Healing By Example

When Mike Jones arrived at the Eugene Mission in 2017, he weighed around 250 pounds, he had a long history of substance abuse and his relationships had crumbled.

His confidence was shattered and he didn’t know if he could change, but he knew he needed to become a new person if life was going to be worth living.

Mike had been married for 25 years and had two children, but he says he had never built inner resources or character and he didn’t know who he was.

Within his first week at the Mission, Mike met Navigator Tony Davis and Men’s Services Administrator Norm Ingebretson, and his relationships with these men set his life on a new path.

“As part of my  life skill, I began cleaning the upstairs dorm with a couple guys under the direction of Tony and I could see he was someone I wanted to emulate,” Mike shared. “He gave me hope I could become a successful person. I felt like I was contributing and on the right path, and happy a person like Tony could mentor me.”

Mike says he was a “52-year-old infant” at that stage of his life. He had no real faith, even though he had studied theology in college, but he soon realized that faith journeys aren’t about knowledge, they’re about training yourself to act like Jesus.

If you want to become different, you must act different, and that was a revelation for Mike. He developed a strategy to find successful people who knew how to do life and then emulate them.    

When the Mission went on lockdown during the covid pandemic, Mike began volunteering extra time around campus and met two other people he says were critical in his development – Food Services Director Phaedra Jackson and Philanthropy Director Beth Sheehan.

He used to run 10 miles from 4 to 6 a.m. and then be back at the Mission to volunteer. “Beth and Phaedra were also runners. Beth helped me believe in myself again,” Mike said. “I know I wouldn’t be where I am today without these people.”

When day services ended and the new R3 Program kicked off, Mike realized he needed to create a plan to move forward in his life. Tony had suggested Bruns’ Apple Market as a potential job, and Mike knew it was time to step back into the workforce.

Mike began working as a cashier; four years later, he’s a manager who has earned the respect and love of his team. He has also continued to prioritize his health and still runs as a way of life. 

“I developed core values because of my time at the Mission,” Mike said. “There are things that became true because I did them, not just because I believed them. I saw how good people lived, and I did those things. Over time, I began to live like them.”

 Mike’s journey is a testament to the power of relationships to pull people from their old rutted roads and onto a new path. For Mike, it means a life worth living again.