June 21, 2025 • 37 mins
Brandon's testimony unfolds like a map of divine redirection – from a troubled childhood in small-town Minnesota to finding purpose in unexpected places. Growing up in a household marked by emotional volatility, financial struggles, and his father's alcoholism, Brandon's early years established patterns that would follow him into adolescence. When his parents divorced during his third grade year, followed by his cousin's suicide after military deployment, Brandon began suppressing emotions that felt too overwhelming to process.
School offered little sanctuary as bullying pushed him further into isolation. Without healthy outlets or role models, high school became a blur of parties and drinking – desperate attempts to find connection with others who were similarly hurting. Though technically raised with church attendance, the experience left him without understanding what a genuine relationship with God might look like.
The transformation began subtly. An internal voice repeatedly urging "go to church" led Brandon to distance himself from negative influences. A period of solitary searching followed – exploring careers from acting to carpentry, each path teaching valuable lessons but never quite satisfying his deeper longing for purpose.
When the opportunity to join the military suddenly presented itself, Brandon made an impulsive decision that would ultimately change everything. Though his early days in California initially led back to familiar patterns of drinking, God had positioned him perfectly for a divine encounter. Finding a church community that embraced him completely, Brandon discovered what authentic discipleship looks like – mentorship that sees potential before you can see it yourself.
Through intentional spiritual growth, volunteering with children, and what he calls the "School of Transformation," Brandon finally experienced freedom from the mental barriers separating him from Christ. His testimony beautifully illustrates how God redeems even our most painful experiences, using them as stepping stones toward a life of purpose and love.
Ready to experience your own breakthrough? Subscribe to OnTrack Podcast as we continue sharing stories of transformation and practical wisdom for your spiritual journey.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:11):
Hey guys, welcome back to OnTrack Podcast with
your hosts, brandon and IsabelDiamond.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Hey guys.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
We'd like to start off our podcast by sharing our
testimonies, beginning with mine, and Isabel's will be in next
week's episode.
I look forward to sharing mytestimony and all that God has
be in next week's episode.
I look forward to sharing mytestimony and all that God has
done in and through my life.
We hope you're able to connectwith parts of my story and enjoy
this week's episode.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
All right, I'm so excited for today's episode.
I've had the deep privilege ofhearing your story, brandon, and
getting to witness all thatGod's done in your life, but
today we get to just share yourstory a little bit further with
a broader audience, and we areso excited.
So, yeah, I think it would justbe incredible to start from the
(00:59):
beginning, a little bit moreabout where you're from, where
you came from.
You know, your background, yourfamily, just all the details of
your childhood.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Yeah, so I was born and raised in a small town 1400
people in Minnesota.
I have three siblings andobviously my parents they all
reside in Minnesota, yet Camefrom a more low-income family
and we were just raised toalways spend money, which didn't
(01:33):
really make sense to me and wecan dive into that a little bit
deeper later.
But as a kid I was just superoutdoorsy.
Kid, I was just super outdoorsyand I really loved to play army,
which was a foreshadowing forwhat was to come, unknowingly at
the time.
Yeah, me and my siblings wealways just took any opportunity
(01:56):
we could to get outside andreally just explore the vastness
of of nature, and that was areally fun time.
We used to play nintendo 64 andthere was this one particular
game.
It was called army, uh, soldier, army something, and there was
(02:19):
one particular map where you hadto go in a gumball machine to
complete a mission and there wasa little divot in our yard, um,
that we kind of used and actedas if that were the gumball
machine and we had to kind ofjust rescue each other from from
the gumball machine and how toavoid enemy, enemy that were
(02:40):
trying to uh, kill us.
And it was just, it was justsomething silly and super fun
that we used to do 24-7.
Yeah, there was a lot of funtimes within my childhood, but
also there was not so fun times,and those not so fun times came
whenever I went to school and Ithink that's particularly why I
(03:04):
maybe had a slight issue withschool and not really wanting to
be there essentially and do myhomework and become a good
student.
It was most likely because Igot bullied and I didn't really
get treated the most fairly,which was pretty difficult to
(03:27):
understand as a kid.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Yeah, I mean, I love that story that you shared about
playing army and sometimes homelife and school life are
different.
But also it seemed like maybesome of the hardships you
experienced in school trickledinto home, or vice versa.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Yeah, it wasn't that easy growing up.
Just because my family, we justall knew how to raise our voice
very well which was unfortunate, that was pretty common within
the household of justemotionally abusing essentially
one another and not reallyknowing that we were doing that
(04:11):
to some degree.
It was just kind of normal andI think we just learned it from
my parents and what they hadbeen through growing up as
children themselves.
So I think it's just beensomething that stemmed from
generational trauma essentially.
But, yeah, reeling it back toschool, I played baseball second
(04:41):
, third and fourth grade.
I believe I wasn't the best andI thought I could just fit in
and maybe be seen by someone umother than my family, and that
was through baseball.
But that didn't turn out thatway.
Um, I still was hard on myselfand, yeah, I just couldn't
(05:06):
understand my self-worth andwhat I was bringing into the
world at such a young age,between eight and nine years old
.
Yeah, my father was veryinconsiderate and I didn't ever
have really a role model ormentor to understand me and to
understand my desires and hopesand dreams, and I think that was
(05:29):
one thing that really impactedme and it was really difficult
for me to understand and reallygrow beyond who I currently was,
just because I didn't have thatrole model, that figure that
was able to guide and direct me.
We went to church as children,but it always felt forced.
(05:53):
It was a more traditional styleLutheran church that just read
scripture word by word and hadno extra interpretation of it
and for it to be easilyapplicable to your life, which I
think was the biggest, biggestthing that really made me not
(06:15):
press into the Lord and pressinto my relationship with him,
because I had no idea what thatlooked like.
My mother had no idea what thatlooked like.
My father never attended church.
Yeah there was just so manydifferent mental walls and ways
that I was trying to work in andthrough my family's life to
basically tear it apart, andthat inevitably happened when I
(06:39):
was in third grade, eight ornine years old yeah, just
finishing up third grade.
My parents then bam, gotdivorced.
I think that was a really hardtime within my life, not only
because my parents got a divorce, but because my father had
drinking problems.
He would emotionally yeah, justemotionally abuse my mother and
(07:03):
us kids from time to time.
I think there was times wherewe would just come home from
school.
