When I first met Norm he was bitter, full of rage and ready to ‘go off’ over just about any issue. He was scary. One morning I saw Norm standing across the street from the Portland Rescue Mission yelling obscenities as if the building was a person. I don’t know why, but I walked across the street and asked if I he wanted to talk. Norm seemed to calm when I talked with him. I enjoyed talking with him, even though I was afraid of him.
Norm came and went from the shelter for a few months. Then one day the Director came to me and said that Norm would be joining the mission’s “NewLife” program. I sarcastically said, “Who’s going to have to work with him?” He replied, “You are.” I was terror struck. Sharing occasional brief conversations with Norm was scary enough, but being closed into a counseling room alone with him seemed downright foolish.
Over the next three years of working with Norm my fears gave way to a deep abiding love. We chased every rabbit down every trail and he finally softened and began to listen. The changes were profound. Norm soon began to disciple the new men coming into the program.
When I left Norm in Portland he had become a staff member at the mission. During the 1 ½ years that Norm and I were apart he continued to grow in his walk with the Lord. The Lord eventually convinced Norm that he was headed for the ministry. Norm contacted me and asked if I would help him work through some more issues while equipping him for ministry.
Norm is now here with me at Water Street. He is an Intern, training hard in all aspects of our ministry. Already he is proving himself to be an effective channel of God’s grace to our men. Norm is a genuine success story, a living testimony to the power God’s love to change lives.
-Aaron Eggers, Men’s Ministries
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