Good evening friend,

Mat and I would like your help in saving a man’s life.  Nathan Turner's soul has been trapped by a vice his body is struggling to remove -- heroin -- and we’ve taken it upon ourselves to create solutions, so that he may clean up, transform his life, and share his greatness with the world. He’s committed, we’re committed, and today we’re asking for your commitment.  

This is called The Nathan Turner Recovery Plan.

A little background...Nathan Turner grew up surrounded by every kind of abuse you can imagine, brought upon him by the very people who delivered him into the world.  Government agencies eventually removed him from one disasterous environment to place him in a foster home, an even more disastrous environment.  To put it bluntly, Nathan has been raped and beaten and abused so much that he can’t remember a good reason to live.  Heroin and the streets were his getaway…his escape.

I met Nathan on the MAX train here in Portland and spent the night with him on the streets, searching for solutions. Mat and I have helped him go through an 8-day detox program at a local government-provided treatment center.  The problem is, Nathan, Mat, and I were all naïve in thinking that his body was free and clear, ready to move on.  Eight days is hardly enough. 

At the deciding moment, when his body was urging full-force to use the little bit of cash we’d given him to go and get a fix, he chose otherwise.  He refused the vice and practiced utter humility: “I am not strong enough to do this alone…I need help.”  Instead of reaching for the needle, he reached out to Mat’s father, Haven, a practiced rehabilitation counselor.  Haven instructed him and us to remain by Nathan’s side, to not leave him alone, to not give him cash, to get him into a 12-Step recovery program, and, most importantly, to get him in a 30-60 day in-patient treatment routine. 

Therein lies the catch…resources.  The government-funded beds at DePaul Treatment Center, Portland’s local solution, are full.  The state has little to offer for people in Nathan’s precarious situation – no money, no family, no documentation, and no place to go.  Mat and I are not willing to allow this exceptional man -- and he is exceptional -- to go back to that life…he has a gift that needs love and support in order to flourish. 

Here are the solutions we’ve come up with…

We are not big fans of asking people for donations, but we will anyway. You can contribute directly to his rehabilitative housing (money does not goes into his hands). Also, we offer you value for your money in the form of products, seminars, and services.  We will use at minimum 25% of these proceeds to help Nathan get into an effective rehabilitation program.  Here are the four options we’d like to extend to you AND everybody on your email list.  Please send this out to as many people as possible!

Contribute Directly/Fully to Nathan's Housing Fund All contributions go directly to Nathan's Oxford House rehabilitation home. We only provide this housing to support his daily attendance to both NA and The DePaul Treatment Center.
Dream Launchers Seminar in Portland, Oregon - May 2008 We weren't planning on announcing this until later...well, God tends to move on different speeds, we've discovered lately!
Hearts and Souls Unlimited Consulting Let us take your visions >10 steps closer to reality with some very powerful technology we've been using to maximize our efforts and results!
Everlasting Love Package (Autographed Book + Film) We have always offered our special rate on the autographed book and film package. Now, we give a big portion of the proceeds to help Nathan get on his feet in a stable rehab home: 25% to be exact.

Tell a friend or two about Nathan Turner

I awoke early, as I often did, just before sunrise to walk by the ocean's edge and greet the new day.  As I moved through the misty dawn, I focused on a faint, far away motion. I saw a youth, bending and reaching and flailing arms, dancing on the beach, no doubt in celebration of the perfect day soon to begin.

As I approached, I sadly realized that the youth was not dancing to the bay, but rather bending to sift through the debris left by the night's tide, stopping now and then to pick up a starfish and then standing, to heave it back into the sea.  I asked the youth the purpose of the effort. “The tide has washed the starfish onto the beach and they cannot return to the sea by themselves,” the youth replied. “When the sun rises, they will die, unless I throw them back to the sea.”
As the youth explained, I surveyed the vast expanse of beach, stretching in both directions beyond my sight. Starfish littered the shore in numbers beyond calculation. The hopelessness of the youth's plan became clear to me and I countered, “But there are more starfish on this beach than you can ever save before the sun is up. Surely you cannot expect to make a difference.”

The youth paused briefly to consider my words, bent to pick up a starfish and threw it as far as possible. Turning to me he simply said, “I made a difference to that one.”
I left the boy and went home, deep in thought of what the boy had said. I returned to the beach and spent the rest of the day helping the boy throw starfish in to the sea.

Based on the story by Loren Eisley

We, Mathew Boggs and Jason Miller, are committed to being the change and making a massive, massive difference...one heart and soul at a time.