By Lex McMillan

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

His name was Terry Wetzel.  He was 31 years old and had a long history of mental illness.  His only income was Social Security Disability. He came to the Adams Rescue Mission’s men’s shelter last January after serving five months in the Adams County Prison for charges related to trespassing and theft at the Straban Township Municipal Complex the previous July. According to the account in the Gettysburg Times (7/29/2023), when he was arrested, he told the officers that he was in the restricted area because he was a four-star general.

Paul Henderson, the director of men’s ministry for ARM, said that when he picked up Terry at the prison last January, he was subdued and sleepy.  He appeared to have been sedated.  Paul later learned that Terry had been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, which is defined as “a mental health condition that is marked by a mix of schizophrenia symptoms, such as hallucinations and delusions, and mood disorder symptoms, such as depression, mania and a milder form of mania called hypomania”(mayoclinic.org).

Soon after Terry arrived at the mission, he had a disturbing episode that resulted in his hospitalization.  He got help and began to improve.  He returned to the mission, became engaged, attended chapels, and assisted in picking up donated furniture and cardboard for recycling.  He seemed to be enjoying the work. In July, Terry completed his probation and showed promise of being able to live independently.  Paul began working with him on a transition plan that would begin with a part-time job outside the mission.

Terry was able to visit his mother and grandmother in Maryland.  He was very close to his grandmother and loved the 10-acre farm that was her home.  He had lived there a portion of his younger years.  His mother said he was a normal, happy little boy who loved being outdoors. When he was five, he appeared in a magazine that featured his horseback riding skill. When he was about 11, he began to have migraine headaches and was diagnosed with dyslexia.  He began having trouble in school and never completed high school. In his late teens, he had a severe reaction to a drug called “spice,” a synthetic cannabinoid. He was committed to the psychiatric ward of Frederick City Hospital and was diagnosed with his mental illness.

In September, his grandmother died.  He was distraught and became belligerent and hostile while visiting his family.  His mother begged him to leave; he refused so she called the police. Ultimately, the police arrested him for trespassing.  They released him later that evening.  Over the next three days, he was unresponsive to multiple calls and texts from Paul, his mother, and older sister until his last text assuring his mother that he was ok and that he loved her. At 6:38 a.m. on September 21, he was struck and killed by a car while he was walking on Interstate 70 near his home in Mt. Airy, MD

In going through Terry’s limited personal belonging at the mission, Paul found a bag with rosaries in it, a small ceramic figure of an angel with a lute, and the Bible that Paul had given him when he arrived.  Paul was struck to see many passages that Terry had highlighted in his Bible.  They were ones that had been discussed in chapels.  Heavily marked was the fifth chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel, where Jesus preaches the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

The Adams Rescue Mission exists to proclaim the passion of Jesus toward the hungry, homeless, abused, and addicted; to accelerate recovery and restoration to the least, last, lonely, and lost. The Agape House is the ARM residential shelter for women and children. Lex McMillan is an ARM board member. To support the Mission: http://www.adamsrescuemission.org/donate-now.

9.5.2024