For years, Darin’s life had been going downhill.
His troubles started when his abusive father left the family when he was just seven years old. “I smashed the guitar he had just given me on the sidewalk, I was so hurt,” Darin remembers.
Darin started using drugs and alcohol daily by age 14 to mask the pain. He became a functioning addict as an adult, working hard labor jobs and playing in bands in local venues.
Other calamities piled on: a deathly head-on collision in his old Pinto. His mom’s violent death by car accident, Hurtful relationships that left him reeling and alone.
At one point, he took a cocktail of 70 proof alcohol and prescription painkillers with a vow to end it all. Luckily, a friend found him and got him the medical care he needed.
Then when a work injury ended his career, Darin became addicted to the prescription painkillers the doctors had given him when he was recovering from a work injury. If life wasn’t out of control by now, things really went off the rails then.
“I lost it all,” he explains. “The house, my cars, my family–even my $150,000 inheritance–all gone. Now I see the sinful choices I was making.”
When Darin got to the Mission, “I was like a prodigal coming home,” he says. Because of you, he had a safe place to go to start rebuilding his life.
He got into the Discipleship program, where he’s given his heart and life back over to God. He’s stopped trying to live life on his own. And even though he has few earthly possessions, “I’m truly happy,” he says. He has hope for the future as he recovers from a hurtful past–all thanks to you!
“God led me here so he can work on me,” Darin believes. “Now that He’s back in my life, I’ve got a fresh start; I’ve got a clean slate.”