Torrance’s testimony starts in chaos, and homelessness, but leads to a life given to Christ.
Here’s an intro to his story. Torrance sets the stage for his four-part journey from homelessness to hope.
Torrance’s chaotic childhood
Torrance shared, “I grew up in chaos. Addiction and alcoholism were all around me. As a kid, I didn’t understand it. Now, I see it clearly. Home was never safe. I never stayed anywhere long enough to belong. I learned early to become whoever I needed to be just to survive. That kind of pain shapes you as a kid. It makes you angry. It makes you afraid to trust.”
Torrance’s Testimony: Part 1 – Surrounded by Chaos
Torrance continued, “And in my house, crying got you hurt. So, I learned not to feel anything at all. By ten years old, I was stealing food. I caught my first felony at twelve. The streets felt like family because at least they accepted me. We moved to Alaska for a fresh start, but pain follows you when you don’t heal. I drank, I fought, I ran wild. And when I was fifteen, I came home to find my mom dead from an alcohol induced heart attack. My anger turned to rage towards God, towards the world. By sixteen, I was homeless.”
Torrance’s Testimony: Part 2 – Homeless and Crushed
In part two of his story, Torrance related, “I spent years drinking, fighting, and getting locked up. By twenty-five, I was living under the Denny Way bridge in Seattle. Drinking a fifth a day. Sleeping on cold concrete. Trying to disappear.”
Torrance’s Testimony: Part 2 – Homeless and Crushed
In part two of his story, Torrance related, “I spent years drinking, fighting, and getting locked up. By twenty-five, I was living under the Denny Way bridge in Seattle. Drinking a fifth a day. Sleeping on cold concrete. Trying to disappear.”
Torrance’s Testimony: Part 3 – Created on Purpose, for a Purpose
Torrance continued, “I called my mentor, and I told him, “Man, I think I’m gonna die.” He told me to go to the Salvation Army on Fourth Avenue. And at twenty-five years old, I met God again. For the first time in my life, I actually listened. God started showing me who I really was, not the addict, not the violent kid, but someone he created on purpose, for a purpose.”
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“The Salvation Army humbled me. They put me to work, made me show up, made me learn responsibility. Little by little, God softened my heart. I started to change, I started to feel love, I started to lead. But fear crept in, fear that I wasn’t worthy, fear that I’d fail again. And I ran back to the streets. Winter came and I hit another bottom. I lived in a porta-potty for a week, lighting fires with hand sanitizer just to stay warm. I had no food, no water, just despair.”
“One night, broken and alone, I prayed, ‘God I don’t know what to do. I’m lost. Please show me the way.’ And God heard me. My sister told me, ‘Maybe you need to leave Seattle.’ I searched for shelters outside the city, and the first one that came up was the Lighthouse Mission. I got on the bus that Monday and that decision changed my life.”
Torrance’s Testimony: Part 4 – Redeemed and Restored
“At the Lighthouse, I joined the Ascent program. It wasn’t easy, but it was exactly what I needed. I found a community of brothers who became family, people who saw the good in me before I could see it myself.”
“It gave me the Genesis process, it tore me open in the best way. It forced me to face what I had been hiding from God. The pain, the fear, the shame. And when I finally let God into the center of it all, healing began. Real healing. Today, I’m a graduate of the Ascent program. I have a job that I love, I have a home. I have a purpose. And I have a family again.”
Redeemed and Restored
“And after 447 days sober, God is faithful. He never left me. I was the one who ran, but he came looking for me. He pulled me off that bridge. He pulled me out of that porta-potty. And he brought me here to a place, where I could finally be who He created me to be. Now, I get to help others find hope, real hope. Because if God can save me, He can save anybody. Thank you for listening to my story and thank you for being a part of what God is doing through the Lighthouse mission.”
If you want to be a part of the hope and healing that comes through Christ, please donating to Lighthouse Mission Ministries today.