Lily K. Martin, Communications Specialist

“Rundown. I was beating up my body with all the drinking. I couldn’t take it anymore.

Something had to give.”

Vance Reinhart was a completely different person only a few years ago. The grace of God led him to Bethesda Mission, and Jesus has transformed his life of “carrying on” into one of joy and redemption. Vance knows firsthand the destructiveness of alcohol abuse and how hard it is to break away from the cycle of addiction. After realizing that he had lost his relationship with his sons, Vance decided to commit to the Men’s Shelter Recovery Program. The program opened his eyes, not only about how the drinking was ruining his life, but about how a relationship with Jesus could get him out of it. “I started believing more and more,” he said, with joy in his voice. “[Now] I pray every day, every morning, and every night before bed. I pray before meals with my sons.”

Vance’s prayers and growing faith allowed him to be reunited with his children after many years of brokenness and hurt. He continues to seek reconciliation with his sons, and he is an active part of his granddaughter’s life, something that he never thought would happen. Vance eagerly shares that he has been sober for three years, which came as a shock to the people who knew him previously. He even made the difficult decision to move out of a close friend’s house because he, “couldn’t be around the drinking anymore. My friend said, ‘you’re a completely different person’, and I said, ‘yeah, I guess I am’”.

Vance openly and unashamedly shares the way that Jesus changed his life at Bethesda Mission. He now reads the Bible and loves to tell others about God. When asked what he would say to someone who is skeptical of the Mission, he remarked, “up there on 6th and Reily, God is good. If you need help, come down here to Harrisburg. I’ll drive with you.”.