A Good Beginning...

Hello, I am Brian from Lancaster, PA. I was raised in a good home by Christian parents, went to church, was in the youth group and knew right from wrong. I attened a Christain school until the third grade, and then was sent to a public school where I was labeled A.D.H.D and prescribed Ritalin.

Wrong Choices and Troubled Times

I rebelled at thirteen when my parents divorced, and in my search for something...anything to fill the void in my life, I began to abuse Ritalin. When that thrill ran cold, I found what I thoght I was looking for in illegal drugs... but, they only numbed the pain. I stopped attending church, was abusive with my family, and wouldn't listen to any authority figures in my life. At fourteen I began trafficking to pay for my own habit. No shcool wanted me; I couldn't comprehend even the smiplest lesson, and was finally expelled from my last alternative school with less then a grade eight education. At sixteen, totally addicted to heroin and crack-cocaine, my love for drugs turned to hate, as I realized that my life was being totally destroyed. I lost everything, my family... my friends. Al my dreams crashed around me as I aasked the question, "Is this really what I was looking for?"

Looking For A Way Out

Each attempt at drug rehab had ended in failure. I was skin and bone, defeated, broken and I thought I'd never escape the nightmare. Then, on April 1, 1998, I entered my last detox center, and one day began to read a gospel tract that I had found on the floor. I'd heared it all before, how God loved me so much that He sent His Son to die on the cross, but this time it became real to me, and I cried out to God, "Please, if you can do anything with this mess, take my life and save me." I didn't know how, where or when, but I knew God was in control and I felt His incredible peace wash over me. Two weeks later, I walked through the doors and Freedom Village U.S.A.

A Place of Second Chances

Freedom Village was diffrent from any place I had ever been. I saw the love of Christ in the staff members as they genuinely loved me, even when I made mistakes.  As Jesus took hold of me, the fog cleared and my life began to make sense.  He gave me a clear vision, a fire within to serve Him and a heartfelt burden for other troubled teens.

How It Feels To Be Free...

God's Mercy saved my life, His grace restored my dreams.  He blessed me with unimagined miracles like restoring my family relationships, graduating high school and Bible College. On June 26, 2004 in a wedding ceremony that I had only dared to dream, the Lord gave me a godly and beautiful wife, who was raised here as a "staff kid" by two wonderful parents.  Vicky and I are full-time missonary staff at the Village and have the awsome privilege to minister together as husband and Wife.  We both sing together and minister to others through music and I am the Program Director.  I thank to Lord for the Village staff, for my family who continued to pray for me, for Vicky's parents who obeyed God's call, thus shielding her from the world that I came from, and for Pastor Brothers, whose vision and obedience provided a place where I could experience the power of God's Holy Spirit to change lives... my own included.

Vicky and I are now blessed to have two wonderful children. My only desire now is to serve the Lord with joy and thanksgiving as a Godly husband and father to the two most special blessings in our life.  Though it all, If only one person meets Jesus, it will have been worth it!