Drug Rehab Center Fund
			There is only one Christian drug rehabilitation center in Cuba, and it is supported by I Was Hungry. Though it is an incredibly primitive place, God is transforming lives there by the power of His Spirit.

Drug Rehab Center Fund

This couple runs a street mission in Havana, Cuba, that reaches out to drug addicts, alcoholics, prostitutes and street people. Their faith is extraordinary. They often have as many as seventeen other people living in their "house," a dilapidated city building that is like all the crumbling buildings in Cuba that have had no maintenance in fifty years. Lives, however, are being changed there as Jesus is at the center of everything. The rehabilitation center not only provides food and a home for those in desperate need, but also provides a way for residents to earn a living by driving bicycle rickshaws in Old Havana.

To view a two-minute video about th Cuban Drug Rehab Center, click the video link above.

Cuba, is not the only place where I Was Hungry is working with drug rehab centers. In Siberia pastor Vladimir Yudin heads a Christian drug rehab. His highly-successful Christ-centered program requires a one-year commitment from every resident. Listening to the amazing testimonies of the current seventeen residents brought tears to my eyes. Most had been addicts for at least ten years. Many had spent time in prison. One intentionally overdosed to escape his misery but woke up in a morgue! All have been born again since coming to the center and have been drug-free for months. They really love God and each other.

Just a few months ago, the rehab dormitory behind pastor Vladimir's church mysteriously burned to the ground (below), just like another church-based rehab in his city. Some people don't like what he and other pastors are doing, because the relatives of the former drug addicts are getting saved when they witness the amazing deliverance of their family members. The churches are growing as a result. Evangelicals, considered a "sect" in Siberian society, are gaining some respect for the first time.

Since their dorm was destroyed, the rehab residents have been sleeping in the church balcony and sharing a small apartment. The Sunday before I met Vladimir, his church board had made the decision to start rebuilding the destroyed dormitory even though they only had a small amount of money. Before long the snow will be falling, and when that happens, it is impossible to build in Siberia. So they would build by faith. They prayed that God would provide soon.

As I heard this story, I knew the $2,000 from I Was Hungry I had brought with me was the beginning of the answer to their prayers. It was a joy to look into pastor Vladimir's face when I pulled it out and gave it to him. He said that this time they would build, not with wood, but with concrete blocks. The new dorm will be fire-proof.

The rehab residents will themselves provide all the labor (work is an integral part of the rehabilitation program), and so the entire two-story, 1,600 square-foot building can be built for a total of just $10,000. I assured pastor Vladimir that God can rebuild what the devil destroys. And I promised him that I would tell my friends about his vision.

You can be a part of this chain of transformation, helping I Was Hungry improve the rehabilitation centers and provide food and other basic necessities for former drug addicts who are now being discipled to follow Jesus.