The Storyteller

Struggling with bitterness, Arlene was determined to bring change in her life. She was tired of dealing with the way others treated her because of her mother's illness. She did find change, but it wasn't what she had anticipated.

Arlene grew up in the heart of the Navajo reservation. It was a simpler time, but her life was deeply effected by the stigma that her family was cursed.

After drinking for a while, it begins to take it's toll on a man's body. Jim knows... he drank for forty years. He was a wreck. But something happened one day that brought an end to his drinking, recovery to his frame, and a spiritual healing that changed him forever. This is a story you won't believe, but it's true.

"You can break up a man and not kill him. And so I went looking for him. Everytime I went into one bar, he just left and went out the back way." Listen as Jim shares about his quest for revenge.

I said, “Ever since God came into my life and I became a Christian, I’ve learned to forgive. I forgive you.”

What was even more astonishing was, he said, “Thank you. I’m thankful to Jesus that you’ve forgiven me.”

Ever since that moment I’ve chosen to forgive him, I’ve never had to deal with that bitterness and that resentment and that hatred which really would only weigh heavy on me. I left it to God.

"One of the things that pastor said to me in Teen Challenge, “If you go shoveling mud with a pair of white gloves, you can be guaranteed that those gloves are going to get muddy, not the other way around. The mud’s not going to get 'glovey'. You got to be careful, too, who you hang out with and places you go.” I had to learn to separate myself from a lot of the places I went, the people I hung out with, because even that in itself can really weigh on your spirit."

After doing cocaine, I felt this pain in my chest and my heart pounding and I started freaking out, panicking, and all I could think was, “I don’t want to die and go to Hell.” I remember just crying out to God, “God, please, I don’t want to die, please, get me through this night.” The next day I was alive. I woke up, and it was just on my conscience heavy; “You prayed to God and you asked God, ‘get me through the night’ and He did. What are you going to do?”

When Mario was growing up, he wanted to be like his older brothers, and he got into alcohol, drugs and trouble like they and the rest of the reserve did. With the deaths of two of the brothers, Mario began to think that there must be a better way to live.

Chug has chosen to follow Jesus Christ instead of the traditional way... and there are many who don't understand. He says, "I've encountered other Native Americans who look at Jesus Christ as the Whiteman's Gospel - as something that is harmful and hurtful to them. And so they try to leave you with a sense a guilt... "Well how can you be a Native - embrace something that is not Native, that is not of your culture, your background, and heritage? How can a person do that? We're supposed to stay true to your own belief." Listen as Chug shares how he can do that.

The road to recovery can be long. Everywhere he turned there was alcohol. If you've ever been there, you know what Chug is talking about. So how did he deal with the temptation and ultimately find victory? Listen as he shares how he found the answer.