Miracle Moments
Brought to you by: Molly Maid of Birmingham, www.mollymaid.com
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
I grew up in a rural part of Etowah County. My family was extremely poor, often going for extended amounts of time without running water or electricity. I lived with my mother, stepfather and several siblings, and emotional and physical abuse were always present in the home. My biological father, who was rarely present, altogether stopped visiting me when I was in the third grade. 
In March of 1993, I was thrown out of my house. I was a teenage boy desperately in need of a place to stay, terrified and unsure of where I was going to sleep each night. I walked to a friend’s home where I was welcomed to stay during a snowstorm and then for the next several weeks. I attended church with them one Sunday at North Gadsden Baptist, which happened to be the same church where Joe and Sherry Fain attended, a couple preparing to be houseparents at Big Oak Ranch. The Fains saw the need I had for a home, for a family and stability which I had yet to experience in life. They spoke with John Croyle and Big Oak Ranch social workers, and it wasn’t long before I was on the winding country road that led me to the entrance of the Boys’ Ranch for the very first time. I was met by people who listened to me with genuine concern for my well-being. Their actions, their character and their words told me that I mattered. Big Oak saw my need, and in it they chose me – I will never forget the feeling I felt that day of being wanted.
In high school, I met a girl named Leslie Baker who worked at a local grocery store. After making several trips there and ultimately asking for her number, we dated and went to several school dances together. After going our separate ways through early adulthood, the Lord brought us back together. Many may look at my life and say that I have a habit of being in the right place at the right time. I would say that the Lord has been sovereign over my every step. The Ranch gave me a foundation, while my houseparents and resource family invested in me day after day. Leslie and I are pouring into our family, including one young grandson, and we get to share the Gospel across the world – from Uganda to Peru to local missions in Florida. Through those important roles, and in my law enforcement career, my prayer has been that God would use me – my story – to help others who have faced the same hardships.
-Hank Wells
