Recovery Soldiers Ministries

12/17/2025

🎓✨ Heather, Mia, Bryan, and Travis graduation!
What a testimony of perseverance, humility, and God’s redeeming power. Each of these graduates stayed the course, submitted to the process, and allowed the Lord to do deep, lasting work in their lives. This wasn’t easy, but it was worth it.
We are so proud of you and honored to have walked this journey with you. Your lives are living proof that freedom is possible and that Jesus still restores what addiction tried to steal.

Please help us keep them covered in prayer as they step into the next chapter God has prepared for them. 🙌❤️

“Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.” – Philippians 1:6

12/14/2025

Nearly 80 of us standing shoulder to shoulder, men and women who have been radically set free from the chains of addiction.
Holding our signs 🪧 of clean time, all on the same level ground, no one above another.
Just one beggar showing another beggar where to get bread.
What a gift to stand together.
What a great night. 🙏🥲

12/14/2025

Tonight was such a gift.
To walk this parade and see a community that has loved us, supported us, and cheered us on for nearly a decade… we are overwhelmed with gratitude.
Thank you for celebrating with us, believing in the mission, and showing up year after year.
Tonight was truly amazing 🥲❤️

12/13/2025

I was born in Orlando, Florida, in 1982. I grew up in the church, my mom played the organ and
piano, and faith was a big part of our family. I knew Jesus as a child, but I didn’t truly walk with
Him. After my parents divorced, I started running, from my family, from pain, from myself, and
from God.
My grandfather, Nels Frid, was one of the biggest influences in my life. He tried to guide me,
sending me to a boys’ ranch to learn discipline and responsibility. I did well while I was there,
earning awards and recognition for following authority. But while I was at the ranch, my
grandfather passed away. His death was devastating for me. When I left the program, I felt lost,
alone, and the weight of grief compounded my struggles. I fell right back into the same
destructive patterns I had been running from.
Later, I moved to Seattle to live with my aunt and uncle’s family, graduated high school, and
even went to college in California. But alcohol had already taken root. Bartending, attention,
money, I thought I had it all, but I was far from God. Two DUIs later, I joined the Navy, thinking
discipline would fix me. I excelled, but an injury led to a pill addiction, and eventually, I was
discharged. I returned to California, fell back into drinking, and my life felt completely out of
control.
In 2015, my family intervened and sent me to Bridges of Hope, where I completed a full year
program and worked there afterward. That was my first experience with true sobriety, but even
then, I wasn’t fully walking with Jesus, I was relying on my own strength.
I returned to Orlando, married a woman I knew from high school, and became a husband and
stepfather. Life seemed stable, I had sobriety, work, and family, but things weren’t perfect.
Later, my wife had an affair. Even though I forgave her and wanted to make our marriage work,
she rejected me. That rejection crushed me, and I relapsed into alcohol for the first time in
years.
After losing control again, I moved to Tennessee, thinking maybe helping my dad and finding
purpose there could fix everything. But I was still broken, still running. Then I met Mia, who
became a mirror for my life, showing me the brokenness I had been avoiding and leading me to
finally confront it.
Shortly after that, I ran into some men from Recovery Soldiers Ministries at a gas station. They
gave me information about the program, and God opened the doors for both Mia and me.
Walking through those doors changed everything.
At RSM, I stopped running. I came back to Jesus. I learned to face my wounds, let go of shame,
and allow God to heal my life completely. Today, I walk with Him every day. Mia and I are
centered in Christ, and our lives reflect His restoration.
I’ve been healed from addiction, guilt, and shame. I now live for Jesus, serve others, and aim to
show His love and grace to everyone who comes through RSM. What I thought was loss
became restoration, and what I thought was empty has been filled with purpose, joy, and the
desires of my heart, all because I returned to Jesus.
My name is Bryan Nels Lindvig, and I’m living proof that no one is too far from God’s grace. I
knew Him once, walked away, and now I walk fully with Him, never turning back!

12/11/2025

So this month was my one year sober, the longest I have ever been sober since I started using. And I never thought I would make it this far. And I have been to so many rehabs. Im thankful that the Lord knew I needed some healing and he worked all the bad for my good. And that verse Luke 1:37 is in my noggin this morning. “For NO word from GOD will ever FAIL” and it’s so true!! Because I have experienced it. Anyways I just want to thank all my leaders for their guidance and love and support. Thank you for teaching me the word of God so I can cling to the verses that speak to my soul. Thank you RSM for helping us find our freedom in the Lord. And for most importantly obeying God. I can’t imagine if y’all missed your calling then none of us would be here!!! I just had to express my gratitude ❤️

12/06/2025

From Brokenness to Belonging

There’s no greater freedom than when Jesus becomes Lord.
We are so proud of this powerful step of faith — a public declaration that Jesus reigns!
Keep walking in His grace!

