"Towards the end, we were basically watching our son kill himself with drugs and alcohol,' says one father of a son whose life radically changed when he met Jesus at Adult & Teen Challenge.

Dennis and Jodi Ginter had been praying for years when their son finally said he would go through the Adult & Teen Challenge one year program. 

"Sam's story starts back in 2008 when Sam had an accident which caused a brain injury," says Jodi.

The accident had both parents worried when an incredible and unusual encounter happened shortly after. 

"Ten days into being at the hospital in Winnipeg, he leaned over and he said, 'Mom, who's sitting on my bed?' I looked and him and said nobody. He reached his hand over as if he was touching somebody's leg and he said, 'Jesus is sitting right here on my bed mom'," says Jodi. 

Jodi was initially speechless from what her son said and headed home to Dennis. The Ginters had been concerned that the accident may have been their fault.

Upon telling Dennis about Sam's encounter, God gave him a verse.

"The Lord brought to me a Scripture, John 9:1-3. The disciples are asking Jesus who was to blame, whether the parent's sins or the man's sins that made the man blind. Jesus said it was neither, but so that God could be glorified in this situation," says Dennis.

That verse would help the couple initially with the accident, yet it was going to be their foundation to stand on in the coming years.

As Sam became a teen, he hung around kids that he wanted to positively influence, but it ended up having the opposite effect. 

"As he grew into his teen years, there was a lot of side-effects with his brain injury that caused him to miss out on things."

He started dabbling in drugs and alcohol. 

"Towards the end, we were basically watching our son kill himself with drugs and alcohol. The verse was something we could hang on to through it all," says Dennis.

Finally coming to the end of himself, Sam agreed to go through the one-year program at Adult and Teen Challenge. Since graduating there has been a noticeable difference, beyond Sam's addiction being broken.

"He's much more engaged with our family now and not just physically there. We have a new grandson and when he's over, Sam is right there playing on the floor with him," Jodi says.

For other parents out there who may have children battling addictions and feel like it's hopeless, the Ginters share their advice. 

"Pray, just pray continually. At our church one Sunday, the women's centre came to speak. I was sitting on the stairs, so emotional from the stories. This was before Sam went to Adult and Teen Challenge. The woman speaking said just keep praying, and she told me she would pray for him," says Jodi.

The Ginters share how much prayer has been a staple in their lives. Jodi believes the only way Sam ended up going into the program on his own volition was through prayer. 

"It sometimes takes years. Prayers aren't always answered right away. But when Sam said 'Yes, I'll go,' it reminded me that the Lord is faithful."

Jodi shares that as she's gotten to know some of the other students who have gone through the program, there is a change in their speech and a light in their eyes.

"You can't help but thank God and just be in awe of how He can change lives," says Jodi.