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When I walked into Central I was really struggling with anger and trying to control my life. My dad was an abusive alcoholic and it made me resentful. Soon after, my marriage was coming to an end and we were ready to get a divorce. I was mad at the world. I look back now and see that I was actually angry at myself. I had no idea how to be a father and a husband because I didn’t have a role model to show me. I knew something had to change and that is why I came to church. I couldn’t do it on my own. I was tired of struggling and fighting with life.
A typical Friday night for me was going out and getting drunk with your mates, having a few drinks and having a few fights. My wife, Gail, fell sick and fell into a coma for 16 days. On the day she woke up, she saw an ad for Newcastle’s Biggest Bonfire and she said that she would like to go. Since the bonfire, Gail dragged me to church every single Sunday for about four months. I tried to make excuses why to not go, but she kept taking me. Then one day the power of the Lord came over me and the rest is history. I thank God every day for the good and the bad because life still goes on. It still has its challenges, but at least now I don’t have to do it on my own. I have a lot of peace in me now. I say hello to people, people say hello to me, and it’s a lot brighter. It’s not like an endless dark tunnel anymore, there’s actually a light at the end of the tunnel.
I had always been a follower of Christ, but at the time I started coming to Central I had really lost my way and was in a very dark place. I was newly divorced with two kids, and found my self jobless with bills piling up and a constant worry was in my heart. I began helping out with the homeless outreach program on Saturday mornings and met a woman that started a conversation with me and started asking me about my cupcake tattoo on my foot. She explained to me that she had been in and out of different foster homes her whole life and reminisced about the time when her grandmother showed up at the door with a single cupcake and a candle in it. She said it was the one and only time she ever received anything for her birthday. I prayed about what it was the Lord wanted me to do. It became clear to me that He wanted me to start a Cakes for Kids program and get involved in these childrens’ lives. That turned into me deciding that I would start a bakery and once it was up and running I could make it the foundation for the program. I will never forget that first birthday list for kids. It has been my greatest blessing to sit back and watch Him work.