything behind. Two hours later, he came through the gates of PAATC to begin his life again.

As he began to recognize the succession of seven days that formed a clear thread drawing George toward a new life, the folded Bible page he received on Day 1 mattered more than he could have imagined. It was Deuteronomy 31:6:

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

“I knew without a shadow of a doubt that God had a divine hand on my life,” George said. That divine hand led him to graduate clean and sober.

While at PAATC, George’s 30+ years of plumbing experience also became a way to give back. Our new housing building for female students in Rehrersburg, Pennsylvania, was being constructed and George helped complete the plumbing and brought the building to life — something that will impact women in our care for years to come.

George is also a talented photographer and used his God-given gift to help capture events, moments, and people across the PAATC campus. Through his lens, stories of hope are preserved and shared, reminding others of the transformations taking place here every day.

This is what your generosity makes possible. Your gift helps create space for the next George, for someone who might be seven days from choosing a new life, or one van ride away from a second chance.

Alumni Testimonies of Faith, Recovery, and New Life

Our graduates are living proof that redemption is real

My recovery is proof that faith can rebuild what addiction tried to destroy. I walked in broken, but through grace, accountability, and surrender, I walked out restored, stronger, and walking in purpose. My story is not about where I fell — it’s about how God helped me rise. I am anchored in faith, walking daily in His grace, and trusting His plan for my life. ~ Jamie Mondesir

Easter reminds me that resurrection isn’t just something Jesus did long ago. It’s something He’s still doing today. God brought new life where there was once brokenness through Pennsylvania Adult & Teen Challenge, and I’m living proof that redemption is real. One of the greatest blessings of that redemption is being able to be present in my grandsons’ lives. ~ Joseph Napoli

Jesus turned my life from something I once struggled to endure into a gift I now cherish. Through Him and the people He placed in my life, I have received an overwhelming amount of love and support. He truly saved my life. ~ Amanda Leibig

I came surrendered, not knowing who I would become. God met me there, healed me there, and raised me to serve from that very place. ~ Malikah Gambrell

From our CEO

Spring has a way of reminding us that new life is always possible.

After months of cold and darkness, we see buds begin to form, flowers break through the soil, and light return a little longer each day. Easter celebrates that same promise as we observe the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the hope that no life is ever beyond restoration.

In the feature story of this spring newsletter, you met George, a father whose life was heading down a painful path. Then, for seven days in a row, George encountered unmistakable signs that it was time to get help — conversations, circumstances, and moments of divinity that pointed him toward wanting real change.

George’s story is a powerful reminder that God pursues us with patience and purpose. When George surrendered his addiction, he didn’t just begin healing his own life—he began restoring broken relationships and reclaiming his role as a father and grandfather. That’s resurrection in action: old things passing away, and all things becoming new.

This Easter season, I’m grateful for you. Your support makes stories like George’s possible. You are helping fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters step out of darkness and into new life through the hope of Jesus Christ. Thank you for being part of this ministry of renewal.