My name is Scott Thorson. Our family grew with the addition of my brother Robert and my adopted sister, Tina. I had a caring family but I often felt misplaced because my dad was closer to my baby brother and never really showed me much affection.

My wife and I went through an ugly, very public separation. My wife agreed to let me take her on our first date since our separation. That night God showed up big! On that first date as my wife got into the car, our wedding song played on the radio and my wife lost it and tears ran down her face. Then towards the end of our date another song that was played at our wedding came on the radio. We both knew God was working in our relationship; he was speaking right to us.

As for a testimony, I wasn’t raised in church, but grew up hearing bits and pieces about Jesus Christ and God in the Bible Belt and from my Christian and Jewish parents. So I identified as a Jewish Christian. I didn’t understand the plan of salvation, however, until a total stranger approached me in college. I was being “above it all” to listen and interact in the short conversation they instigated about God, but don’t remember any of it except for their last question. “If you were to die today, are you sure you would go to heaven?”
That moment I believed and received Him, His indescribable peace and joy flooded me, and agape love entered into my being.

I started coming to Real Hope at Sunbridge Road Mission about a year and half ago. My children started going to church with their foster parents and that made me interested in finding out more about church. I started asking questions to the helpers at Real Hope to find out more.

One week I asked one of the helpers to tell me what it means to be a Christian. He took me aside and explained lots to me. When he told me about the gospel I felt like I wanted to invite Jesus in to my life. When I heard about Jesus dying on a cross for me I felt like it should be me on the cross not Jesus, because I’ve made lots of mistakes. When I heard about being forgiven and made clean I just wanted more and more of God to keep coming into my life.