Giving Men Resources to Reclaim Their Lives

Hello, my name is Karl Clark. I was born on the South side of Chicago in a quickly developing impoverished area. I was the seventh child of 10, seven boys and three girls. My father and mother were God fearing, loving parents. Although there were ten of us, my parents still helped others outside of our family which is something I will never forget. At the age of 13, my father died and my life changed drastically. Little did I know then, but it was the beginning of my feelings of rejection and abandonment and the onset of my attempts to ease the discomfort with alcohol and illegal substances.

I dropped out of high school and later joined the army for the first time. I became a military combat engineer, a construction specialist, a bridgebuilder, a demolition specialist, and I loved it all. As a specialist 4th class, I was chosen of many to go to PNCOC (Primary Noncommissioned Officer Course) where I was trained to lead. I completed the course with a certificate of honor. However, I ended my three years enlistment with an honorable discharge rather than re-enlisting and accepting Sergeant stripes.

For the next 10 years I freelanced in employment, utilizing the construction skills that I knew by working on houses, landscaping, painting, laying ceramic tile, putting up fences, and etc.

In 1989 I re-enlisted in the United States Army and was sent to Germany. A certain percentage of soldiers had to stay back in Garrison but I volunteered to go with the initial number of soldiers in my unit to the Gulf War. During my tour in Saudi Arabia, I received fourteen honorary medals ribbons and awards including two Bronze Service Stars and the Kuwait Liberation Medal!

However, after leaving the Gulf War and returning home, I found myself succumbing to depression and the feelings of rejection, more intense now after my war experiences. I became a substance abuser again, and soon, I felt as though I was trapped on a Ferris wheel that never slowed down enough for me to get off. Finally, I was so sick and tired of being sick and tired of being dysfunctional and broken, that my soul called out to Jesus with every fiber! I know that He heard me, for in my lowest state and in my sincerity of crying out for help, he sent someone to lead me to Aurora, Illinois to a place called Wayside Cross Ministries, and that is where the miracle of change and restoration began.

My story would be incomplete without acknowledging that I came to know Christ personally as my Lord and Savior. He instantly saved me from all of the debilitating and self-destructive practices of drug and alcohol dependence in addition to his amazing saving Grace of the Cross. I am a living witness of his miracle working power that has no natural human interpretation or comparison!

After graduating from the six month Bible based program at Wayside in Aurora, which is now a seven month program, I was compelled to bring others to this resource that definitely was instrumental in changing the trajectory of my life. Since then, I have led many people to Wayside and numerous other resources like Wayside that are helping people to reclaim their lives, mentally, emotionally and physically and to help them to become functional citizens in our society.