BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

A Family Legacy "Murdering my mother wasn't the first time my dad had been sent to prison," Brandon recalls. "He'd been 17 years old when he was arrested for almost beating a man to death. While in prison, he met and befriended the man who would become my maternal grandfather. "My grandfather was associated with the Dixie Mafia. He was incarcerated for armed robbery. When my mother went to prison to visit her dad, she met my father. When my dad and grandfather were released, my dad went to live with them. "That's when my mother got pregnant, and my parents married. They were very young. Eventually, she decided to leave him, and that's when the murder happened. I have a family history of violence, crime, addictions and felonies. "In those days, there weren't a lot of counselors to provide trauma care for kids like us. But those early years formed the way I saw the world." The first place Brandon went after being removed from the foster family was a juvenile detention center. "It was just a holding place while they tried to figure out what to do with us," he recalls. "Afterward, I went to live with my grandfather—the one who met my dad in prison. He'd been an alcoholic while I was growing up but had recently gotten sober. "By that time, I was 15. I was already drinking and drugging. I got a DUI and was caught with a concealed weapon. I was sent to a behavioral hospital for adolescents. I was diagnosed with bipolar and multiple personality disorders. After a year, I went back to live with my grandfather. Then an aunt. I bounced around for a bit. "I finally finished my teenage years at a United Methodist Home," Brandon recalls. "I should never have been admitted there. I had a criminal history of violence and drug use. But by God's grace, I was accepted." So was one of his younger sisters. "They had around 100 kids. We lived in diŸerent cottages according to our age. "Looking back, I realize that most of the cottage parents were Christians. They preached the gospel, but I didn't respond because I didn't believe God wanted anything to do with me." Looking for Identity Looking for acceptance and his identity, Brandon drifted toward gangs. He loved the gang life, including the smoking weed and drinking. He was a younger kid who looked up to the older boys. Like most kids desperate for acceptance, he would do most anything for their approval. Soon, the drinking and smoking progressed to using cocaine. By now, his oldest sister was in the military. He moved in with her, continued to pile up DUIs, and then wrecked his sister's car, so Brandon moved near New Orleans and took a job working on oil rigs oŸshore. Always looking for a father image, the older men on the rig filled that role. A hard worker and a smart kid, he found favor with them. A Partial Solution Working on the rigs meant Brandon had no access to drugs. But any time he was back on land, it was a diŸerent story. The addictions regained control. Over and over, Brandon found himself being bailed out of jail by the men who had taken him under their wings. That lasted for seven years, until Brandon was given an ultimatum: Go to rehab. He refused. Instead, he returned to Alabama and went to live with his sister where, within two weeks, he was back on the streets smoking crack cocaine. "That started an eight-year binge," Brandon recalls. "I ended up homeless for several years. For a while, I lived out of an abandoned bus. Sometimes, I slept outside and rummaged through dumpsters for food." When he hustled enough to make a little money, Brandon would stay in cheap hotels that were usually drug infested and populated with prostitutes, he said. As it turned out, that lifestyle would mark a turning point in his life. "One thing about those flophouses was that they oŸered basic cable TV," Brandon recalls. "Sometimes, I would turn on the TV and watch Kenneth Copeland." In 2009, a drug dealer invited Brandon to come stay with him for a while. Instead of showing gratitude, Brandon robbed the man. "I thought he was going to kill me," Brandon said. "He pistol-whipped me, but didn't shoot me. My addictions were so out of control that my sisters wouldn't answer my calls. I wasn't 1 2 : B V O V Old Testament New Testament FEB READ THROUGH THE BIBLE Thu 1 Ex. 10:1-12:28 Matt. 24 Fri 2 Ex. 12:29-14:14 Matt. 25 Sat 3 Ex. 14:15-16:21 Sun 4 Ps. 18; Prov. 3:19-35 Mon 5 Ex. 16:22-18:27 Matt. 26 Tue 6 Ex. 19:1-21:11 Matt. 27 Wed 7 Ex. 21:12-23:9 Matt. 28 Thu 8 Ex. 23:10-25:22 Mark 1 Fri 9 Ex. 25:23-27:8 Mark 2 Sat 10 Ex. 27:9-29:9 Sun 11 Ps. 19-21; Prov. 4:1-19 Mon 12 Ex. 29:10-30:21 Mark 3 Tue 13 Ex. 30:22-32:29 Mark 4 Wed 14 Ex. 32:30-34:35 Mark 5 Thu 15 Ex. 35:1-36:30 Mark 6 Fri 16 Ex. 36:31-38:20 Mark 7 Sat 17 Ex. 38:21-39:43 Sun 18 Ps. 22-24; Prov. 4:20-5:14 Mon 19 Ex. 40:1-Lev. 2:10 Mark 8 Tue 20 Lev. 2:11-4:35 Mark 9 Wed 21 Lev. 5:1-7:14 Mark 10 Thu 22 Lev. 7:15-8:36 Mark 11 Fri 23 Lev. 9:1-11:19 Mark 12 Sat 24 Lev. 11:20-13:28 Sun 25 Ps. 25-27; Prov. 5:15-23 Mon 26 Lev. 13:29-14:32 Mark 13 Tue 27 Lev. 14:33-15:33 Mark 14 Wed 28 Lev. 16:1-18:18 Mark 15 Thu 29 Lev. 18:19-20:7 Mark 16

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