#15 Former Heroin Addict Finds New Life with God, Running, Africa

Go now and subscribe to the Run The Race podcast! Our guest for this episode is former drug addict turned evangelist Andrew Chalmers. He almost died from an overdose but God turned his life around and he now leads non-profit ministry Take The City. We also talk about some fitness adventures, advice for families, and traveling the world to places like Africa and Israel. After an introduction about getting out of your comfort zone and what I thought about Africa, (4:21) Andrew answers the “Fast Four” rapid fire questions, then he tells his story (7:15) about hitting rock bottom, losing everything as a drug addict, even being brought back from the dead. After many stints in rehab, (12:45) finally Teen Challenge worked because he was finally willing to surrender. Andrew talks about God’s love when he was at his worst. Part of that drug recovery (15:30) was fitness. He talks about the importance of “finishing well.” (18:48) Running also helps with anxiety, depression, panic attacks as it did with Andrew. As he pursued a stronger relationship with God, (21:38) he had a vision/thought while driving over a bridge: “take the city.” Monthly outreaches by that name led to the start of the non-profit almost 5 years ago. One of the missions is unifying churches - tearing down walls of denomination and race. We went to Africa last year! (27:27) What are the people and culture like there? How did the trip change Andrew’s life? We even ran together in the country of Malawi, known as the “warm heart of Africa,” where we saw how sports transcends culture. Andrew and his family also just got back (33:20) from Israel. He’s also taken his wife, their 3 kids on hiking adventures, backpacking. He has advice for families about doing challenging things together, making memories and replacing screen time. (39:55) We close with some java as Take The City has a newly opened Harvest Coffee shop, as a business ministry combo. (47:02) My “Food for Thought” segment has some news tidbits on getting out of comfort zones, like with cold workouts and giving stuff up for lent. Thanks for listening! Hope you enjoy the podcast. Please share it with your friends using #RunTheRacePodcast. Also, write a quick review about it. For more info, go to www.wtvm.com/podcast/.