Bullied, abused, and taken advantage of, Pua had an extremely rough childhood. From his youth, he had withdrawn into himself and was angry and depressed. After sixth grade, he had an opportunity to meet his father, and his mom put him on a plane to Hawaii. He thought life would be better with his dad, and he decided to stay in Hawaii for a year, which he would soon regret. His father was an alcoholic. One of the scariest times of his life was when his dad brutally assaulted him nearly every day for over a month. Pua returned to his mom, but the bullying at school picked up where it left off. Pua would spend the next few years shuffling from school to school and from juvenile detention centers to children’s shelters. Never really finding a safe place where he belonged.
But then he met Minnie, and they soon married and started a family together. Yet, once again, the worst happened. Minnie passed away a few months after their daughter Amelia was born. Pua couldn’t handle the loss. He left Amelia in her grandmother’s care and walked away.
Pua’s life spiraled out of control as he used meth to escape reality.
In 2019, he found himself hospitalized for a period of time while he worked through his addiction, and he fell in love with another patient, and they tried to rebuild their lives together. But trying to work through his trauma and addiction while raising a child together on the street. The couple needed help.
God led Pua to Gospel Rescue Mission, “The second I stepped on the property, it felt like home.” Pua joined the recovery program shortly after a staff member and a guest prayed for him.
“One prayer changed my life.”
But, their child, Jonas, was rushed to the hospital after they noticed he wasn’t recovering from a cold. It turned out he had a lingering infection, and their infant was in ICU for weeks before he stabilized and was healthy enough to leave. But things could have turned out much differently if it wasn’t for all the support they received and the quick access to medical care.
Pua said, “God made himself known to me. I can honestly say today that I am a grateful believer in Jesus Christ, He has truly moved mountains in my life, and I am so thankful to Gospel Rescue Mission as well; we are all on the paths that God has laid down for us.”
Pua and Natasha were baptized and have been clean and sober for ten months!