%PDF-1.7 1 0 obj << /Type /Catalog /Outlines 2 0 R /Pages 3 0 R >> endobj 2 0 obj << /Type /Outlines /Count 0 >> endobj 3 0 obj << /Type /Pages /Kids [6 0 R 19 0 R 31 0 R ] /Count 3 /Resources << /ProcSet 4 0 R /Font << /F1 8 0 R /F2 9 0 R /F3 10 0 R /F4 11 0 R /F5 12 0 R >> /XObject << /I1 14 0 R /I2 15 0 R /I3 16 0 R /I4 29 0 R /I5 30 0 R /I6 33 0 R /I7 34 0 R >> /ExtGState << /GS1 17 0 R /GS2 18 0 R /GS3 21 0 R /GS4 22 0 R >> >> /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] >> endobj 4 0 obj [/PDF /Text /ImageC ] endobj 5 0 obj << /Producer (dompdf 1.0.2 + CPDF) /CreationDate (D:20241124083414+00'00') /ModDate (D:20241124083414+00'00') >> endobj 6 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 7 0 R >> endobj 7 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1575 >> stream xWMo6W̱$Ku-Z$@ED[HUƶ?o(qloE;̙73o $ ݾ.?f#EE SZD~FvEDrh͠7z~{w(,~.|~V"O2{ߥn[V춠4IYѹ^ft|hLC>(AWH7׀US-䤇#*Kkj}KlnuX5B1VT2AdjgԚ>خEQTCm+fT8N2#D"R=hB{;=NxCp (bŊީ@Μ9=Hank;9/;bAuMNʎ}4y9j4W`ldcI`VFuŔО=Y4LoӳQ )BRv0Nm cb%9 c^Zهr#\w=/vZ$PuߵqM(1*;{W]/4'{gpfc$Ÿl -yA?cWU>W ΀bSf( B@)lA;yu2[W;c'^beNd[ .!0hO@,&ARbmBicϔ { 4trҹJD\~47 g!ȗ~ZGlp vs|;Me9.)D5VM}w=ɳ}umjnkp[mBl@"˺ɽ> endobj 9 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F2 /BaseFont /Times-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 10 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F3 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 11 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F4 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 12 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F5 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Oblique /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 13 0 obj [6 0 R /Fit] endobj 14 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 125 /Height 125 /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /Filter /DCTDecode /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 4072>> stream JFIFC    !'"#%%%),($+!$%$C   $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$}}" 肌M]&+zHhaWoJ5X4q*X-ЦhiUjjr"f^,PH**cݞ;|IuQj(4iz׎7_:%2vʊ3jHe|;&R[ĀЖtX B|Nvh62lgGa#^2#IҹArE|nd` jc]8-- HB9dlaTifdu0;Zo_a 37 "4O36#\!/?uIru:H3o*"!#231B$4AxP eZGay%NH SB>ś%dvP oų!xtxQRBۮ UUFYVe$~<-1Awb$P(ι,Lcv~~AR$Z]t9X1VC(u[4xm0[ ~hF-K[zg-jYl+|qX; 2 S`T r1*Zݟ__`ȡB%reȊ-Aldd\aU1y/*W t8WL&&h6Q&PAkgka66}œ8:G[jf|k7n?