The struggles of pain and addiction early on
Brian endured heartbreaking abuse and struggled with depression as a child. “I had lots and lots of abuse in my life,” recalls Brian. “Early on I started using drugs. Speed, methamphetamines, marijuana, even at a very young age … and then I got into drinking really bad … “
During his sophomore year in high school, Brian met Sheila, who later became his wife. “God had a bigger, better plan for me, of course. But in between … is where things went bad.”
After Brian and Sheila married, he began working three jobs to support his habits. Shortly after Sheila became pregnant, she told him that he needed to change. “She wanted me to get help and she was willing to do whatever she could to help me get through it,” he says. “But I was just so addicted I just got up and left. I mean, that just shows how deep I was in my addiction. My wife was pregnant with our first kid and I left.”
Ups and downs of a new life
After a brief stay with his parents, Brian spent the next four months sleeping in his car. “I had just hit rock bottom,” he recounts, “and I realized what I had and what I was giving up for this.” Brian went back to Sheila, and agreed to get the help he needed. “I went to our church and started going to Celebrate Recovery and some other programs to help me deal with my addiction.”
Brian got clean, gave his life to Christ, and eventually graduated with a degree from Bible College. Making good on his commitment to “spend the rest of my life helping people that were trapped in the same situation I was,” Brian began working with homeless neighbors in his community.
After working with churches in different states and relocating to Seattle, Brian left ministry for a time. “The ministry beat us up pretty bad. It hurt me, it hurt my family. I was still dealing with addiction, it just took a different form … for a long time, we just quit going to church.”
A life devoted to sharing God's love
God worked in Brian’s family and brought them back to church and back into ministry, and in 2006, he joined staff with the Mission to help people find a path out of homelessness and addiction. Over the years, he’s worked in various positions, and now serves as Director of External Affairs to highlight the work and impact of the Mission with our community.
Brian says, “I tried to get clean on my own without Jesus, and it didn’t work. The only difference between what I tried to do and involving Jesus was that it worked; it involved a relationship. It changed my heart.”
