Testimony of Eric Gordon

"It is so amazing. Jesus died for me!"

I have dyslexia. It wasn’t diagnosed when I was in school and I didn’t know what was wrong. From first grade on, I failed every grade, but got passed anyway. The only reason I went to school was to be around the other kids. I just wanted to be popular. By the time I was 14, I was drinking and drugging. It got to the point that if the activity wasn’t going to include drinking or drugs, I didn’t want to do it. That was the pattern of my life for the next 40 years!

I never thought I’d stoop to theft but, I lost my job and started stealing beer. One day, I came out of a store, drunk, and a police officer called out to me. I ran, but he caught me. I spent 240 days in jail. After that, I spent about 5 years in a popular alcohol rehab program, but the best I could do was go a couple months without a drink.

While staying at my brother’s house, he told me about the Durham Rescue Mission. One day, I just started walking across town to go to the mission. A man drove by and offered me a ride. He said he usually spent a lot of time witnessing to people, but hadn’t been faithful lately, and felt led to pick me up to tell me about Jesus. That was the Lord’s doing because as we drove to the mission, he shared the gospel of Jesus Christ with me. Just as we came onto the mission property, he turned to me and asked me if I was ready to receive Christ into my heart. We prayed right there and I became a Christian.

Now I’ll admit I didn’t feel saved. After all, I had been a drunken sinner for over 40 years. But, when the teachers at the mission began to teach me God’s word, I realized my salvation wasn’t based on feelings, but on God’s word and what Jesus had done for me on the cross.

At the Durham Rescue Mission, I began to study the Bible. It’s kind of funny, I still can’t read very well, but when I start to read my Bible, I can understand it! My favorite verse is John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” That verse is so amazing to me. Jesus died for me! I just can’t imagine a perfect Christ enduring the weight of all my sin on His shoulders-and that verse says He died for everyone who believes.

A few months ago, I entered into the work phase of the Victory Program. The mission placed me in a job at Hakky Shoe Repair in North Hills Mall. I didn’t think I could do the work. Because of my dyslexia I kept reading the work tickets wrong but Chuck Heeris, the owner, stuck with me. I really like what I’m doing.

I will graduate from Victory in two weeks. I plan to stay at Hakky and I’m looking at my life one day at a time. I just want to spend the rest of my life doing whatever God has for me to do.