/xp&k'cQ7QDBݜ#ݤbru@iGu%$bɯ:#ӓz_G[|kGZ!1!AQq?WgģY9eq"tWBW$Wt- ɭBD{8PQn6=wzxeD+ƈ$@H G.!1q 3AQa"#02BRb?Ė* %1̢km9/M9xZY,Oȍr?+8ᵛQnK[6JDxBf83MVsEL0$*:t6_%C*-w+OVӰ9pa'.GEȤBE 6SKm2`~7O]-h^FK3iB6I۫F2Z݁2>Gӆ\H/7T{-]q<Oq<_>HroVNfȱn= sFB琷3JЛ,rdJ6P8P8P8P80-g8dzQZ>4%ЎY.J'Ͳ=q#ry"m"P}I>N-<btEz@R^h`- ]Bь&!1AQaq ?!8`LqnZ]"پYZ5STJwЧJ> DalLcB`4>&sL&'(3Aw3HUP-G(#WªLqʰ`2u-vDѝChZPQ׀maLoyw)]Aٰ[Ry-&X']Cĕb [HKoQ MqNB𡂫 F1 JB3"}lDsӒ+Yae. >cьk+rr_KQ| ~b·VlL=2Z'b|ō 1oXu` ddK!x Ux8}w3o$ iU*~7Li/ ?1EH_7#/^hHgJ޺_D;{vDP~ExLaYiYws"EJ/7_cY"!`3`! > Cbb0dDKoh8Zdk`o /ȿ Q)\7<.gi o>{+v< CN!!1Aaѡ?ѩyhE @sq$E&abn&Ľ a}m"qK/lHopA ?~WC ]:q/oZ=341V>b&a"Tq s*sna? !1AaQq?Y9aNI!@a̗v!e7pu!1 VCa~VzUa!n#ð.9^L.,;`\4Yu"43/@~ kCגs,2̼bm.;o"@%d__F[OL}A]7_hq\1'yk 0NJha#?)D{ܾCbW >ܻ zpy@m(TZ;N,9]R$c?1{)`asH  endstream endobj 15 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 550 /Height 140 /Filter /FlateDecode /DecodeParms << /Predictor 15 /Colors 1 /Columns 550 /BitsPerComponent 8>> /ColorSpace /DeviceGray /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 5329>> stream xqDǯ뺒$ILfff&I335Lf2\3I2L&_3$3I$d+$\W=9y9lLss99P`0 `0 `0 `0 !U_:~u = F~sZŻدns⃪Qg¢G(F[-s͓^ DZ>d>3Dr#\OΉ, ZFwjux<;4Ƀxز#_v?nO<|{7c(b{Oū}w[N e~Hs䎷wwOn<1B.k+%U=eԘ -mCj)t:}c'ϓ*n"-ovkZ?R"V%wʶ7s]eX&eǕq` 1-2e JYHCFOUam 7:(Ԙt_@ހN t{B~ :V@}o#7!z^&zFL:ʤn X<- %"bNWqF c` M'4?cH-V`ǵAF>=#Ěm75dB I&7E5<>-͏їFǿl3M6x]Y&)2 FoΌ N.<t i4wL\^=_|Fo؏IȄ ik$ɄL?{?|tmCޮ=~T&iTevϷ'奔s?EꋄLPY͹箵?@L:Aˤ3y_:9AtA*0qVe- e6g)%a}.qKcI V/xʤzM|\ HSql0;*%+Mذ-闛obebu2iU&lLbtIcxb5^B#8 ޮaʻ _ w>j+L:$"&O;bZ K1 jmU玫ݢ=S/J<WO2'_yUPvp=`"aL5 Nl7"rlQT޼==-I[Se* F'(\`󴯉'{:נnVZ TG6*r$Tyx^LJū.C<3` %ANrxUo"˄ 0&$tO F&bIcW3GG͈ y!{m,LkCI d,(2"@ dR%F1thUL8Rݒ^+v9^?sʯYעDl~Qd" N2sc|ov}=F,3K#vxIvG^,[OM&wI[#,Jޙ\ض;L^fv[LbyYvM#/EI#/Zס$(ڼ ," &LK/IF i-Zx彰픢]MKeR n(PhV'LҸ\f$w/ e]"mɷWO߻˱ KerSPe (ӼGMȈ}X?ʍto7ZKl+81_Y&ǡd uʤ1Vw!sQ"/$zNkw(t)2BWQW"˄OXLp:e‡# וzn2F}qlc5ؾ:WH xLz LP:d# Q>(MRېd2Qt$o~R$YR5,-nޜLr_βehd" 2k1lvO X= eC p+[R=jU!֖}_DޟY2 (*wkZQ>Fl̲soR#^u3hhyTԲt.LtD8sk4z4Rbl@zp4hy0Tn\=.fnő Y/:TC9<@fSI$:QR/bq7DfR/ֻn)Vqd"䳽˄GL;ϝRG顼n&%Sv eFv,L"t}I&N> D73]$e)( ;]XhL`kSzJlcC$<)깍h}dr,1ܝRM뭍eMa $?e3f8΍҈&P(x+JU5{I 3 M- ;7|#G9 !\œ&=xp2,L{-`?OW":4uܚEadv ~9q.VdV%UT@73$@W¯B!ݒaVLH:!opr;gAɀiήpfߙR E/IDO*Luf0}{7mfyDxT.g)w5RvHx#Z]&M$ gZUTt+lZqZ_;a&JaG,-JLJDFIcV|:I3nB&;N0Lna=Y_Gl,p5,,kc EKgd;2vt7selT9˸sX޲.6r<1!| L0lTMS1?Xsf cq )KSgBB&׭x. v c@^Yk΀v],E[ɾ QhYyXXC2)g/J@su1ScL, ?C[{V2i͛!סӠ&> 6lu>4Ƕʤ|=12鱧l{^:a/Y%~].26G: p^CZ V&Vedҟ?RrX7d#I]ՕuL1 ?