Success Stories
George Canturk
Sous Chef, St. Matthew's House
I grew up in Turkey and have lived in the US since 1972, first in Virginia, then here in Florida. I loved to drink. I'd been drinking all my life. I used to drink 22 pints of beer a day. Because of my drinking I couldn't make the right decisions. Then I met one person who introduced me to cocaine. I kept drinking and doing cocaine. That's the only way I could function. I was drinking from 8am til late at night. I got busted four times driving on a suspended license, so I went to jail for three months. I lost everything I owned. I had no place to go so I moved into St. Matthew's House (SMH) in February '97. I was always helping in the kitchen to give me a reason to stay here since I didn't want to go out into the world where I might not be strong. At the beginning it was worse than jail, as I had to have responsibility and couldn't drink. I was clean for those first 90 days but I still had the urge. Then I was hired as part-time kitchen help. I was told I couldn't live here and work here, so I moved out. But I felt safe here. In the summer '08 I became fulltime in the kitchen. I was offered a chef job at a restaurant but I didn't want to go because the new SMH Executive Chef Brian was hired. We were getting along great. I wanted to serve the residents better food, and bring up the quality of the meals. After three weeks I went to church with Brian, then I accepted Jesus on August 3rd, 2008. I have become a totally different person. When I left Virginia I had not been a good example to my family. My son had a more stable life with my ex-wife and her husband. I had been out of touch with my family since '89. My son ended up finding me in October 2008 after 15-16 years. It was a very happy reunion. the Lord keeps sending me all these blessings. I've located my dad, my sisters, and my brother. They all keep calling me here. I wasn't really looking for 'em but they found me! All these years I didn't have God in me, but this time I'm serving God's children, and I love it. He put me here for a purpose. SMH feels like family. They gave me a life, and I want to give something back.