He was just there every singleday sitting drinking a pack of
beer every single night, and Ithink that was something that
really impacted me.
(07:24):
To agree, that I didn't reallyunderstand at the time.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Yeah, I mean, how did that make you feel as you were
witnessing that day to day?
Did you notice that that wasyou know, not, not okay?
Did you see that as just normal?
Did you desire somethingdifferent?
Speaker 1 (07:46):
I think at the time I just seen it as normal.
Um, there was nothing reallyindicating it that it it was
unhealthy, besides my parentsfighting within the bedroom and,
um, my mom always making that apoint.
Um, that was pretty apparentthat at that point, when I heard
that for like the fifth time,that that wasn't something that
(08:09):
was healthy and right.
Um, yeah, I'm pretty sure mydad gave me a sip of beer when I
was like five years old, orsomething which is absolutely
insane and a pocket knife whenyou were wet too, yeah yeah.
so overall it was just a lot ofyelling, screaming and then my
(08:31):
mom finally decided enough wasenough and we we got out of that
situation.
A year after my parents divorce, um took another turn.
That I was not expecting waswhen my cousin came home from
Kuwait.
He was in the National Guard.
He came home from Kuwait andwhatever he did over there
(08:57):
really messed with his mind andI think I believe mental illness
runs within my family's historyand he came home from Kuwait.
He was driving one night.
He had a few drinks I'm notsure how under the influence he
really was, but he rolled histruck and eventually ended up
(09:18):
taking his life, which was thebreaking point of my
understanding of what emotionswere.
And after that day I think Ibegan to find ways to suppress
the way I was feeling.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
Yeah, I can see how all of those events just led to
a place of steeply desiringsomething maybe to help cope
with that, um, but notnecessarily knowing exactly what
that would look like.
Could you kind of invite usinto, yeah, your life after that
, after all the hard things as akid, and you know how did you
(10:02):
navigate that and what did thatlook like?
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Yeah, so from middle school to high school, roughly
from 2016 to 2020 is when Igraduated.
But during this period,beginning of middle school, I
was in English class and again,the school environment it was
just not for me.
I was just a chubbier littlekid and got bullied for my
(10:29):
weight, got bullied for just notfitting into really any clique,
so to speak.
There's always these cliquesthat form, unfortunately, within
a school and unfortunately Iwas a part of, like the outcasts
(10:50):
, so to speak, and we didn'treally fit in with anyone.
We didn't play sports, wedidn't do much of anything
outside of school.
There was just not thoseopportunities that a lot of kids
do have to find a healthyoutlet, especially when you're
coming from a family with asingle mom, three other sisters,
(11:11):
so four kids in total.
It was just the opportunitieswere not there, especially when
my mom was just fending forherself and fending for her
children and doing what shecould.
We just yeah, again didn't haveopportunities to or outlets
outside of school that we'reable to latch onto and really
(11:33):
take a hold of.
To get us by our childhoodyears.
I was just yeah, I remember infifth grade, when I was in
English class, I was justbawling my eyes out and I felt
so weak, I felt humiliated, Ifelt like I just didn't belong.
(11:54):
It was just something that I'dnever experienced before, to
that degree, with the emotions Iwas feeling, the emotions I was
feeling and again, from thatmoment forward, I think I felt
so embarrassed within that classthat I just began to then
suppress emotions to a certaindegree.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
And.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
I think that was something that I just.
I think that became a continualpattern of me being embarrassed
or me being humiliated or mejust grieving.
To a certain extent, that justmade me continue to suppress and
suppress and suppress andeventually that led to other
(12:39):
things within high school, Ithink.
Ninth grade I, I?
Um started drinking and um justfound ways to to cope with what
was going on, and I was neverproud of it.
Um, I was just influenced bythe party world and by by the
(13:00):
time ninth grade came around, Iwas really into this group of
kids that weren't the healthiest, they didn't inhabit the
healthiest lifestyle and theyjust found themselves doing the
same thing I was.
I just really related to them onthe level of being deeply hurt
and not understood, not feelinglike I've ever been seen, not
(13:26):
understood, not feeling likeI've ever been seen.
And just again, throughout myentire childhood I was
emotionally neglected, not onlyby my father, but by my mother
because she had to take care ofthree other women.
I was just never the one to getthat attention.
So I was just looking for itelsewhere and that eventually
again led to partying, drinkingand um just never felt loved or
(13:47):
affirmed in any way, shape orform right.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Yeah, thank you for sharing those things.
I know it's hard to be open andhonest and vulnerable about
different seasons in life wherewe were at our lowest and
experiencing things that,honestly, are difficult to even
wrap your head around.
When you look back, you knowwhen the enemy has reign over
your life.
It's just challenging to reallycomprehend what's going on.
Were there any turning pointswith that?
(14:16):
How long were you kind of inthat perpetual rut of partying
and drinking and things likethat?
Speaker 1 (14:21):
Things kind of took a turn.
I think the last year of highschool, um, I started to realize
this wasn't healthy.
The the lifestyle is going downthe path.
I was following um with thefriends I had quote unquote
friends that I had were just fora period of time, and the Lord
(14:41):
allowed me to draw near to himthrough just little, little
things.
He would speak to meoccasionally, to a certain
degree that I didn't necessarilyunderstand at the time, but he
would just kind of thoughtswould pop in my mind and I just
thought there were thoughts andnot anything that the Lord was
(15:04):
speaking to me.
But I kept on hearing like goto church, go to church, go to
church.
And it was like time and timeagain and I didn't.
I now realize that was like theLord drawing me closer to him
through something so simple ofjust having that continuous
thought of go to church.
(15:26):
Um, and so eventually, uh, Idropped all my friends.
I didn't party, I didn't drink,I didn't go out.
I was just alone for three tofour years after high school or
midway through high school, andthat allowed me to explore
different things.
(15:46):
It allowed me to work multipledifferent jobs, it allowed me to
search for what was missing andunderstanding how I could get
back on track.
And I think that period ofsolitude was the most beneficial
(16:08):
thing for me.
It wasn't necessarily alonetime with the Lord, because I
wasn't at that place yet Ididn't really know what a
relationship with the Lordlooked like.
But I began to then understandand um trying to grow within
that area.
And I would.
I would go to church by myself,I would um not not go out, not
(16:32):
party.
I was looking into doing actingand modeling to begin with and I
really wanted to do an actingschool.