_ /12IEh ̴b<ӯ^e _ϝ䰻^]vy> /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 873>> stream x1j08-K/)],) &gi+:U̲\"9H!@"9H!@"9H!@eY.Z[p_E{QHKV[/`j%ʒcP,SX4W{7urd5ɱPr:-ֆʇX$$zfZpClbw7z{[]qGlwlGlZiM,ߺ7x}w` L9=3zpWL9 j)ۓB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$e]k` B$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$/؋ endstream endobj 17 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 0.3 >> endobj 18 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 0.3 >> endobj 19 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Annots [ 23 0 R 25 0 R 27 0 R ] /Contents 20 0 R >> endobj 20 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 2404 >> stream xYMo8W.`n)a$l`gm X-Q-%CQnt< u꾢(u;=3ub^廛m3|{ӟjsEVݖۊO}ݗ,/֏Ȧ0-ٝ`Uͦށ'v}wK4 |A +-JV=yl=A*|';k2yl4SCvixi:@48{ZE`w'G3^by_;1cAk%@d[!7=+dXHuHԋRIJn-U#mC~m YIV}' ,H" 2o"p6Y*pj_^ 0a x.'1>S]Ankp ^6)>'Ή8܃ `;Fj͡jd O{q" \4!08Bbu{c5,,UbyLP4 4(6cQ\C879ZCAԒP (@g.WìN'RRv TQM>LSu\!r+qY^趃BJFk% *jbrnyJ KeM9L pIr/]%ޯҠ[fjI6NKEXUkT<zs5{rؤoO,@p!E_MlɩBS!b@*% E^)rc|fUmqh Y+)9iVG1ޤ5!ԒX4[0!MEοAz g7vpr~$e[djI(%w1$׏ʝ@UԹTJvwb=;2Ybʟ9[<ڬaGY;w.v 增61c(8kNfNh#Gg%╗.>{l>v_EqO{#TRRҮ7My%^K\ #mi&7剮D~av.NxwtxA_r/\Tj 4ﶣե5J3Wvox{e%%j8P89jFn3glV4K Oەo[Ϟ֏&:`1i+T\ʾlkf~@G$~[ }&r ;i U_P jl|}b'RhS0*D4(\FZv89h3?OO;:<\1ɂ>c _ WgNXeeQeluvI<aK>C4= 83BʦJ)Iܾ={f>{Zj=u7|^+Sh{V7c 9NҦjZ?jfw,8}d4Z8O<F>/q la4$VXQl2vvI<5Lt94k͗?{jp(,^F^JQ]{~nvj;W5r/ZjR4?ߍZjeh'r(dOqJ^~$N\8g5\uD[[qu(EV/7~|]tJ{󅗚/x'vnySCsruXP8\`JEѨ%㟿|Xbӿ8{]ڇ9]VX-QDx6\'f<&E8^LP)N@VtG! h$qjE-/<@9 endstream endobj 21 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 1 >> endobj 22 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 1 >> endobj 23 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /A 24 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 235.0640 184.2164 290.4320 196.4264 ] >> endobj 24 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (http://www.caringmagazine.org/video) >> endobj 25 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /A 26 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 124.3640 169.5644 312.4400 181.7744 ] >> endobj 26 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (https://caringmagazine.org/fight-addiction/) >> endobj 27 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /A 28 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 97.6880 125.6084 170.3840 137.8184 ] >> endobj 28 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (https://caringmagazine.org/quiz/) >> endobj 