Dillan completed his Internship in April, and is now employed as a Recovery Coach for the Portland Metro Campus!
I grew up in Gresham Oregon and had a loving family where alcohol was widely available and accepted. I grew up with a number of mental health disorders and never really fit in at school and always found myself struggling to discover who I was and not who other people wanted me to be. I began to use alcohol as a means to cope with my depression and anxiety.
By the age of 15, I was involved with the wrong crowds and was running away from home every other week. I ended up trying meth when I was 16 and was hooked. I did this for a long time and burned bridges with my family. By the time I turned 18 my parents had had enough. I became homeless for the next three years and disconnected from my family.
When I was 21, I met a girl and fell head over heels for her. For a while things were alright, but over time, she began to show toxic traits. Part of me was convinced I could fix her, and when she found out I used meth it got even more toxic. She would physically, verbally, and mentally abuse me.
About a year into our relationship, my mom passed away. When she died, I felt like my world fell apart. I tried to kill myself, but my girlfriend stopped me just in time. However, she convinced me further that she was the only person who would ever truly love me. For the next three years I endured countless times where I was beaten, and belittled. I was hospitalized multiple times and even had a severe brain injury from her kneeing me in my face. I finally decided enough was enough and left her, but when I did, I found myself empty and trying to fill a void again. Then I discovered fentanyl, and everything got even worse.
I lost any remaining sense of who I was and any sense of morals. For two years, I used fentanyl and was homeless, stealing and doing whatever I had to do to support this new addiction. In 2022, I overdosed 16 times -- each time I was clinically dead and statistically shouldn’t be here today. I remember waking up next to a friend that had died, but that only drove me further into my spiral.
Thankfully, I was arrested in December 2022 and had to spend 75 days in jail. This gave me an opportunity to get sober. While I was in jail, I discovered these men who were doing Bible studies, and a seed was planted. I saw people who told me they had been in jail for a year and and a half and they were happy! I didn’t understand how they could possibly be happy.
Fast forward, I got out of jail, and had everything planned out. But, I relapsed and overdosed for the last time after returning to my ex’s house. When I woke up, I felt real conviction for the first time. I knew this was the last chance I would ever have to make things different. After leaving her house and sitting in front of a store for a couple hours, I cried out to God asking Him to show me a way out of my mess. And He did!
A complete stranger showed me the kindness of Jesus and the love of Christ and on March 23, 2023, I entered into the Portland Adult & Teen Challenge. Three days later I gave my life to Christ! Now I’m blessed with a restored relationship with my family and the opportunity to join the staff team, helping other men find hope in the one true king!
I am truly grateful for everything this ministry has done for me. I have a whole new identity that’s now based completely on what God thinks of me. The most beautiful thing is that it never changes, His words stand firm in my life forever and I have learned how to trust Him where I cannot trust myself.
“The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our Lord stands forever.”
Isaiah 40:8