So I signed up for one, paidlike four grand for nine months
of schooling within the modelingand acting industry.
That eventually led to nowhere.
(16:56):
I desired to be famous and getmoney but then realized that's
not what I wanted to truly do inthe long term.
It wasn't going to help metowards helping others and
really understanding where Iwanted to take my life and
didn't allow me to apply thedesires on my heart at that time
(17:19):
.
So then that fell through.
At one point I was thinkingabout going to Georgia.
I was going to move in withthis family that I knew that did
modeling and acting themselves,but then they were adopting a
child and I wasn't able to go atthat time, which worked out for
the better.
But yeah, then I.
I just worked job to job.
(17:40):
I worked at a Yetimanufacturing company in
Minnesota and that was prettysweet.
I didn't understand how Yeticoolers were made, but now I do
because I made them, but Iworked at a cabinetry company
more than once and then I triedto do a wood inside business
(18:02):
that I was just trying to createmotivational signs on different
pieces of wood that I made inthe garage in bulk.
And I used to do carpentry as akid with my father and we used
to make cabinets.
We used to make differentprojects around the house, we
used to build decks together.
(18:22):
We just did all sorts ofdifferent things and that was
that was one way I was able toreally bond with my father.
Besides uh, I forgot to mentionearlier, but we used to go
trapping as well and coyotehunting, but it's very rare.
We never got anything.
We got one muskrat, that's allthat's all so gross.
(18:48):
If you don't know what a muskratis, it's just like a little rat
A little rat.
So, yeah, at this point my dadreally wasn't in the picture.
Um, I seen him like once amonth, maybe, maybe every two
months.
But yeah, um, after trying allthese different things, at one
(19:13):
point I tried to do social media, um influencing, and I tried to
do try to do day trading, umwith I am Academy.
It was something that I didn'tnecessarily um want for myself,
but I found myself in anothergroup of friends that just like
(19:35):
day trading and I never reallygot into it.
But eventually I found my wayto a mechanic shop.
That was my favorite job I'veever had, which just allowed me
to work with my hands and becreative in the ways in which I
solve different solutions withina problem when working on a
(19:57):
vehicle.
Um, I think.
From there I decided to jointhe military.
Um, it was something that Ireally didn't think about.
Um it was something that wasvery abrupt and my family was
never expecting that.
I had a buddy that asked me ifI wanted to join.
I was, like sure I knew Ineeded to get out of Minnesota.
(20:19):
I didn't enjoy living therewhatsoever.
There was so much complacency,everyone had a fixed mindset so
it was just really suffocatingand there was no one to turn to
that really wanted more forthemselves, which didn't allow
you to go, and so In that smalltown right yeah, there are 1400
(20:41):
people that you can't reallyexpect um, it was all old folk
and it's nothing wrong with oldfolk not at all, but it was just
really complacent town thatjust didn't.
I didn't see myself growing inright whatsoever so from there,
(21:03):
I joined the military.
Um, I thought about it for likea night and went in, signed the
contract, and you know it's notthat easy.
But, um, within like a week ortwo, I was getting shipped out
to boot camp in southerncalifornia, and so from there I
(21:24):
just kind of went with thepunches.
I knew, um, that the lordreally wanted me to join the
military and that was gonnaallow me to escape the situation
I was in, which I was beyondgrateful for, but not realizing
it at the time.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
Wow, it seems like the Lord's really taking you
multiple directions.
So you're here.
You're here in San Diego.
That's amazing.
You've been here for some time.
So lots, lots, transpired,transpired.
What else took place initially,you know, within the first few
months of being in San Diego,what were like some other
(22:03):
opportunities or things that theLord opened up for you.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
Yeah, so it wasn't initially that the Lord opened
up an abundance of opportunities.
Abundance of opportunities yeah, I think it was a slow
progression, and over time hereally allowed me to understand
my path and purpose that he hadcreated for my life.
(22:29):
When I first got here, though,I had no clue what I wanted,
where I was going.
I just kind of jumped all in,without hesitation, but also
without thinking about it.
It was slightly a hastydecision, but so, after boot
camp, I went to Virginia forfour to five months, and from
(22:51):
there I was supposed to go EastCoast, and then they sent me
West Coast and I came back toCalifornia which I was grateful
for.
Because that would in turn allowme to meet my future wife.
That.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
I didn't know.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
Yeah, in the schoolhouse I met a guy named
kashira.
He had a deep connection withthe lord um and that was really
a great influence on me and theman that god was creating me to
be.
And yet, despite the greatinfluence that I I've never had
in my life, I um fell back intothe same same perpetual sin of
(23:31):
drinking and getting drunk.
And it was only one time withinthe schoolhouse, but that one
time is when I got in troubleand I got NJP'd and yeah, if you
know, you know, and so I thinkI definitely learned from that
lesson.
And then that friendship kindof fell off as soon as we left
(23:56):
the schoolhouse in August of2023.
I think I wanted to maintainthat relationship and that
friendship, but it was hard forme to really be vulnerable and
open with other men just becauseI've never experienced that
(24:17):
before.
I lived with three women, fourwomen my entire life.
So it was very difficult for meto really approach different
men that I looked up to and beable to have genuine
conversations with them.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
That's fair and be able to have genuine
conversations with them.
That's fair.
That modeling in the homereally impacts the ability to
venture out into the world anddo what you learned.
All right, so you're in SanDiego?
Yeah, and you went through bootcamp.
You went through training inVirginia, yep, and you're trying
(24:52):
to get your bearings straight,yeah, right.
So what next?
Like, how did God, like, snatchyou and turn things around?
Speaker 1 (25:02):
Yeah, it wasn't that easy, and when I first got to
Southern California, I fell intothe wrong friend group, as I
had in high school or middleschool.
Um, it was just the the peoplethat were drinking and partying
and didn't really know what theywanted for their life.
So I was just as lost as them.
(25:23):
Um, but then realized I Ithat's not who I was, but it
caused me to drink for three tofour months straight.
That three to four months wasone of the most miserable times
of my life.
I didn't have a car, I had noway of getting around base.
I had no way of getting offbase to go hang out with
(25:45):
whomever.
Yeah, it was just a reallydifficult time when I first
joined the fleet and gotfamiliar with the military
culture and environment.
From there, I went home forleave in September of 23.
(26:05):
And that was a reallybeneficial time.
I, last day I was there, got avehicle, and I wasn't expecting
to, but I realized the littlecheap 2009 Toyota Camry that my
sister had prior to me having it.
