Brandon blamed himself for his father’s death.

“I know I didn’t give my father kidney failure… but I just wondered if there was something I could have done to make everything different.”

Brandon and his father had always been close. They even ran a successful business together. So when his dad ended up in the hospital – and it was terminal – Brandon was devastated.

To honor his father’s dying wishes, Brandon sacrificed job opportunities to care for his dad in their home and make his final moments as comfortable as possible.

When his father finally passed, Brandon was heartbroken. He started drinking… a lot. At his lowest point, he became homeless, living in his truck for eight months. “I knew my dad would be ashamed of me… and that shame just seemed to build.”

The turning point came when one night, on a trip to the liquor store, Brandon fell and hit his head. “I was lying in the gutter, out cold… and that’s when God reached out to me.”

As Brandon recovered in the hospital, he became determined to change his life. Coming to San Diego Rescue Mission was key to his transformation.

“My old life has been made new… I’ve got a shot at doing things right if I just follow God’s plan.”

Today, Brandon is grateful for the Bible studies, spiritual guidance and loving support he received at the Rescue Mission to help him begin healing from his grief and grow in a relationship with the Lord.

“Being here and hearing the Word has shown me how I can apply the Bible to my life,” he says. When he graduates our program, Brandon looks forward to finding a job where he can serve the Lord and show God’s love to his community.

Thanks to the blessing of your support, Brandon is celebrating Easter as a new creation in Christ. “I’m not living alone in my truck anymore… I am surrounded by God, by Jesus Christ. I know He is with me all the time.”

To read this issue of Mission in Motion, click to download.