Pawel came to faith in Jesus through the team at Webber Street, our day centre for homeless people in Waterloo.

I moved to the UK at 18 and found a job working in a restaurant. I drank with the guys I lived with, four or five beers, one after another one. It was the culture. We just worked, drank, slept, went to work… I just drank until I went to sleep. After I lost my job at the restaurant, I worked in two carwashes. But eventually, I just didn’t bother any more. I couldn’t keep getting up and going to work. I drank to forget...I ended up on the street.

Every morning, I’d see people going to work and wanted to be them but it’s so hard to get up and go to work from the street, even if you have the intention. You have to work one or two months before you have enough for a deposit. Employers will fire you if they know you’re homeless, no one will trust you. I was scared, I drank to survive. When I couldn’t sleep, I drank until I could. You’re in a big hole and can’t climb out. I lived like that for two years. Two winters on the street.

I wanted to give up. One day, I got very drunk and jumped in front of a lorry. I found myself underneath. The driver stopped and helped me out, I ran away – shocked.

Then I met people from LCM at Webber Street. Most places just give food out and maybe a free shower but at LCM, they’re different. From the moment I first went in, I felt loved. Even when I was violent and a troublemaker, they still opened the door to me. They were the first to share the gospel with me. I started feeling different. I’d always believed in God and attended Catholic church but had no relationship with him. The power of God was changing my mind. With the help of the guys at LCM, I entered rehab and never turned back.

My life is now completely different – it’s turned around 180 degrees. Looking back, I see the goodness of Christ, where he’s taken me from. I hope people see God’s grace through my story. If you don’t have Christ, you have a big hole in your life. People try to fill it with drinking, smoking, spending money. But the love of Christ will fill the gap.

God worked through the Webber Street staff to make this happen. it’s such a blessing to have people like this, sacrificing their lives to share the gospel with others. I take opportunities, like them, to testify to the world. The Bible teaches us to pass on the message – making disciples, reaching people and preaching the gospel. If I don’t do this, there’s no point to any of it.

A big thank you from me and the people that get saved. I can’t describe it... there are no words for people supporting this work. Please keep doing it! We need places like Webber Street.

Pawel is now married to his pastor’s daughter and has three children. He attends church in south-east London and works as a supervisor at a cleaning company.