(26:27):
Owning it wasn't going to getme across the country back to
california, so I decided I wouldgo to honda dealership.
Yeah, we, we bought a 2015toyota camry that um had way
less miles and eventually got meback to california.
I road tripped here with my momand that was a really fun time.
(26:49):
Um, we got tattoos togetherjust a little shot.
So that was.
That was really sweet.
Yeah, after I got to um, back toCalifornia with my mom, I
decided that it would be goodfor me to go to church, and the
Lord once again drew me near tohim, but during this time, I was
(27:11):
still drinking.
I didn't necessarily feelequipped to go to church and to
have the ability to connect withothers, but nevertheless,
someone from back home mentioneda church out here and I got
plugged in and I finally had acar so I could drive off base
(27:31):
and have the ability to go tosaid church, and that was really
impactful for me and eventuallychanged the direction of my
life and me allowing God to workin and through me rather than
me trying to control everysingle situation in my life.
That was the biggest turningpoint.
(27:53):
And then, in February of 24, Ifinally found a life group.
Which life group is?
Just a group of godly men andgodly women that really press
into what the Lord's speakingthrough scripture, and we had
the pleasure of meeting up eachweek and the ability to really
connect with one another andhave that opportunity to go
(28:16):
deeper within the Bible with oneanother, and that was really,
really beautiful and funnyenough, my wife would be in the
home, I would go to life groupand I had no idea.
We always miss each other atchurch.
We always miss each other atchurch.
We always miss each otherwithin that home, even though I
was there every single week.
(28:37):
It wasn't until like threemonths or so after that I
realized, or a month or twoafter that I realized we we just
been missing each other.
Speaker 2 (28:47):
To clarify I would leave the same night to go to a
different life group that I'dpreviously been attending before
I moved into that house, andevery time we would just miss
each other.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
Really wanted to plug into volunteering my time and,
yeah, just allowing myself togive back to, to those um that
(29:17):
I've given to me.
So I, yeah, through the church.
I was at um, I just starteddoing different volunteer
opportunities and, um, also,before I did any volunteering
within the church, I volunteeredthrough the military at this
one elementary school or middleschool I think it was and we
(29:39):
just played games and had thepleasure of just hanging out
with the kids and being mentorsin a certain degree to them and
we just have the ability toconnect with them and play
different games, whether thatwas group games, basketball,
volleyball.
There's just so many differentactivities they were able to do
(30:00):
during that time.
We had like a two-hour periodin which we had the pleasure of
hanging out with them and thatwas really fun.
That really opened up my eyes towhat volunteering does and just
the joy on the kids' face.
It was just the sweetest thingand to some degree, was
foreshadowing for when I wouldvolunteer at church and working
(30:23):
with the kids there.
It's more than incredible andit was just such a pleasure to,
yeah, hang out with the kids andhold the babies baby whisper
over here, yeah it just bringsjoy to your heart knowing that
you're taking care of suchprecious cargo cargo.
Speaker 2 (30:50):
Oh yeah, it was really sweet.
It's been really sweet to watchhim hold babies every sunday,
all righty.
So what's, what was next?
What happened?
Speaker 1 (31:00):
yeah, after all the volunteering opportunities and
just getting plugged into acommunity that really wants the
best for you and really knowshow to uplift and courage.
I think that was the biggestthing within this church
community is they knew how touplift and encourage and see
your potential before you wereable to see your potential.
(31:22):
I think that's one beautifulthing that I that I grasped from
going to church and not allchurches are going to be like
that, though, and not allchurches are going to be like
that, though I think I've beento a handful that maybe missed
the mark, not because theywanted a lock in that area, but
just because they didn'tnecessarily know how to
cultivate that type ofenvironment.
(31:43):
Yeah, after everything, I fixedmy eyes on my wife March 31st
2024.
We went to a Easter event at anapartment and it was
disappointing at the timebecause I thought she already
had a boyfriend and I thoughtshe was, um, yeah, taken.
(32:05):
So I didn't necessarily proceedright then and there, but nor
talk to her.
I just kept staring at her.
There was a conference that wehad through our church.
later, um like a week aftersomething yeah, something like
that I had the pleasure of goingup to her and getting her phone
(32:27):
number and then intentionallypursuing her from that day
forward.
I think it was like April 13thor something that I got her
number, but it wasn't until likea week or two after and that we
went on our first date.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:43):
And to be continued right.
Speaker 1 (32:46):
We'll definitely share um our story and how that
happened more specifically lateron within this podcast.
After meeting my wife notknowing at the time but I really
started plugging in the churchmore.
I started to after just takingmy walk with the Lord serious I
(33:09):
began to get discipled and Istarted discipling men on my own
.
I didn't necessarily know whatdiscipleship was, but it's
basically a mentorship, justreally allowing you to dig in
with someone closer, pressinginto what it means to have a
relationship with the Lord, andjust allows your entire
spiritual walk to be amplified.
(33:31):
And and just allows your entirespiritual walk to be amplified
and expedited to a certaindegree, just because any
questions you have, you havesomeone there to answer them and
it's not like going on Googleand just asking random questions
, but it's just reallyunderstanding a perspective.
Yeah, and just theaccountability within within
discipleship is is what makes itvaluable, just in knowing that
(33:55):
you have someone there time andtime again, that's not going to
give up on you and the way inwhich you're you're pursuing the
lord that's really good.
Discipleship is absolutelyincredible and highly encouraged
highly encouraged yeah, when Iwent through the school of
transformation, I really umbegan to experience what freedom
(34:18):
was.
Up until this point, I didn'tnecessarily know what that meant
, um, it was talked about hereand there, but I had no idea
what that would inevitably dofor myself and for my emotional
capacity and for just the mentalblocks that was in between me
(34:41):
and Christ.
I think there was barriers thatallowed me to relinquish shame
and renounce different lies thatthe enemy was instilling in me
from a very young age.
I know that there was justbreakthrough in so many
(35:03):
different areas in my life andwe'll eventually get into this
just because there's so much tounpack from what freedom is and
how that looks in your life andjust all the caveats to that.
We'll definitely be creatingmultiple episodes on freedom,
and after that, life was justreally never the same.
(35:23):
There's just so many differentmental shifts that just allowed
me the ability to really connectnot only with myself, not my
emotions but with Christ, andthen with my girlfriend, fiance
and now wife.
