When I was 5 years old, my father drove off, and I never saw him again. Mama raised four of us. Mama told me about God and His love. For a long time, we went to church, but once I got away from home, I stopped. I started to drink and use drugs.

It was as if I had forgotten God. When I got out of the Navy, I became a journeyman ironworker. I was married and had a baby girl. Things should have been great, but they were not.

With little money to my name, I began to use drugs more. I thought I was OK, but I was hooked. I got a reputation in the union as a junkie and could not keep a job. My marriage was ruined and for the next seven years, I chased after drugs.

Then on July 31, 1994, I was hit by a car. It was cold and dark; no one around. I began to pray ‘Lord, what am I doing?’ As I lay in the back of that ambulance, I asked God to save me from my sins. The next day, still without money or a place to go, I had a peace that I could not explain. The Lord had lifted a heavy burden from me.

In August 1994, at the Durham Rescue Mission, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. The Durham Rescue Mission helped me make Biblical changes that were needed in my life. Now at peace with God, and my addictions removed, I have no desire for drugs. I began studying the Word of God and helping other men at the Mission. What a joy it was to help others even as I had been helped!

In August 1996, I started as a full-time student at Piedmont Bible College. In 2003, I graduated with a BA in Missions.

The first time I came to the Durham Rescue Mission, they handed me a broom. When I came back after graduating, they gave me an office. I am now Director of Education, and I counsel using the Bible to help other men whom I can relate to, having walked in their shoes. Lynn Holloway sees his life now as one of learning to conform to the image of Christ. ‘I’m up in the morning thanking God, coming to work with a good attitude, a smile on my face, in good spirits, and with compassion for men and women.’ When they come with questions, we look to the Word of God for the best answer possible.

One of the reasons I want to stay in Missions is because I know I left some people out there where good lives are being destroyed and families being broken up. This is my way of helping.

I believe through the power of God He is using me to help others. Marriage is one way of helping others, which is a help to me and for me. God sent me a ‘ready-made family’ that was in need of a husband and a father. On the other hand, God has also provided me with the right help meet for support in the ministry that He has called me to. It is a win-win situation.

Talisha and I were married March 24, 2007. God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone…’ (Gen. 2:18). Talisha is a tremendous help to me both at home and in the ministry. Her presence in my life has allowed me to become more of a help to others far more than I could have ever imagined.