29 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 550 /Height 140 /Filter /FlateDecode /DecodeParms << /Predictor 15 /Colors 1 /Columns 550 /BitsPerComponent 8>> /ColorSpace /DeviceGray /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 5329>> stream xqDǯ뺒$ILfff&I335Lf2\3I2L&_3$3I$d+$\W=9y9lLss99P`0 `0 `0 `0 !U_:~u = F~sZŻدns⃪Qg¢G(F[-s͓^ DZ>d>3Dr#\OΉ, ZFwjux<;4Ƀxز#_v?nO<|{7c(b{Oū}w[N e~Hs䎷wwOn<1B.k+%U=eԘ -mCj)t:}c'ϓ*n"-ovkZ?R"V%wʶ7s]eX&eǕq` 1-2e JYHCFOUam 7:(Ԙt_@ހN t{B~ :V@}o#7!z^&zFL:ʤn X<- %"bNWqF c` M'4?cH-V`ǵAF>=#Ěm75dB I&7E5<>-͏їFǿl3M6x]Y&)2 FoΌ N.<t i4wL\^=_|Fo؏IȄ ik$ɄL?{?|tmCޮ=~T&iTevϷ'奔s?EꋄLPY͹箵?@L:Aˤ3y_:9AtA*0qVe- e6g)%a}.qKcI V/xʤzM|\ HSql0;*%+Mذ-闛obebu2iU&lLbtIcxb5^B#8 ޮaʻ _ w>j+L:$"&O;bZ K1 jmU玫ݢ=S/J<WO2'_yUPvp=`"aL5 Nl7"rlQT޼==-I[Se* F'(\`󴯉'{:נnVZ TG6*r$Tyx^LJū.C<3` %ANrxUo"˄ 0&$tO F&bIcW3GG͈ y!{m,LkCI d,(2"@ dR%F1thUL8Rݒ^+v9^?sʯYעDl~Qd" N2sc|ov}=F,3K#vxIvG^,[OM&wI[#,Jޙ\ض;L^fv[LbyYvM#/EI#/Zס$(ڼ ," &LK/IF i-Zx彰픢]MKeR n(PhV'LҸ\f$w/ e]"mɷWO߻˱ KerSPe (ӼGMȈ}X?ʍto7ZKl+81_Y&ǡd uʤ1Vw!sQ"/$zNkw(t)2BWQW"˄OXLp:e‡# וzn2F}qlc5ؾ:WH xLz LP:d# Q>(MRېd2Qt$o~R$YR5,-nޜLr_βehd" 2k1lvO X= eC p+[R=jU!֖}_DޟY2 (*wkZQ>Fl̲soR#^u3hhyTԲt.LtD8sk4z4Rbl@zp4hy0Tn\=.fnő Y/:TC9<@fSI$:QR/bq7DfR/ֻn)Vqd"䳽˄GL;ϝRG顼n&%Sv eFv,L"t}I&N> D73]$e)( ;]XhL`kSzJlcC$<)깍h}dr,1ܝRM뭍eMa $?e3f8΍҈&P(x+JU5{I 3 M- ;7|#G9 !\œ&=xp2,L{-`?OW":4uܚEadv ~9q.VdV%UT@73$@W¯B!ݒaVLH:!opr;gAɀiήpfߙR E/IDO*Luf0}{7mfyDxT.g)w5RvHx#Z]&M$ gZUTt+lZqZ_;a&JaG,-JLJDFIcV|:I3nB&;N0Lna=Y_Gl,p5,,kc EKgd;2vt7selT9˸sX޲.6r<1!| L0lTMS1?Xsf cq )KSgBB&׭x. v c@^Yk΀v],E[ɾ QhYyXXC2)g/J@su1ScL, ?C[{V2i͛!סӠ&> 6lu>4Ƕʤ|=12鱧l{^:a/Y%~].26G: p^CZ V&Vedҟ?RrX7d#I]ՕuL1 ?_ /12IEh ̴b<ӯ^e _ϝ䰻^]vy> /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 873>> stream x1j08-K/)],) &gi+:U̲\"9H!@"9H!@"9H!@eY.Z[p_E{QHKV[/`j%ʒcP,SX4W{7urd5ɱPr:-ֆʇX$$zfZpClbw7z{[]qGlwlGlZiM,ߺ7x}w` L9=3zpWL9 j)ۓB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$e]k` B$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$/؋ endstream endobj 31 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 32 0 R >> endobj 32 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 291 >> stream xJ0^,I&]](ânR]3>Gt-e J ɹ81pK uEѻGj2h}$}Fx8D9aH^?> /ColorSpace /DeviceGray /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 5329>> stream xqDǯ뺒$ILfff&I335Lf2\3I2L&_3$3I$d+$\W=9y9lLss99P`0 `0 `0 `0 !U_:~u = F~sZŻدns⃪Qg¢G(F[-s͓^ DZ>d>3Dr#\OΉ, ZFwjux<;4Ƀxز#_v?nO<|{7c(b{Oū}w[N e~Hs䎷wwOn<1B.k+%U=eԘ -mCj)t:}c'ϓ*n"-ovkZ?R"V%wʶ7s]eX&eǕq` 1-2e JYHCFOUam 7:(Ԙt_@ހN t{B~ :V@}o#7!z^&zFL:ʤn X<- %"bNWqF c` M'4?cH-V`ǵAF>=#Ěm75dB I&7E5<>-͏їFǿl3M6x]Y&)2 FoΌ N.