It was just such a pleasure topursue Isabel and I can't wait
(35:45):
to really talk about that onfuture episodes.
But yeah, then February 25, Ibegan to start college.
Throughout the years gatheredwhat my plans and purpose for my
life were, and the Lord reallymade that clear through
situations, people, the desireshe placed on my heart and the
(36:08):
things I understood and mydesire to really help people.
That allowed me to understandthe plans and purpose he had for
my life.
It wasn't that simple and Ithink eventually we'll continue
to dive further into this.
And I'm just excited to continueto walk along life not only
with Christ but with you.
(36:29):
And that concludes today'sepisode.
We just want to thank you guysso much for joining us today as
I shared my testimony and getexcited for next week's episode
here in Isabel's testimony.
As we begin this new launch onOnTrack, we hope you guys have
such an amazing week ahead.
Hey guys, welcome back to OnTrack Podcast with
your hosts, brandon and IsabelDiamond.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Hey guys.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
We'd like to start off our podcast by sharing our
testimonies, beginning with mine, and Isabel's will be in next
week's episode.
I look forward to sharing mytestimony and all that God has
be in next week's episode.
I look forward to sharing mytestimony and all that God has
done in and through my life.
We hope you're able to connectwith parts of my story and enjoy
this week's episode.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
All right, I'm so excited for today's episode.
I've had the deep privilege ofhearing your story, brandon, and
getting to witness all thatGod's done in your life, but
today we get to just share yourstory a little bit further with
a broader audience, and we areso excited.
So, yeah, I think it would justbe incredible to start from the
(00:59):
beginning, a little bit moreabout where you're from, where
you came from.
You know, your background, yourfamily, just all the details of
your childhood.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Yeah, so I was born and raised in a small town 1400
people in Minnesota.
I have three siblings andobviously my parents they all
reside in Minnesota, yet Camefrom a more low-income family
and we were just raised toalways spend money, which didn't
(01:33):
really make sense to me and wecan dive into that a little bit
deeper later.
But as a kid I was just superoutdoorsy.
Kid, I was just super outdoorsyand I really loved to play army,
which was a foreshadowing forwhat was to come, unknowingly at
the time.
Yeah, me and my siblings wealways just took any opportunity
(01:56):
we could to get outside andreally just explore the vastness
of of nature, and that was areally fun time.
We used to play nintendo 64 andthere was this one particular
game.
It was called army, uh, soldier, army something, and there was
(02:19):
one particular map where you hadto go in a gumball machine to
complete a mission and there wasa little divot in our yard, um,
that we kind of used and actedas if that were the gumball
machine and we had to kind ofjust rescue each other from from
the gumball machine and how toavoid enemy, enemy that were
(02:40):
trying to uh, kill us.
And it was just, it was justsomething silly and super fun
that we used to do 24-7.
Yeah, there was a lot of funtimes within my childhood, but
also there was not so fun times,and those not so fun times came
whenever I went to school and Ithink that's particularly why I
(03:04):
maybe had a slight issue withschool and not really wanting to
be there essentially and do myhomework and become a good
student.
It was most likely because Igot bullied and I didn't really
get treated the most fairly,which was pretty difficult to
(03:27):
understand as a kid.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Yeah, I mean, I love that story that you shared about
playing army and sometimes homelife and school life are
different.
But also it seemed like maybesome of the hardships you
experienced in school trickledinto home, or vice versa.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Yeah, it wasn't that easy growing up.
Just because my family, we justall knew how to raise our voice
very well which was unfortunate, that was pretty common within
the household of justemotionally abusing essentially
one another and not reallyknowing that we were doing that
(04:11):
to some degree.
It was just kind of normal andI think we just learned it from
my parents and what they hadbeen through growing up as
children themselves.
So I think it's just beensomething that stemmed from
generational trauma essentially.
But, yeah, reeling it back toschool, I played baseball second
(04:41):
, third and fourth grade.
I believe I wasn't the best andI thought I could just fit in
and maybe be seen by someone umother than my family, and that
was through baseball.
But that didn't turn out thatway.
Um, I still was hard on myselfand, yeah, I just couldn't
(05:06):
understand my self-worth andwhat I was bringing into the
world at such a young age,between eight and nine years old
.
Yeah, my father was veryinconsiderate and I didn't ever
have really a role model ormentor to understand me and to
understand my desires and hopesand dreams, and I think that was
(05:29):
one thing that really impactedme and it was really difficult
for me to understand and reallygrow beyond who I currently was,
just because I didn't have thatrole model, that figure that
was able to guide and direct me.
We went to church as children,but it always felt forced.
(05:53):
It was a more traditional styleLutheran church that just read
scripture word by word and hadno extra interpretation of it
and for it to be easilyapplicable to your life, which I
think was the biggest, biggestthing that really made me not
(06:15):
press into the Lord and pressinto my relationship with him,
because I had no idea what thatlooked like.
My mother had no idea what thatlooked like.
My father never attended church.
Yeah there was just so manydifferent mental walls and ways
that I was trying to work in andthrough my family's life to
basically tear it apart, andthat inevitably happened when I
(06:39):
was in third grade, eight ornine years old yeah, just
finishing up third grade.
My parents then bam, gotdivorced.
I think that was a really hardtime within my life, not only
because my parents got a divorce, but because my father had
drinking problems.
He would emotionally yeah, justemotionally abuse my mother and
(07:03):
us kids from time to time.
I think there was times wherewe would just come home from
school.
He was just there every singleday sitting drinking a pack of
beer every single night, and Ithink that was something that
really impacted me.
(07:24):
To agree, that I didn't reallyunderstand at the time.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Yeah, I mean, how did that make you feel as you were
witnessing that day to day?
Did you notice that that wasyou know, not, not okay?
Did you see that as just normal?
Did you desire somethingdifferent?
Speaker 1 (07:46):
I think at the time I just seen it as normal.
Um, there was nothing reallyindicating it that it it was
unhealthy, besides my parentsfighting within the bedroom and,
um, my mom always making that apoint.
Um, that was pretty apparentthat at that point, when I heard
that for like the fifth time,that that wasn't something that
(08:09):
was healthy and right.
Um, yeah, I'm pretty sure mydad gave me a sip of beer when I
was like five years old, orsomething which is absolutely
insane and a pocket knife whenyou were wet too, yeah yeah.
so overall it was just a lot ofyelling, screaming and then my
(08:31):
mom finally decided enough wasenough and we we got out of that
situation.
