Testimonies

A little bit about myself. I started from a young age, through high school, bullied as a kid, and then got into gambling from a very young age. I surrounded myself with the wrong people and started pushing my family away.

One thing I’ve learned, and I’m grateful for The Restoration Centre, is having faith and surrendering to God. There are so many people suffering in this world, overseas and here in Sydney, and that’s what we’re here for — we’re here to talk. The main thing that I was ashamed to do, from a very young age, was to talk.

I’m grateful for the boys in The Restoration Centre, and for learning about surrendering. Surrendering to God, surrendering to all the pain that you’re going through. I’m very grateful for that.

At 18, I started up a labour hire company. It was going well, I had my whole life in front of me — money, everything. Then came the drugs. I wouldn’t say they destroyed my life, but it was a hard lesson. I lost everything. I pushed my family away.

What I’ve learnt is that family is everything. No matter what you go through, no matter what you’ve been through, they are the only people who will always be there. No friends, no acquaintances, no nothing compares.

Yes, I’ve had to learn the hard way, but I’m grateful for it. Family is everything, no matter what — and surrendering to God. I’ll openly say that, and I hope it helps someone else too. That’s a little insight.

I was born on the Central Coast of NSW, Australia, in 1976 to two loving parents. I was a happy kid.

Mum’s father was a P.O.W. and came back an abusive drunk, but my Gran became a Salvation Army Christian at the Billy Graham crusade in 1959 and raised her three girls in the faith. Dad’s parents were staunch Catholics who owned pubs. There was unrest in our house, and my parents divorced when I was 16.

By then, I had discovered alcohol and drugs and was hooked straight away. I could never moderate — it became all-consuming. The ocean and basketball were my passions, but they were soon overridden by heroin, speed, and anything else that changed the way I felt. Countless detox admissions, psych wards, and incarcerations followed. Let’s just say I qualify as a stuff-up extraordinaire.

Here’s the important part. I am on fire for God. How am I still in one piece after all the overdoses and car accidents? Only God.

I got out of jail (for the 20th time — but who’s counting) in 2024, was bailed to a Christian program in North Richmond, and stopped being lukewarm. Revelation 3:16 says: “So because you are lukewarm — neither hot nor cold — I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”

This time I listened. I started walking the talk. My Pastor told me, over and over, that God is not interested in my past. Reading the Bible is no longer a chore. If anyone thinks it’s coincidence that I’m alive today, you’re kidding.

My three kids were taken by family services when my youngest was born, and they’re currently in the care of my cousin. That’s still before the courts. But my kids are stoked with their Dad, and their Mum is trying hard too.

The best “armed robbery” I ever did was putting my arm around Veronica and taking her from her ex. She’s now my wife of five years, and we’re head over heels. My Mum is a class act — maybe even an undercover angel.

We are excited about the future and what God has for us. I now think more about others. Matthew 25:40 says: “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” That’s a rush.