Most people see a man caught up in drug or alcohol addiction and write him off, saying, “He’s worthless, forget about him and move on, let him destroy himself because he is not worth my concern.”
But the Rev. Albert Flores sees a soul worth saving and takes him into the reclamation program that has been operating since 1990 at Victory Life Church where five such men are living in a dormitory behind the 325 N. County Road West church, eating with the pastor and his family three times a day and participating in prayer and Bible studies.
It takes backing and Flores is hoping for donations of money and clothing. He may be reached at 978-9959. His church meets at 10 a.m. Sundays with an average of 40-60 people.
As part of the statewide Victory Christian Fellowship, Flores had just returned Aug. 9 from Houston after meeting with 800 leaders at one of the three-day conferences that’s held every six months in various cities.
He said the Odessa program has a success rate of 70-75 percent and that men who fall off the wagon are taken back the first time and then asked to seek help at a program in San Angelo, El Paso, Fort Worth or another city “to get them out of the environment in the City of Odessa.
“The first thing we do is introduce them to Jesus Christ and let them know it is not a drug or alcohol problem, it’s a sin problem,” Flores said. “It’s a choice to open up your heart and see Christ. We emphasize prayer, discipline and supervision to keep an eye on them so that they don’t go back and wallow in sin.
“We have men who graduated from our program and are now members of our church, productive with their lives and doing great things, and I have had others come back from years ago and thank me and let me know they are doing OK.
“They are so grateful to have been able to get turned around.”
Flores said women sometimes come to the church and ask for help and that he and his wife counsel them and recommend programs in other cities that house women.
“I always tell the guys, ‘If you’re in the hospital I can go and pray for you,’” he said. “‘If you’re in jail and I visit you, there is still hope. But if I find out you overdosed or got killed and I go to the cemetery, it’s over.’
“No matter how bad it looks, there is still hope for everybody. They feel so guilty and condemned because of sin, but today is the day of salvation.”