A year after my parents divorce, um took another turn.
That I was not expecting waswhen my cousin came home from
Kuwait.
He was in the National Guard.
He came home from Kuwait andwhatever he did over there
(08:57):
really messed with his mind andI think I believe mental illness
runs within my family's historyand he came home from Kuwait.
He was driving one night.
He had a few drinks I'm notsure how under the influence he
really was, but he rolled histruck and eventually ended up
(09:18):
taking his life, which was thebreaking point of my
understanding of what emotionswere.
And after that day I think Ibegan to find ways to suppress
the way I was feeling.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
Yeah, I can see how all of those events just led to
a place of steeply desiringsomething maybe to help cope
with that, um, but notnecessarily knowing exactly what
that would look like.
Could you kind of invite usinto, yeah, your life after that
, after all the hard things as akid, and you know how did you
(10:02):
navigate that and what did thatlook like?
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Yeah, so from middle school to high school, roughly
from 2016 to 2020 is when Igraduated.
But during this period,beginning of middle school, I
was in English class and again,the school environment it was
just not for me.
I was just a chubbier littlekid and got bullied for my
(10:29):
weight, got bullied for just notfitting into really any clique,
so to speak.
There's always these cliquesthat form, unfortunately, within
a school and unfortunately Iwas a part of, like the outcasts
(10:50):
, so to speak, and we didn'treally fit in with anyone.
We didn't play sports, wedidn't do much of anything
outside of school.
There was just not thoseopportunities that a lot of kids
do have to find a healthyoutlet, especially when you're
coming from a family with asingle mom, three other sisters,
(11:11):
so four kids in total.
It was just the opportunitieswere not there, especially when
my mom was just fending forherself and fending for her
children and doing what shecould.
We just yeah, again didn't haveopportunities to or outlets
outside of school that we'reable to latch onto and really
(11:33):
take a hold of.
To get us by our childhoodyears.
I was just yeah, I remember infifth grade, when I was in
English class, I was justbawling my eyes out and I felt
so weak, I felt humiliated, Ifelt like I just didn't belong.
(11:54):
It was just something that I'dnever experienced before, to
that degree, with the emotions Iwas feeling, the emotions I was
feeling and again, from thatmoment forward, I think I felt
so embarrassed within that classthat I just began to then
suppress emotions to a certaindegree.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
And.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
I think that was something that I just.
I think that became a continualpattern of me being embarrassed
or me being humiliated or mejust grieving.
To a certain extent, that justmade me continue to suppress and
suppress and suppress andeventually that led to other
(12:39):
things within high school, Ithink.
Ninth grade I, I?
Um started drinking and um justfound ways to to cope with what
was going on, and I was neverproud of it.
Um, I was just influenced bythe party world and by by the
(13:00):
time ninth grade came around, Iwas really into this group of
kids that weren't the healthiest, they didn't inhabit the
healthiest lifestyle and theyjust found themselves doing the
same thing I was.
I just really related to them onthe level of being deeply hurt
and not understood, not feelinglike I've ever been seen, not
(13:26):
understood, not feeling likeI've ever been seen.
And just again, throughout myentire childhood I was
emotionally neglected, not onlyby my father, but by my mother
because she had to take care ofthree other women.
I was just never the one to getthat attention.
So I was just looking for itelsewhere and that eventually
again led to partying, drinkingand um just never felt loved or
(13:47):
affirmed in any way, shape orform right.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Yeah, thank you for sharing those things.
I know it's hard to be open andhonest and vulnerable about
different seasons in life wherewe were at our lowest and
experiencing things that,honestly, are difficult to even
wrap your head around.
When you look back, you knowwhen the enemy has reign over
your life.
It's just challenging to reallycomprehend what's going on.
Were there any turning pointswith that?
(14:16):
How long were you kind of inthat perpetual rut of partying
and drinking and things likethat?
Speaker 1 (14:21):
Things kind of took a turn.
I think the last year of highschool, um, I started to realize
this wasn't healthy.
The the lifestyle is going downthe path.
I was following um with thefriends I had quote unquote
friends that I had were just fora period of time, and the Lord
(14:41):
allowed me to draw near to himthrough just little, little
things.
He would speak to meoccasionally, to a certain
degree that I didn't necessarilyunderstand at the time, but he
would just kind of thoughtswould pop in my mind and I just
thought there were thoughts andnot anything that the Lord was
(15:04):
speaking to me.
But I kept on hearing like goto church, go to church, go to
church.
And it was like time and timeagain and I didn't.
I now realize that was like theLord drawing me closer to him
through something so simple ofjust having that continuous
thought of go to church.
(15:26):
Um, and so eventually, uh, Idropped all my friends.
I didn't party, I didn't drink,I didn't go out.
I was just alone for three tofour years after high school or
midway through high school, andthat allowed me to explore
different things.
(15:46):
It allowed me to work multipledifferent jobs, it allowed me to
search for what was missing andunderstanding how I could get
back on track.
And I think that period ofsolitude was the most beneficial
(16:08):
thing for me.
It wasn't necessarily alonetime with the Lord, because I
wasn't at that place yet Ididn't really know what a
relationship with the Lordlooked like.
But I began to then understandand um trying to grow within
that area.
And I would.
I would go to church by myself,I would um not not go out, not
(16:32):
party.
I was looking into doing actingand modeling to begin with and I
really wanted to do an actingschool.
So I signed up for one, paidlike four grand for nine months
of schooling within the modelingand acting industry.
That eventually led to nowhere.
(16:56):
I desired to be famous and getmoney but then realized that's
not what I wanted to truly do inthe long term.
It wasn't going to help metowards helping others and
really understanding where Iwanted to take my life and
didn't allow me to apply thedesires on my heart at that time
(17:19):
.
So then that fell through.
At one point I was thinkingabout going to Georgia.
I was going to move in withthis family that I knew that did
modeling and acting themselves,but then they were adopting a
child and I wasn't able to go atthat time, which worked out for
the better.
But yeah, then I.
I just worked job to job.
(17:40):
I worked at a Yetimanufacturing company in
Minnesota and that was prettysweet.
I didn't understand how Yeticoolers were made, but now I do
because I made them, but Iworked at a cabinetry company
more than once and then I triedto do a wood inside business
(18:02):
that I was just trying to createmotivational signs on different
pieces of wood that I made inthe garage in bulk.
