When family tensions became intolerable, Brandon decided to move from the home he shared with his mother in Morro Bay to his father's home in Orange County. This option, as it turned out, was not workable and Brandon's modest financial reserve was quickly depleted. Before long, he found himself with neither a place to stay nor a source income.

With nowhere else to turn, Brandon contacted the local police department, who suggested he could spend the night at the Orange County Rescue Mission. He came to the Men's Shelter in Santa Ana in February of 2002 and entered our New Life Program. Since then, Brandon's Christian experience has taken on new meaning. The Bible has become more than merely a school lesson and Jesus has become the role model Brandon felt he was lacking. He's learning the wisdom of placing his trust in the Lord and beginning to reap the benefits of a developing relationship with Him.

Since coming to the Rescue Mission, Brandon has also completed his GED and is now in his second semester at Santa Ana College, where he is excelling in his studies. He wants to keep his options open, but thinks he would like to one day enter the field of journalism as a sports writer.

If there's one word Brandon can use to illustrate the difference between life before OCRM and now, it's purpose. He has a sense of direction he's never known before. But above all else, the foundation upon which his future depends has been shored up. Brandon is becoming a doer of God's Word and steadily increasing in his reliance on Him.