with a real need. Abe turned to a “rough crowd” so he could be protected from bullies. Li:le did he know that that choice would lead to a life of destruction, addiction, jail and most of all an alienation from the Lord. One day, after some twenty years of keeping bad company, he showed up at His Mansion and found that all along he needed good company – good company with the Lord and fellow believers. It is a great story of the Lord’s redemption.

I can’t exactly remember when I heard the phase, “bad company corrupts good morals”. I’m sure that I was pre:y young, and it was probably my mother who told me that – which probably meant that I was in trouble. I didn’t know until later in life that those exact words were wri:en by the Apostle Paul in I Corinthians 15:33. In this edition of our newsle:er you’ll be reading about a young man, Abe, who found out the consequences of not understanding the reality of those words. It is the classic tale of falling in with the wrong crowd. Like many times in all of our lives, we choose the wrong way to deal

There is a very important part of the program that begins three months before graduation. Our young men and women start their preparations for life after His Mansion by creating a Relapse Prevention and Wellness Plan. Each graduate works with their team to determine where to live, work to engage, what triggers might cause them to return to unhealthy behaviors and how to respond to those triggers, making good choices in relationships, and much more. Planning has been proven to decrease relapse, and if relapse does occur, to learn from it and move forward in positive ways. If a graduate needs a fresh start somewhere new, we partner with the Family Bible Church Transitional Home. This is an exciting opportunity for men to have a safe, structured, nurturing environment to grow in their walk with Jesus. At present we’re looking for a similar situation for women graduates. Please pray for The Lord’s provision.

“It wasn’t long before I knew I was in trouble.” Hi, My name is Abraham Stegall, and I have a long history of substance abuse and addiction. When I was young my parents were missionaries. I spent several years growing up in the field on the island of Cyprus. These were hard years for me. We were almost completely immersed in the culture. At school I would soon

discover that I was a target, and in order to protect myself I fell in with a rough crowd. I began to smoke and drink at a very young age and brought these habits home with me when we returned to the States in 1995. This was the beginning of a cycle that would last from the time I was twelve years old until I came to His Mansion on September 17, 2017. When I arrived at His Mansion, I left behind the ruins of a life ravaged by twenty years of addiction. I experienced failures at

HisMansion.com ● 603.464.5555

His Mansion Newsletter

May 2019

A Word From Ed Perrine

Abe S. - Good company, bad company

Ed Perrine CEO

2019

Abe with his fellow Servant Leaders enjoying time off together

2018

Did You Know?

2018

Spring is here on “The Hill!” We’ve already planted over 6,000 flower seeds with more to come! The women love tending to our flower gardens and we all love having fresh flowers on our dinner tables!

school, at work, in business, and in relationships. Feeling good and propping up my shallow way of life became more of a priority as the years passed, and eventually everything else would fall by the wayside. This pa:ern would eventually lead to countless rehabilitation centers and even jail. I would like to tell you that when I stepped foot on “The Hill” I was eager to embrace the change that was to take place in my life. I would like to say that I came with a broken and contrite heart, longing to be reconciled with God. That just wasn’t the case. Despite a Christian upbringing I had lost sight of God completely and was blind to the redemptive power of the cross.

I was stubborn, “my heart was hard,” and my mind was bri:le and burnt. Scarred from a lifetime of drug abuse, and corrupted by a lifestyle of selfish desire and sin, I simply could not comprehend that true transformation and rebirth were not only possible, but promised. A Servant Leader once described me as a “walking dead man.” Ephesians 2:1-2 reads “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience--among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath…” The first few months here I didn’t speak much. I spent most of my time staring out of windows, or sleeping, if I was able. The drugs and my lifestyle had taken their toll, but as my mind began to heal, I took notice of the world around me. At work, in class, and in the dorm, servant leaders, staff, and my fellow residents began to gently press in. I had been through secular programs in the past - programs that would allow you to sleep all day if if you refused to get out of bed. Programs that did not push or prod. Because this was my understanding of what a “program” was, I was

baffled by what I saw at His Mansion. Men and women working tirelessly, relentlessly pursuing relationships with myself, each other, and Jesus. Being deeply cynical and having been poisoned

by the purely transactional nature of the drug world, I did not understand. What did these people want from me? Were they working an angle that I couldn’t see? Despite my hard heart I was forced to accept that

the inspiration at work was not financial or even professional - it was spiritual. I was not in a “program,” at least not in the traditional sense. I was in a community. A community of believers who were, in fact, desperate for me to be well at a time when I didn’t have the good sense to be desperate for myself. Gradually, I came to see the character of Christ as an undeniable and absolute truth, as well as a daily experience. Slowly, the walls came down. The person of Jesus lived in the hearts of those around me. By ge:ing to know them, I began to know Him. Opening myself up to God and to others, in turn allowed me to open myself up to the process of change. I was not alone. I had the honor and privilege of experiencing this process with my phase mates. We experienced profound healing, and relationships were forged that I have no doubt will last a lifetime. However, the good work God has done and is doing in my life is far from complete. Today I am a Servant Leader. Each and every day I am stretched and bent in a way that I had previously not thought possible. God continues to call me forward into the fullness of new life and new possibilities. "I will restore to you the years that the swarming locusts has eaten." Joel 2:25. Every step forward is a step out of darkness and into that which God intended - His light.

The person of Jesus lived

in the hearts of those

around me.

HisMansion.com ● 603.464.5555

Written by Abraham Stegall, with Ed Perrine

Snapshots of daily life

Enjoying fellowship with his brothers at Christmas brunch

2018

Abe, with some of the Resident’s on Work Crew

2019