And I used to do carpentry as akid with my father and we used
to make cabinets.
We used to make differentprojects around the house, we
used to build decks together.
(18:22):
We just did all sorts ofdifferent things and that was
that was one way I was able toreally bond with my father.
Besides uh, I forgot to mentionearlier, but we used to go
trapping as well and coyotehunting, but it's very rare.
We never got anything.
We got one muskrat, that's allthat's all so gross.
(18:48):
If you don't know what a muskratis, it's just like a little rat
A little rat.
So, yeah, at this point my dadreally wasn't in the picture.
Um, I seen him like once amonth, maybe, maybe every two
months.
But yeah, um, after trying allthese different things, at one
(19:13):
point I tried to do social media, um influencing, and I tried to
do try to do day trading, umwith I am Academy.
It was something that I didn'tnecessarily um want for myself,
but I found myself in anothergroup of friends that just like
(19:35):
day trading and I never reallygot into it.
But eventually I found my wayto a mechanic shop.
That was my favorite job I'veever had, which just allowed me
to work with my hands and becreative in the ways in which I
solve different solutions withina problem when working on a
(19:57):
vehicle.
Um, I think.
From there I decided to jointhe military.
Um, it was something that Ireally didn't think about.
Um it was something that wasvery abrupt and my family was
never expecting that.
I had a buddy that asked me ifI wanted to join.
I was, like sure I knew Ineeded to get out of Minnesota.
(20:19):
I didn't enjoy living therewhatsoever.
There was so much complacency,everyone had a fixed mindset so
it was just really suffocatingand there was no one to turn to
that really wanted more forthemselves, which didn't allow
you to go, and so In that smalltown right yeah, there are 1400
(20:41):
people that you can't reallyexpect um, it was all old folk
and it's nothing wrong with oldfolk not at all, but it was just
really complacent town thatjust didn't.
I didn't see myself growing inright whatsoever so from there,
(21:03):
I joined the military.
Um, I thought about it for likea night and went in, signed the
contract, and you know it's notthat easy.
But, um, within like a week ortwo, I was getting shipped out
to boot camp in southerncalifornia, and so from there I
(21:24):
just kind of went with thepunches.
I knew, um, that the lordreally wanted me to join the
military and that was gonnaallow me to escape the situation
I was in, which I was beyondgrateful for, but not realizing
it at the time.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
Wow, it seems like the Lord's really taking you
multiple directions.
So you're here.
You're here in San Diego.
That's amazing.
You've been here for some time.
So lots, lots, transpired,transpired.
What else took place initially,you know, within the first few
months of being in San Diego,what were like some other
(22:03):
opportunities or things that theLord opened up for you.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
Yeah, so it wasn't initially that the Lord opened
up an abundance of opportunities.
Abundance of opportunities yeah, I think it was a slow
progression, and over time hereally allowed me to understand
my path and purpose that he hadcreated for my life.
(22:29):
When I first got here, though,I had no clue what I wanted,
where I was going.
I just kind of jumped all in,without hesitation, but also
without thinking about it.
It was slightly a hastydecision, but so, after boot
camp, I went to Virginia forfour to five months, and from
(22:51):
there I was supposed to go EastCoast, and then they sent me
West Coast and I came back toCalifornia which I was grateful
for.
Because that would in turn allowme to meet my future wife.
That.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
I didn't know.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
Yeah, in the schoolhouse I met a guy named
kashira.
He had a deep connection withthe lord um and that was really
a great influence on me and theman that god was creating me to
be.
And yet, despite the greatinfluence that I I've never had
in my life, I um fell back intothe same same perpetual sin of
(23:31):
drinking and getting drunk.
And it was only one time withinthe schoolhouse, but that one
time is when I got in troubleand I got NJP'd and yeah, if you
know, you know, and so I thinkI definitely learned from that
lesson.
And then that friendship kindof fell off as soon as we left
(23:56):
the schoolhouse in August of2023.
I think I wanted to maintainthat relationship and that
friendship, but it was hard forme to really be vulnerable and
open with other men just becauseI've never experienced that
(24:17):
before.
I lived with three women, fourwomen my entire life.
So it was very difficult for meto really approach different
men that I looked up to and beable to have genuine
conversations with them.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
That's fair and be able to have genuine
conversations with them.
That's fair.
That modeling in the homereally impacts the ability to
venture out into the world anddo what you learned.
All right, so you're in SanDiego?
Yeah, and you went through bootcamp.
You went through training inVirginia, yep, and you're trying
(24:52):
to get your bearings straight,yeah, right.
So what next?
Like, how did God, like, snatchyou and turn things around?
Speaker 1 (25:02):
Yeah, it wasn't that easy, and when I first got to
Southern California, I fell intothe wrong friend group, as I
had in high school or middleschool.
Um, it was just the the peoplethat were drinking and partying
and didn't really know what theywanted for their life.
So I was just as lost as them.
(25:23):
Um, but then realized I Ithat's not who I was, but it
caused me to drink for three tofour months straight.
That three to four months wasone of the most miserable times
of my life.
I didn't have a car, I had noway of getting around base.
I had no way of getting offbase to go hang out with
(25:45):
whomever.
Yeah, it was just a reallydifficult time when I first
joined the fleet and gotfamiliar with the military
culture and environment.
From there, I went home forleave in September of 23.
(26:05):
And that was a reallybeneficial time.
I, last day I was there, got avehicle, and I wasn't expecting
to, but I realized the littlecheap 2009 Toyota Camry that my
sister had prior to me having it.
(26:27):
Owning it wasn't going to getme across the country back to
california, so I decided I wouldgo to honda dealership.
Yeah, we, we bought a 2015toyota camry that um had way
less miles and eventually got meback to california.
I road tripped here with my momand that was a really fun time.
(26:49):
Um, we got tattoos togetherjust a little shot.
So that was.
That was really sweet.
Yeah, after I got to um, back toCalifornia with my mom, I
decided that it would be goodfor me to go to church, and the
Lord once again drew me near tohim, but during this time, I was
(27:11):
still drinking.
I didn't necessarily feelequipped to go to church and to
have the ability to connect withothers, but nevertheless,
someone from back home mentioneda church out here and I got
plugged in and I finally had acar so I could drive off base
(27:31):
and have the ability to go tosaid church, and that was really
impactful for me and eventuallychanged the direction of my
life and me allowing God to workin and through me rather than
me trying to control everysingle situation in my life.
