"God, if you would just restore my mind, I will serve you. I will do anything that you want me to do."

These were the desperate words Michael Armendariz cried out at San Diego Teen Challenge.

The road to recovery wasn't instant, but God answered Michael's prayer, “It took a lot of time, but I know that I heard [God’s] voice and I know that I heard him tell me that he wanted me to serve him and wanted me to serve him in this ministry. So at that moment, I made a decision that nothing was going to stop me from being a Teen Challenge staff member and from serving him and telling my story.” Through Teen Challenge, the Teen Challenge Ministry Institute, and with unwavering faith, Michael's life began to transform.

Michael first came to Teen Challenge in 2013, driven by a desire to regain custody of his children and find a job. While he achieved these goals, he lacked a genuine relationship with God and lost everything he had worked for when he relapsed.

Rock bottom came in 2019. Michael had lost his sanity, hearing voices from his drug use and feeling utterly hopeless. It was then that he returned to Teen Challenge, this time with a sincere plea for God's help.

Going through Teen Challenge a second time wasn’t easy — he didn’t know where God’s path would lead him, and the thought of being away from his family broke his heart. Looking back, though, Michael knows God carried him and his family through that season. During his third quarter at the Teen Challenge Ministry Institute, “God showed me that I wasn't going to be apart from my family anymore, and that I was going to be a father to my son and daughter. I knew that was a word from the Lord for me.”

Michael has been on staff at Kern County Teen Challenge since 2021 and, as the Admissions Coordinator at the Ranch in Shafter, he has the privilege of ministering to broken men and their families. He shares his story of hope - "If God could change me, he could change you too." For Michael, it’s amazing to watch other people go from despair to hope, and from death to life. To go from being trapped by addiction, to the freedom of walking across the stage at a Teen Challenge graduation. He witnesses their reunions with family members … with Jesus at the center of their lives. “That's the most rewarding thing that I've ever experienced.”

Michael's journey from addiction to redemption is a testament to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit and the vital work God is doing at Teen Challenge. Your support helps make more stories like Michael's possible. Consider making a special one-time gift or an extra gift today to help offset higher expenses in the hot summer months. You can also set up recurring donations, today, so we can continue our life-transforming work.

Thank you for your prayerful consideration in supporting this ministry.