FIND HOPE IN RECOVERY
Fighting the Spiritual Battle of Addiction
At Hope and Recovery, wellbeing is at the forefront of what we’re working together towards. Our programs and activities are designed to be a catalyst that helps community members reach their goals and fulfill their potential. Learn more about the positive impact we have and join us in bringing about positive change.
WHO WE ARE
Neal and Carrie Rozema first met in the summer of 2002. Carrie was on the mend from an abusive marriage, and Neal was on parole from a ten-year prison sentence fueled by an addiction to heroin. Statistics would say their relationship was doomed to failure, but Neal and Carrie had a secret weapon.
After years of struggling to find her identity in unhealthy relationships, Carrie was in hot pursuit of Christ. Convinced she could no longer make good decisions on her own, Carrie was committed to following the Lord with all her heart. Neal, already back in the throes of heroin addiction, was also tired of living in the consequences of bad decisions. After trying unsuccessfully to get clean on his own, Neal was arrested again and faced more prison time. His relationship with Carrie had shown him he needed God in his life as well, so on the floor of his jail cell, he committed his life to Christ and radically encountered Jesus, delivering him from heroin.
Neal was sentenced to another ten years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, during which time the Lord made it plain to both Neal and Carrie His desire for them to stay committed to each other and to Christ. Over the years, the Lord worked deliverance and healing in both their lives so that when Neal came home in August of 2007, they were ready to face the world as husband and wife, starting a family a few months later.
But that was only the beginning of a journey in which they would have to face the past and present pressures to overcome addiction, abuse, and the perceptions of a world that wasn’t quick to believe people could change. They fought through the myriad of obstacles that were thrown their way, including breaking unhealthy cycles, overcoming post-traumatic stress, and trying to find their place in the body of Christ.
Through the radical intervention of the Holy Spirit, counseling, and a life committed to doing things God’s way, Neal and Carrie have overcome the demons of their past to find a brand-new life in Christ. Neal has a successful career in landscaping while nearly completing a degree in ministry and is the sole provider for a family of five children. Carrie is a homeschooling mom who has committed her time and talents to write daily devotionals for those in recovery, as well as recording their own personal testimony to strengthen and inspire others. Neal and Carrie’s story demonstrates the awesome power of God to restore lives surrendered to Jesus. There is hope in recovery, and it is Neal and Carrie’s mission to show nothing is impossible with God and help light the pathway to freedom for others.
WHAT WE DO
The mission of Hope in Recovery can be summed up in our five-fold focus:
First and foremost, we are called in ministry to lead others into a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. We know it’s only in a relationship with the Lord that freedom is found and is foundational for deliverance and recovery.
We want to pray with you. Neal experienced deliverance from heroin addiction as a result of intercessory prayer. Wars are not won without people willing to come alongside others in recovery to pray and intercede in the very spiritual battle we all face. We commit to partner with you in life-giving prayer by emailing your prayer requests to us.
We want to encourage you every day. We know recovery can be a moment-to-moment decision, and we need to be reminded of God’s love and faithfulness daily. For this reason, we have completed a 365-daily devotional based on a yearly walk through the Bible and our personal experiences to keep people encouraged and moving forward in faith.
We want to come alongside the church. Not all of us feel comfortable walking through the doors of a church. Many of us come from less than perfect circumstances, but that doesn’t make us less than perfect in the eyes of Christ. Our goal is to help the church more effectively minister to those precious souls who often sit in the back rows and slip in and out of our church buildings unnoticed. We can better fulfill the great commission and bring hope to a suffering world by reaching the least of these.
We want to bring people together. God has not designed us to walk alone. We hope to build a community of believers who can encourage each other as we walk out of brokenness and into victory through updates, testimonies, and weekly group discussions.
HEALING AND RESTORATION IS FOUND IN CHRIST
It is time for you to find your Kingdom purpose and identity in Jesus.
365 days of Daily Devotions that can keep you on the path of healing and restoration.