That was the biggest turningpoint.
(27:53):
And then, in February of 24, Ifinally found a life group.
Which life group is?
Just a group of godly men andgodly women that really press
into what the Lord's speakingthrough scripture, and we had
the pleasure of meeting up eachweek and the ability to really
connect with one another andhave that opportunity to go
(28:16):
deeper within the Bible with oneanother, and that was really,
really beautiful and funnyenough, my wife would be in the
home, I would go to life groupand I had no idea.
We always miss each other atchurch.
We always miss each other atchurch.
We always miss each otherwithin that home, even though I
was there every single week.
(28:37):
It wasn't until like threemonths or so after that I
realized, or a month or twoafter that I realized we we just
been missing each other.
Speaker 2 (28:47):
To clarify I would leave the same night to go to a
different life group that I'dpreviously been attending before
I moved into that house, andevery time we would just miss
each other.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
Really wanted to plug into volunteering my time and,
yeah, just allowing myself togive back to, to those um that
(29:17):
I've given to me.
So I, yeah, through the church.
I was at um, I just starteddoing different volunteer
opportunities and, um, also,before I did any volunteering
within the church, I volunteeredthrough the military at this
one elementary school or middleschool I think it was and we
(29:39):
just played games and had thepleasure of just hanging out
with the kids and being mentorsin a certain degree to them and
we just have the ability toconnect with them and play
different games, whether thatwas group games, basketball,
volleyball.
There's just so many differentactivities they were able to do
(30:00):
during that time.
We had like a two-hour periodin which we had the pleasure of
hanging out with them and thatwas really fun.
That really opened up my eyes towhat volunteering does and just
the joy on the kids' face.
It was just the sweetest thingand to some degree, was
foreshadowing for when I wouldvolunteer at church and working
(30:23):
with the kids there.
It's more than incredible andit was just such a pleasure to,
yeah, hang out with the kids andhold the babies baby whisper
over here, yeah it just bringsjoy to your heart knowing that
you're taking care of suchprecious cargo cargo.
Speaker 2 (30:50):
Oh yeah, it was really sweet.
It's been really sweet to watchhim hold babies every sunday,
all righty.
So what's, what was next?
What happened?
Speaker 1 (31:00):
yeah, after all the volunteering opportunities and
just getting plugged into acommunity that really wants the
best for you and really knowshow to uplift and courage.
I think that was the biggestthing within this church
community is they knew how touplift and encourage and see
your potential before you wereable to see your potential.
(31:22):
I think that's one beautifulthing that I that I grasped from
going to church and not allchurches are going to be like
that, though, and not allchurches are going to be like
that, though I think I've beento a handful that maybe missed
the mark, not because theywanted a lock in that area, but
just because they didn'tnecessarily know how to
cultivate that type ofenvironment.
(31:43):
Yeah, after everything, I fixedmy eyes on my wife March 31st
2024.
We went to a Easter event at anapartment and it was
disappointing at the timebecause I thought she already
had a boyfriend and I thoughtshe was, um, yeah, taken.
(32:05):
So I didn't necessarily proceedright then and there, but nor
talk to her.
I just kept staring at her.
There was a conference that wehad through our church.
later, um like a week aftersomething yeah, something like
that I had the pleasure of goingup to her and getting her phone
(32:27):
number and then intentionallypursuing her from that day
forward.
I think it was like April 13thor something that I got her
number, but it wasn't until likea week or two after and that we
went on our first date.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:43):
And to be continued right.
Speaker 1 (32:46):
We'll definitely share um our story and how that
happened more specifically lateron within this podcast.
After meeting my wife notknowing at the time but I really
started plugging in the churchmore.
I started to after just takingmy walk with the Lord serious I
(33:09):
began to get discipled and Istarted discipling men on my own
.
I didn't necessarily know whatdiscipleship was, but it's
basically a mentorship, justreally allowing you to dig in
with someone closer, pressinginto what it means to have a
relationship with the Lord, andjust allows your entire
spiritual walk to be amplified.
(33:31):
And and just allows your entirespiritual walk to be amplified
and expedited to a certaindegree, just because any
questions you have, you havesomeone there to answer them and
it's not like going on Googleand just asking random questions
, but it's just reallyunderstanding a perspective.
Yeah, and just theaccountability within within
discipleship is is what makes itvaluable, just in knowing that
(33:55):
you have someone there time andtime again, that's not going to
give up on you and the way inwhich you're you're pursuing the
lord that's really good.
Discipleship is absolutelyincredible and highly encouraged
highly encouraged yeah, when Iwent through the school of
transformation, I really umbegan to experience what freedom
(34:18):
was.
Up until this point, I didn'tnecessarily know what that meant
, um, it was talked about hereand there, but I had no idea
what that would inevitably dofor myself and for my emotional
capacity and for just the mentalblocks that was in between me
(34:41):
and Christ.
I think there was barriers thatallowed me to relinquish shame
and renounce different lies thatthe enemy was instilling in me
from a very young age.
I know that there was justbreakthrough in so many
(35:03):
different areas in my life andwe'll eventually get into this
just because there's so much tounpack from what freedom is and
how that looks in your life andjust all the caveats to that.
We'll definitely be creatingmultiple episodes on freedom,
and after that, life was justreally never the same.
(35:23):
There's just so many differentmental shifts that just allowed
me the ability to really connectnot only with myself, not my
emotions but with Christ, andthen with my girlfriend, fiance
and now wife.
It was just such a pleasure topursue Isabel and I can't wait
(35:45):
to really talk about that onfuture episodes.
But yeah, then February 25, Ibegan to start college.
Throughout the years gatheredwhat my plans and purpose for my
life were, and the Lord reallymade that clear through
situations, people, the desireshe placed on my heart and the
(36:08):
things I understood and mydesire to really help people.
That allowed me to understandthe plans and purpose he had for
my life.
It wasn't that simple and Ithink eventually we'll continue
to dive further into this.
And I'm just excited to continueto walk along life not only
with Christ but with you.
(36:29):
And that concludes today'sepisode.
We just want to thank you guysso much for joining us today as
I shared my testimony and getexcited for next week's episode
here in Isabel's testimony.
As we begin this new launch onOnTrack, we hope you guys have
such an amazing week ahead.
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