My name is Trevor Burton, and this is my story. I was adopted at a few days old by loving missionary parents. My parents served in Youth With A Mission (YWAM), and I was constantly at YWAM bases with other missionary kids.

I had every opportunity to be well-behaved and go down the right path. God had, from the start, been taking me out of bad situations and putting me in good ones.

I grew older and was placed in a public school where I started acting out. I was a very angry guy because of the things that had happened to me: emotional and sexual abuse from an 18-year-old woman when I was 10, being adopted, my sister’s abuse of the family, and being bullied. I was looking for anything to heal the pain inside.

I found drugs at 14 and things got worse. I was chronically addicted to weed, opiates, and alcohol by the time I was 17. The breaking point which led me to come to Youth-Reach Houston (YRH) was the day I stole my Dad’s truck and crashed it.

I was drunk and high coming back from a girl’s house and slammed into a tree going about 70 mph. God saved my life that day. The only part of the vehicle that wasn’t utterly destroyed was the driver’s seat where I was sitting, and my only injury from the crash was a little cut on my leg.

That’s Trevor on the left, who has come a long way in his time at Youth-Reach, and Quincy, who just arrived. Trevor graduated from our on-site school and will receive his diploma this weekend. He’ll soon be starting junior college. Quincy is 12-years old and has only been with us a couple of weeks.

After that, I came to YRH and God began opening my eyes. I started being able to see Jesus. Not like I physically saw him, white robe and all, walking towards me; I saw Him in the way that the staff here were living. In the way that Mr. Troy interacted with his kids, in the way Mr. X loved his wife, in the way all the staff sacrificed for us daily, and in the way supporters like yourselves gave money to help us. He was everywhere.

I gave my life to Jesus because His grace and goodness to me is irresistible. As soon as I was able to see it I ran toward Him. I am no longer a slave to sin, but a child of God.

If it weren’t for supporters like yourselves YRH would not exist. God uses this place to change lives like my own; so thank you all for allowing God to work through you to bless us with the resources we need.