For Kenneth Hughes, life before Christ was one horror scene after another. At ten, he witnessed his great grandmother’s murder. At 17, he went to prison and witnessed unspeakable violence. In his early 20s, his brother committed suicide and died in his arms. His mother killed herself later that day. Kenneth both  used and sold drugs. He was in and out of the legal system.

Death was life.

At 25, his own near death experience brought him to his knees before Jesus.

“I prayed that God would make me a better person and a better man,” Kenny said. “I surrendered. I said I will do what you say and go where you tell me to, and I meant it.”

For the next 25 years, Kenny traveled around the world going from town to town with nothing more than a backpack and a testimony of life in Christ. Kenny explains that in every mission and shelter where he stayed, he got a job, saved money, and shared his testimony of surrender and transformation with homeless communities. He would buy a bus ticket and leave when the Holy Spirit told him to go.

Kenny named off cities with ease, noting that his missionary journey was difficult and rough at times, but he stayed or went just as the Lord led him to go.

“My last missionary stop was in San Francisco,” he said. “The Holy Spirit told me it was over, that I was to go to Charleston, West Virginia, and He would bless me.”

Kenny arrived at the Union Mission Men’s Shelter in 2022 and stayed for about 8 months. Union Mission staff connected him to resources in the area for employment and permanent housing. Kenny quickly got a job. Not a surprise since he has a contagious joy and easy-going personality.

“Kenny worked hard at the Mission,” Shelter Director Joe Young said. “He did any chore asked of him and was quick to help the other guys. He was always ready to share his testimony of how the Lord had changed his life.”

From death to life.

“I am a fool for God,” Kenny says with a laugh. “God never gave up on me.”

Kenny, who has experienced some of the most infamous missions and homeless shelters across America, says the Union Mission is different.

“Union Mission is a place of life,” he proclaims. “In all the places I have been, the shelter at Union Mission really cares about the guys and the community. It isn’t like other places. It is the safest and cleanest place to live if you are looking to get your life together. But, you can’t play around, those guys who work there have been through it too.”

Kenny has been in his own apartment for about 5 months now. He talks about it with such pride and joy.

Kenny has kept his job, he absolutely loves that his apartment faces the river, and he just bought a 55” TV!

He is passionate about his missionary journey, and his last stop at the Union Mission. Kenny said he was blessed to see people saved and lives restored through the gospel at the Union Mission.

He wants to thank donors, and let YOU all know that your generosity and donations are being used the right way, and that YOUR generosity is changing people’s lives in Jesus’ name. And he wants anyone struggling to keep going, and to give the Union Mission shelter and recovery programs a chance.

“Those guys at the Union Mission taught me how to clean,” he laughs, “they are the reason I keep my place clean now. They trusted me with my own room until I was able to get into my apartment. They blessed me again and again with everything I needed to work and get settled in my own place.”

From Los Angeles, Skid Row, Chicago, Utah, Detroit, San Francisco, and many places in between, including Charleston, WV, Kenny wants anyone struggling to know that there is life at the Union Mission Men’s Shelter.

“Union Mission is a place of hope,” he says. “There is a sign on the podium in the chapel at the Men’s Shelter. It says, “Anything is possible with God,” and I am a living witness to that.”