Home for the Homeless and the Poor

HE FOUND LIFE'S PURPOSE

Martin began to search for the meaning  of life when he was 20 years old.  "I investigated religions and philosophies and took drugs," he said, "hoping to fill the emptiness I felt within, but to no avail."  He lived in California, U.S.A., for awhile and then went to Hawaii.  "I thought I had found paradise," he recalled.  But beautiful scenery did not fill the void.  "I became so overwhelmed with depression,"  he recalls, "that I even attempted suicide."It was at that point in his life that he wept uncontrollably and begged God, "If you exist, please help me to find you."

Martin remembered that earlier he had seen a sign that read "Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses."  He decided to go there to attend a Christian meeting.  "I walked in with long hair and a beard, and I had on clothes i had been wearing for months," he said.  "Nevertheless, I was warmly welcomed."  Martin accepted a personal Bible study and regularly walked from his "home" on the beach to the town square  to have his Bible study there.  At last Martin began to receive satisfying answers to his questions. As a result, his depression lifted and he experienced the joy Jesus spoke about when he said:  "Happy are those   conscious of their spiritual need." -Matthew 5:3.

"Previously, I was known as the homeless man in the square," he said, "but now local people were amazed a the changes I was making."  Later, Martin returned to Argentina, where he was baptized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. Now he treasures  the privilege of helping other spiritually hungry ones to find the answers to life's big questions. 

Next time: Hope for the Homeless and the Poor - WHEN HOMELESSNESS WILL BE NO MORE 

From the AWAKE! magazine, 2015