<t i4wL\^=_|Fo؏IȄ ik$ɄL?{?|tmCޮ=~T&iTevϷ'奔s?EꋄLPY͹箵?@L:Aˤ3y_:9AtA*0qVe- e6g)%a}.qKcI V/xʤzM|\ HSql0;*%+Mذ-闛obebu2iU&lLbtIcxb5^B#8 ޮaʻ _ w>j+L:$"&O;bZ K1 jmU玫ݢ=S/J<WO2'_yUPvp=`"aL5 Nl7"rlQT޼==-I[Se* F'(\`󴯉'{:נnVZ TG6*r$Tyx^LJū.C<3` %ANrxUo"˄ 0&$tO F&bIcW3GG͈ y!{m,LkCI d,(2"@ dR%F1thUL8Rݒ^+v9^?sʯYעDl~Qd" N2sc|ov}=F,3K#vxIvG^,[OM&wI[#,Jޙ\ض;L^fv[LbyYvM#/EI#/Zס$(ڼ ," &LK/IF i-Zx彰픢]MKeR n(PhV'LҸ\f$w/ e]"mɷWO߻˱ KerSPe (ӼGMȈ}X?ʍto7ZKl+81_Y&ǡd uʤ1Vw!sQ"/$zNkw(t)2BWQW"˄OXLp:e‡# וzn2F}qlc5ؾ:WH xLz LP:d# Q>(MRېd2Qt$o~R$YR5,-nޜLr_βehd" 2k1lvO X= eC p+[R=jU!֖}_DޟY2 (*wkZQ>Fl̲soR#^u3hhyTԲt.LtD8sk4z4Rbl@zp4hy0Tn\=.fnő Y/:TC9<@fSI$:QR/bq7DfR/ֻn)Vqd"䳽˄GL;ϝRG顼n&%Sv eFv,L"t}I&N> D73]$e)( ;]XhL`kSzJlcC$<)깍h}dr,1ܝRM뭍eMa $?e3f8΍҈&P(x+JU5{I 3 M- ;7|#G9 !\œ&=xp2,L{-`?OW":4uܚEadv ~9q.VdV%UT@73$@W¯B!ݒaVLH:!opr;gAɀiήpfߙR E/IDO*Luf0}{7mfyDxT.g)w5RvHx#Z]&M$ gZUTt+lZqZ_;a&JaG,-JLJDFIcV|:I3nB&;N0Lna=Y_Gl,p5,,kc EKgd;2vt7selT9˸sX޲.6r<1!| L0lTMS1?Xsf cq )KSgBB&׭x. v c@^Yk΀v],E[ɾ QhYyXXC2)g/J@su1ScL, ?C[{V2i͛!סӠ&> 6lu>4Ƕʤ|=12鱧l{^:a/Y%~].26G: p^CZ V&Vedҟ?RrX7d#I]ՕuL1 ?_ /12IEh ̴b<ӯ^e _ϝ䰻^]vy> /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 873>> stream x1j08-K/)],) &gi+:U̲\"9H!@"9H!@"9H!@eY.Z[p_E{QHKV[/`j%ʒcP,SX4W{7urd5ɱPr:-ֆʇX$$zfZpClbw7z{[]qGlwlGlZiM,ߺ7x}w` L9=3zpWL9 j)ۓB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$e]k` B$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$/؋ endstream endobj xref 0 35 0000000000 65535 f 0000000009 00000 n 0000000074 00000 n 0000000120 00000 n 0000000490 00000 n 0000000527 00000 n 0000000676 00000 n 0000000779 00000 n 0000002427 00000 n 0000002534 00000 n 0000002642 00000 n 0000002752 00000 n 0000002865 00000 n 0000002981 00000 n 0000003010 00000 n 0000007250 00000 n 0000012825 00000 n 0000013956 00000 n 0000014015 00000 n 0000014074 00000 n 0000014212 00000 n 0000016690 00000 n 0000016747 00000 n 0000016804 00000 n 0000016932 00000 n 0000017019 00000 n 0000017147 00000 n 0000017242 00000 n 0000017369 00000 n 0000017453 00000 n 0000023028 00000 n 0000024159 00000 n 0000024264 00000 n 0000024628 00000 n 0000030203 00000 n trailer << /Size 35 /Root 1 0 R /Info 5 0 R /ID[] >> startxref 31334 %%EOF Meth, money and madness | Caring Magazine

