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Nestor was born in Mexico and moved to Carpinteria with his father when he was 17. His mother stayed behind. “The relationship between me and my father is not too

Steve grew up in Santa Barbara in a loving home with two parents and two younger siblings. His father, however, was an alcoholic. “A lot of family on my dad’s

Anthony grew up with parents who were alcoholics and was not interested in following that path. “My mother was functional—she’d cook, clean, go to the gym, do laundry, and then

When Brian was wrapping up high school at Righetti, he struggled in deciding his next step: film school or seminary? He had been inspired by his youth pastors growing up

When Saul was 13, his family moved from Bakersfield to San Diego. “I had a rough life growing up,” Saul said. “My dad used to beat me up a lot.

Tommy grew up on an Indian reservation in San Diego County, where he said many began drinking at a young age. “I started when I was 9,” he said. “By

David, a college graduate, was married with two kids when the store he was managing—a Mervyn’s in the Central Valley—went bankrupt. “I had a lot of time on my hands

Daniel’s father was in the Navy, and their family moved around often, spending time in San Diego, Seattle, and Iceland. He had two loving parents and an older brother and

Chris had a rough childhood, and sees more clearly now how the trauma has affected the trajectory of his life. “I went through a lot,” he said. “I was molested

When we last spoke to Andrew in early 2018, he was new to the mission’s life recovery program and was working to let God lead him in his journey. “I