Meet Marvin

Marvin wandered the streets of the city, disoriented and confused. He was a brilliant young man, a junior at Berkeley, when he began experiencing paranoia. “I thought people were talking about me behind my back and taunting me when I passed by them,” he says. “It made attending class impossible, and as it worsened, I distanced myself from my church.”

Eventually, he dropped out of school and began wandering the streets with nothing but a backpack filled with food and a Bible. Then he jumped a train headed east. “I ended up in Kansas City, and while walking the streets, a man asked me about myself, and after I’d shared, he said, ‘You should go to City Union Mission,’ so I went.”

After contacting his parents, Marvin entered our Christian Life Program, where the Lord ministered to him through sermons, worship and the unconditional love of our staff. “I’ll never forget the generous pastors who came from all over the city to tell us that God is good and Jesus is the answer. Or the hymns we sang every day,” Marvin says.

His spirit was flourishing, but his psychosis was worsening. Eventually, Marvin went home to California, where he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. “I began receiving treatment, and the hymns we sang at the Mission came back to me and comforted me during the most difficult times of my recovery.”

It was 17 years ago that God led Marvin to the Mission and it changed the trajectory of his life. He was able to go back to school, finish his degree and find rewarding work. And, over the years, he’s continued walking with the Lord. “God lifted me out of the depths of pain and confusion and has given me joy and stability.”