God Wasn’t Done With Me Yet
When James looks back on his life before Wheeler Mission, he sees years filled with talent, opportunity, and outward success—but also deep spiritual drift. He grew up in Indiana in a close, loving family, surrounded by four siblings and parents who encouraged every interest he pursued. His adulthood took him across the country, performing in music, working in ministry, and building a life full of creativity and achievement.
But behind the accomplishments, James carried wounds he didn’t know how to heal.
“The brotherhood here saved me. When I couldn’t hold myself up, these men did—and God met me there.”
Twenty years ago, he battled a difficult addiction to opiates—a struggle he eventually overcame. But when his father passed away, something inside James shifted. He turned inward, angry and confused, pushing himself further from God. He kept performing, kept working, kept going… but spiritually, he felt empty. “I still believed in God,” he shared, “but I didn’t want anything to do with Him.”
Then, a devastating diagnosis nearly stopped everything. James learned he had decompensated liver disease—a condition that often gives only a few years to live. He was told to stop working, stop driving, and apply for disability. Depression consumed him. He describes that season simply: “I quit on life.”
But God hadn’t quit on him.
His younger sister Kelly—who had faced her own battles—refused to stop fighting for him. She guided him through every next step, gently urging him toward hope. Finally, she pointed him to Wheeler Mission, reminding him of the place he once served years ago.
James walked through Wheeler’s doors unsure, exhausted, and desperate. But at Camp Hunt, something remarkable began. He found structure. Brotherhood. Accountability. A quiet place where God could speak again.
At first, the stillness was overwhelming. No phone. No internet. No distractions. But in that quiet, healing began to rise. Day by day, James felt the fog lift. His body grew stronger. Miraculously, his liver began to recover—moving from “decompensated” to “compensated,” giving him years, even decades, he never expected to live.
Spiritually, the transformation ran even deeper.
“God is a lot bigger than I ever understood,” he said. “Everything revolves around Him—not me.”
Today, after more than seven months at Camp Hunt, James feels renewed. Physically strong. Spiritually grounded. Surrounded by men who challenge and encourage him. He’s serving in the kitchen, using his gifts to support the community, and dreaming about future ministry opportunities.
When asked where he’d be without Wheeler Mission, he’s honest:
“I might not be alive.”
But God made a way.
Wheeler Mission opened the door.
And James walked into a new beginning.
Watch James’s story here: Watch Video