Vol. #28

Grace Uncovered

Read Issue

Latest Impact StoriesView All

Popular Topics

PopularView All

Meth, money and madness: Paul Swain shares his story of finding sobriety at The Salvation Army

Meth, money and madness

May 11, 2016
4 minute read
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0
Listen to this article

Paul had, what many would consider, the good life. A high paying career, married with two children, and an ocean view home.

A few encounters with some guys on the job who seemed to “have limitless energy” and Paul found himself blowing money, addicted to crystal meth, and quickly spiraling downward.

Take a look at Paul’s testimony of overcoming addiction and completely entrusting his life to Christ in this heart-pounding video.

Below is a transcript of the video edited for readability.

Paul Swain: Life was everything I wanted.

Houses with ocean views. More licensed cars than licensed drivers. I was making a lot of money. It was just going great.

We were putting in 10, 12, 17 hour days and these guys were always energetic and were able to go surfing and have fun and work these massive hours. I wanted to be able to have that energy and I thought: Why is it they cannot get tired, and make more money.

I found it was crystal meth. Next thing you knew, I was hooked. The next seven years were a blur. I loved it. I was high the day I got married.

I couldn’t focus on anything being the one true love in my life except for the drugs and the alcohol. My wife said she was going to divorce me. I lost my businesses. I lost my kids. In about three years time, I hit the streets. Then it became a fearful, frantic attempt to survive.

So much energy went into it and by then the day would be gone, the drugs were gone, one day ran into another and before I knew it years had gone by and I was just stuck on “how do I survive today?”

I laid down on the beach just to rest for the afternoon and I woke up two days later, sunburnt, messed myself.

There was a sense of anger and total madness. I was the guy going down the street having a blood curdling argument with myself. I went insane.

So I went out to the beach that night, to the end of the jetty, and my goal was I was just going to jump off. I was going to commit suicide. And God just said, “It’s going to be alright.” I started crying. I said, “Lord, I just want to quit being high.” And then it hit me.

“The truth is I do want to get high, and I hate that I want to, so help me change on the inside.”

Even my own family wouldn’t take my calls. The Salvation Army said, “I’ll take your call.” I had nowhere else to go.

There was a love and an acceptance there. We had three other people that had completed the program that had stories just like mine and they didn’t need to drink anymore. I decided then I wanted to know Jesus like that.

He has become everything to me. My savior, my friend, true anchor, my gotta have it, everything is because of it, and I would do anything for him. Because he’s done everything for me.

With God on my side and good people around me, I was able to put a day behind a day and then years behind years. I would meet a woman that loves the Lord. We would get married two days after we were commissioned as Salvation Army officers, and later to have two more wonderful kids that now I get to raise in a way that is totally different. To set them up on the right path so they never have to see that father and that destruction.

Sadly, my first kids have followed in my footsteps. I got the letter saying that my daughter landed in California State Penitentiary, and she says that she wants to know God like I know God. It was everything I’ve been fighting for from the beginning—that she would come to this point and when she was ready that there would be a dad there who was ready to help her out.

I just got on my knees and I said, “Thank you, Lord. You proved faithful once again. Become real to her like you’ve become real to me.”

I believe that he will.

It just happened…it’s still overwhelming.

I didn’t know what had happened. I thought I’d be doing her funeral. And I probably, you know, think I might still be doing my son’s. But I’d sure rather be doing their weddings.

Do Good:

  • See more videos like this in our video feed.
  • Learn how The Salvation Army fights addiction.
  • Did you know The Salvation Army served more than 23 million Americans last year fighting hunger, homelessness, substance abuse and more—all in a fight for good? Where can you help? Take our quiz to find your cause and learn how you can join in today.
DOWNLOAD VIDEO
Download this page as a PDF

You May Also Like