Now, as an employee at Lexington's Rescue Mission, Moore, a Winchester native, has plenty of opportunities to not only seek the kingdom of God for himself, but share it with others.
But his work at the Rescue Mission is only the start. On June 1, Moore will be taking his new perspective on life, his strong commitment to God, and his passion for helping others on a trip that will allow him to literally circle the globe, everywhere from Mozambique to Indonesia to Romania.
"It is a very interesting trip because it's different than anything I've ever heard of before. It's called the World Race, 11 countries in 11 months, Central America, Africa, Eastern Europe, East Asia. It's a Christian missionary trip. We're going to be doing different work in every place," Moore said.
Friday he left for the first of two training sessions designed to help World Race participants survive in such varied cultures. The mission teams will be working with some diverse problems, too. Moore expects to encounter many suffering people, in situations like forced prostitution and gypsies forced to live in ghettos.
Still, Moore said he is excited about the possibility of impacting so many people's lives, and being impacted by them, as well.
"I just believe that God is in that, in that circumstance where you're working with the least of the least. There's something spiritual about that, something about that that just reaches your heart. It's something that I want to do. It's not something that I feel pressured to do, and I'm not at all scared, even though it is potentially dangerous. I've seen the people that have done this work and how rich their lives are and how much joy they have and I'm all about it," Moore said.
He admits that, although he couldn't be more excited now, when he first heard about the trip, he was more than a little skeptical.
"I didn't understand why it was so many countries, but as time went on, I realized that this ministry is very important," Moore said.
Moore credits the hardships he faced with persuading him to give back to others in need.
"I never wanted to do this before. In fact, I was one of those people that really dreaded the idea of doing something like this. A lot of things happened last year that changed my perspective," Moore said.
Things like over 30 doctor visits with no diagnosis and being too tired to go to work.
"It's a wild story, actually," Moore said.
Moore has been preparing for the trip for about five months, but he knows that he can never be truly prepared for all the things he will encounter, but he is excited about seeing such different perspectives on life.
"We're going to have some intense training in terms of survival, and in terms of being spiritually ready to deal with mass devastation, and to get used to the cultures," Moore said. "When you go to these countries and they don't have anything, the unseen is real to them. In some ways, I feel like they're going to teach me. They're going to teach me a lot of what it means to have faith."
Moore never did receive a diagnosis for his mysterious illness, though doctors suspect it has something to do with his adrenal gland. His health continues to improve, and Moore said that he isn't worried about getting sick again, or the fact that he knows relatively little about what made him sick in the first place.
After having watched his life turn into such a shambles in recent years, Moore knows that some people may wonder why he's so willing to jump back into the unknown. For him, though, it is an opportunity to show his appreciation for having been brought through his struggles, and also an appreciation for the lessons he learned in the process.
"I've been extremely blessed and looked after. I've got everything I need in life now," Moore said. "It (his illness) was a good thing. I'm thankful for it now."
Contact Rachel Parsons at rparsons@winchestersun.com.
