Bryan:
When I was twelve years old, I smoked my first cigarette. It was a small step, but the first down a very slippery slope. Before I knew it, I was using cocaine. And I have been addicted ever since. I took a lot of drugs in my teens and early twenties, building up to a habit that cost over $100 a day. I kept that up for two years, until finally one day, I looked in the mirror and realized I resembled Skeletor. That day, I loaded my Bronco, grabbed my dog and headed for Idaho. |
Misty:
Misty had what she called a “white picket fence life” – she was married with two children, had a career as a cardiac technician, and lived in a lovely home in Butte, Montana. But there were small cracks in her picture of happiness. On the weekends, she occasionally used marijuana, just for fun, and her husband drank far too much. In 2003, those cracks broke up her marriage, and she divorced her husband and temporarily moved to stay with her mom in Idaho. |
I thought that I could make a fresh start there. Meth was in Idaho, not so much coke, and I hated meth. Little did I know that my old friend alcoholism copped a ride with me. In no time I acquired two D.U.I.’s. It didn’t make a dent in my addiction, though. I see now that I just traded one addiction for another. Labor Day weekend, 2006, I was the cause of a felonious hit and run accident. I thank the Lord every day that no one was seriously injured. I went to prison in the summer of 2007 and returned sober and intent on staying that way.
Life was great and probation was going smoothly. My family moved back to Seattle so I could move in with them. I was saving my money for the move, so I decided not to go home for the holidays that year. December 28, 2007, I received devastating news that my mother was dying in the hospital. I arrived at the hospital ten hours later and thirty minutes too late. I went to the first bar I could find. Sometimes, it feels like I never left that bar. My relapse persisted and eventually led to a series of probation violations, and I went to jail. I didn’t care one bit. I didn’t care about anything. Then on December 23rd at a chapel service in Jerome County jail, I turned my life over to Jesus Christ.
By God’s love and grace, I was appointed a lawyer who had also been saved from alcoholism many years before. This amazing man introduced me to a chance to change my life by entering the New Life Program at the River of Life. It was a tough decision for me, but ultimately, it was the only decision.
God has blessed my life so much; on September 5th, 2009, I married the love of my life, Lisa, and have had an amazing turn for the better. My good friend Reverend Arthur Clemens did us the honor of marrying us. He was there at the beginning of my life change and I was proud he set me on my next life path. Lisa and I brought Patricia Marie Baker into this world on March 16th of 2010. Our happy little family still resides just two miles from the Mission.
I owe my new life to so many; Jesus, of course, for the price He paid for me; Lisa, who stood beside me through all the good and especially the bad and always gave me hope; my family, who always showed courage and support; my aunt, who kicked me in the rear when I needed it; my judge, who took no bull; Mark Guerry, the attorney who showed me the way to the New Life Program; all of the staff at the River of Life, who gave the hope and the tools to succeed; Dave Brooks, who shared some of my darkest days; all my brothers, who have shown me the rights and wrongs; and all who stay here at 13th and River, who remind me ever day of the trials of the world. Finally I want to thank my cousin, who gave me that first cigarette. I now know that I had to walk that dark trail to find my enlightened road.
| She did move back with her ex, but their life together was dysfunctional. The sudden death of her younger sister brought Misty and her family to live in Boise, and into a life of anger, abuse, and eventually drug use. Her ex-husband gained custody of their daughters, and took them with him back to Montana, where Misty could not legally follow. Her drug problem became all she had, and she threw herself into it, selling and using drugs and going in and out of jail.
After a 28-day rehab program, she lasted seven days before using drugs again. She remarried, to a man who has been in prison most of the past 5 years, and became pregnant with her third daughter, whom she had in jail. Her father posted bond for her to get out, and she tried another 28-day rehab program. This time, she didn’t even last a day before relapsing. She realized that the drug had taken over her life, and she needed help. A month was just not long enough for a five-year drug user to overcome her habit. She applied to the New Life Program at City Light, but before she was accepted, her father tried to commit suicide. She spent eight days by his bedside while he was in a coma, and as soon as he woke up, she came to City Light. Misty did not believe in God, and she just wanted to fulfill the program and get out – she was not willing to sign her life over, but He was working on her heart and moving in His plan for her. He brought Jean Lockhart into her life that summer, who shone with something that Misty recognized as what she needed. Jean told her that she had to ask God for it. She continued to show Misty love and loyalty, and the Mission stood by her even when family tried to derail her recovery. This dedication slowly began to make changes in Misty, but she still resisted God’s call.
In January, she made a serious mistake based on fear, and God has used it to teach her the power of forgiveness through Jean and Reverend Roscoe. He has also used the generosity of two hard-working lawyers to demonstrate to Misty His power and plan. Layne Davis represents Misty in criminal court, and it is through his hard work that a judge has been convinced that a girl with a long record of rebellion and drug abuse is now trying to change her life. He was one of the first to point out to her that City Light was her only way out of the life she was leading. On July 22nd, she and Mr. Davis appeared in court, and the judge was very impressed with her progress! Stephen Sherer is the attorney who is working with Misty to bring her two older daughters to live with her, and she is deeply thankful to him for his help getting her youngest daughter, Jassmyn, safely into her custody. Last month, she was able to visit her older girls for the first time in five years! God slowly broke down the barriers in Misty’s heart through all of these people – He finally made her understand His love. On Reverend Roscoe’s birthday this year, Misty gave her life to Christ. Now things have become clear. She has turned from her past life and the sins she used to be enslaved to, and now fights to be the mother and the woman that God wants her to be. Misty is now a full-time employee of the BRM, using her talents to serve in our Ministry Center! And, she will complete the New Life Program and graduate towards the end of this year! She says that the Mission is a foundation for her, and the four pillars are Jean Lockhart, Rev. Roscoe, and her two lawyers, Layne Davis and Stephen Sherer. Her prayer is to bring the rest of her family to God. She says, “I have a lot I don’t want to jeopardize – much more than someone who has done what I have done should have been given.”
“I know that it’s by the Grace of God that the last 8½ years of destruction have been turned, in just one year, to a miracle.” |
