Under a different influence

Three men have embarked on a 10-month journey to change their lives.

Each has come to Teen Challenge hoping to put his old life of struggling with powerful drug and alcohol addictions behind him. They are placing their new lives in the hands of God.

The three men -- Elias Kihyet, 18, Harold Catha Jr., 37, and Ryan Niffen, 23 -- have completed their second week at Teen Challenge, a faith-based drug and alcohol recovery program on 316 acres off County Road 621 near Cape Girardeau. As freshmen in the program, these men and 13 others expect to complete the Teen Challenge program at the end of October.

Each of the men shares a similar past, one that follows a downward spiral of drug and alcohol addictions. Each story eventually ends up at Teen Challenge, a place the men view as a new beginning to their lives.

"I'm 37 and have done drugs for 25 years of my life," Catha said. "I'm way past second chances, but this may be my last chance at life."

At the age of 9, Catha's mother divorced her abusive husband. Catha said he started rebeling after that.

But Catha dates his long battle with addiction to age 7, when he saw Hollywood stars using drugs in movies. It appealed to him. This appeal led to his first puff of marijuana at the age of 12. He then he moved on to harder drugs LSD and Ecstasy.

He was in and out of jail a couple of times during his teenage years. In his 20s, he had a difficult time keeping a job.

"I had no direction in life whatsoever," the Louisiana man said. "I was really miserable."

He married at 29 and had a daughter. Catha's drug use slowed down, but he didn't quit.

His marriage ended in 2004. Catha started using methamphetamine to stay awake for a job he was trying to hold. Five trips to rehab and four visits to the hospital for detox over the last year still didn't stop him from using drugs. He says something else did.

"One day last year when I was going to score some crack I heard the Lord in my heart and he told me, 'I'm not going to protect you very much longer,'" he said. That same day Catha was in his car, parked on a hill and getting high. The car rolled down the hill and hit a tree.

"That's when I knew it was time for me to do something," he said. Catha checked himself into a Teen Challenge entry station a few days later.

Raised in wealthy family

Kihyet's story follows a much different path.

He grew up in a wealthy family living in Mississippi. The son of an attorney, Kihyet said he had good parents who were very supportive. But as long as he made good grades, his parents didn't meddle with his personal life.

At the age of 15, he started drinking heavily. His circle of friends were older high school students, who partied frequently.

"I wouldn't be able to stop, and I'd drink till I passed out," Kihyet said. "I was diagnosed with alcoholism."

The drinking was followed by crack cocaine use in high school. Kihyet would sneak out of school, bring the drugs back and do them in the principal's bathroom, which was accessible since he was a student worker for the guidance counselor.

"I was really good at portraying someone they all expected me to be," he said. "But I was far from it."

Eventually Kihyet got caught. He was sent to alternative school and stayed sober enough to graduate last May. But a month later he started using crack again and more of it.

Kihyet's parents intervened and he went seeking help. He was admitted to Mercy Hospital, a Teen Challenge entry station in Mississippi, last May before moving to the Cape Girardeau facility.

'Battling real hard'

Niffen, who also grew up in a loving family, started smoking marijuana in seventh grade. All through his high school years in Springfield, Mo., he abused methamphetamine and crack cocaine.

After trips in and out of jail for meth in 2002, Niffen tried to get clean.

"I was battling real hard with it," he said. But the drugs won.

Niffen eventually was sentenced to county jail in 2004 for 120 days for receiving stolen property. He thought the jail time would help him quit using.

But the jail time didn't help. Niffen started drinking and using meth again. He was eventually caught with drugs and was sentenced to prison.

He said a man he met in the county jail while waiting for a prison transfer introduced him to Jesus.

"Since that day I built my life around Jesus," he said. "I started praying and reading the Bible. I had nowhere else to go, and I started crying out for help."

Niffen had heard about Teen Challenge, and asked his parole officer if he could be sent to the rehabilitation facility instead of prison. But his request was denied and Niffen faced seven years in prison at the Fulton Reception and Diagnostic Center in Fulton, Mo.

During his first week there, Niffen spent the majority of his time reading his Bible and praying. At the end of the week he was called out of his cell and was told he was being released to Teen Challenge.

"They told me I was the luckiest man to walk through the Department of Corrections in the state of Missouri," Niffen said. "Since that day I've been a changed man."

Each of the men was housed at different Teen Challenge entry stations in Cleveland and St. Louis for a couple of months before reaching the Cape Girardeau facility last week.

They've been sober for nearly six months. Each is relying on their faith in God to help him stay on this new path.

"I still have cravings for drugs," Catha said. "But let's face it, in the end drugs are destructive and cause pain. My life is so much better today, and I have a peace inside me that I've never had before."

The men know they have a long road of recovery ahead of them. They take each day one step at a time.

"In the midst of my rejections and my failures, God has come into my life in the most mighty way he ever has," Kihyet said. "I've been given a second chance at life."

Each of the men has plans for his life after Teen Challenge. Kihyet plans to attend Bible College, Catha wants to be a good father for his daughter, and Niffen hopes move back to the Springfield area to be near his family.

The success rate, or number of men who stay sober after the program, of Teen Challenge can be a difficult thing to measure, said Bro. Wayne Soemo, assistant director at the facility. "It's hard because how long of a time do you look at? One year, five years? Also, do we say it's a success if someone doesn't do cocaine but takes a drink of alcohol?"

Soemo said Teen Challenge figures 70 to 80 percent of the men will stay completely sober after they finish the program.

The Cape Girardeau Christian-based organization is available to men ages 16 and up. More than 130 men completed the Teen Challenge program in 2005.

Each of the men already believes his life is better today than a year ago.

"No matter what the pain, no matter what the problem, Jesus can help you get rid of any suffering in your life," Niffen said. "I trust in the Lord and believe the Lord will carry me through life after this experience is over."

jfreeze@semissourian.com

335-6611 ext. 137