12/03/2025

I have always known that my family was a little different. My mom is a bohemian artist woman, my dad is one of 13 brothers and sisters, and I was homeschooled. But our differences ran a little darker and deeper than that… When I was about 5 years old, I began to piece together that my dad was an alcoholic. He came home angry and incoherent. When my mom locked him out of the house he kicked in our back door. I didn’t know much about addiction at 5 years old, but I knew that my family was troubled in a way that I did not see when I went to my friends’ houses (though it may have existed behind their own broken doors). Through all of this I was still shown love and acceptance. My childhood was hard, and full of stories like this, but my mom taught me to seek, find, and choose joy even in trials and tribulations.

When I was 8 years old my little brother was born. I was overwhelmed with a sense of responsibility to hide and protect him (and later my other two siblings) from the harsh realities I experienced at such a young age. I would create games, take them on walks, and have dance parties in my room to distract and cover up the fighting and drunken shenanigans that went on in our home. As a child it was difficult to discern the difference between choosing joy and living in denial. No matter what the case may have been, I still have very fond memories of these games and dance parties fueled by escapism.

It was also at about 8 years old that I found out that my dad was not my biological father, though he married my mom when I was three years old, and helped raise me since before I can remember. This left me with 2 very conflicting feelings… I felt rejection from a man I would never end up knowing (my biological father passed away when I was 23 due to his own alcohol addiction), and a feeling of acceptance from a man who had chosen to take on the responsibility of being a father (even if his ex*****on was flawed).

Through my child and teen hoods, I thought I would make better choices, surround myself with better friends, and build a life where choosing joy didn’t feel so hard. At 18 I traded in these dreams for an eerily similar reality to (both) of my dad’s when I moved out, became a bartender, and began drinking. I chose friends and partners that were much older than me, already deep in their addictions. I had only known the reality of a life centered around alcohol, so I set myself up to depend on it in more ways than one.

I “managed” my addiction to alcohol for years, thinking I was okay. It was not until 2020, when my career in the hospitality industry was brought to a halt due to Covid-19, that my drinking completely took control. I was 23 years old, and for the first time in my life I had nothing to distract me. I was alone with my thoughts. I continued my cycle of finding a man with “worse” issues than my own so I could “take care of him.” By the time the bar/music venue scene began to open back up I was abused, broken, and dependent on alcohol to the point of both physical and mental illness.

At 25 years old I decided enough was (almost) enough. I moved back home to live with my, now happily remarried, mom and my stepdad. I thought if I could get myself away from the people, places, and things that I could get ahold of my drinking and “drink like a normal person again.” I still had no intentions of quitting, and thought that I could not quit, and be healthy all on my own! It is important to note that at this time I had no relationship with God, nor did I have any desire to build one.

After ending yet another toxic relationship centered around drinking, I finally was starting to see my true condition. I would get better for a little while, only to get much worse later. The darkness in the world is all I could see, and I was letting it slowly kill me. It was not until I lost my ability to choose joy that I realized I needed help. I was consumed by anxiety, depression, and paranoia and I had no idea how to fix it. The problem was that I couldn’t fix it, not on my own.

Around the same time that enough really did become enough I was introduced to a new friend. He began to slowly witness to me, as our friendship became the closest thing to a healthy relationship I had seen before. I knew asking him to help me find somewhere to go meant setting feelings aside and focusing entirely on healing. I was not surprised that he suggested somewhere faith-based. Finally, having exhausted every personal resource I had; I became desperate enough to “try that too.” That is when, against all odds, I decided to come to RSM.

At first, I did not believe that I needed a full year, nor that a relationship with God could ever be for me. Over the course of the first few weeks here I had to unlearn most everything I knew. A lifetime of the world that had tried to destroy me time and time again had to be removed to make room for my God, who would never betray or forsake me. Looking back, I see pictures of myself from the beginning, and I don’t recognize her. I identified as various mental disorders, and broken pieces. Thankfully God’s character is always true, and always faithful. Jehovah-Rapha is my healer, and He loves to put broken pieces back together better than they were before.

Every relationship in my life is being renewed and restored, even the ones I did not realize needed reconciliation. Most importantly my relationship with God has taken center stage. I am blessed to walk in His purpose for my life. Looking back, I can see that the Lord was priming my heart to receive Him. He gave me back my joy, and all He asked in return was my honesty, love, and surrender.

I came to RSM to find sobriety, and while I did find that, I also found so much more. I found hope, dignity, and true freedom. I am now determined to share what God has done in my life, and how He can do it in yours too.

11/29/2025

🌊 Made New!

He just made the greatest decision of his life — to make JESUS LORD!
From addiction to redemption, from darkness to light.
This is what it’s all about!

11/24/2025

🕊️ The Miracle of a Changed Life

This sign says it all — “I made Jesus Lord of my life.”
That’s the miracle we get to witness again and again at RSM.
Every soul matters. Every story counts. Every name is known in Heaven.

11/22/2025

🔥 1 YEAR CLEAN & SOBER

When Jesus becomes Lord, everything changes.
Old things pass away — all things become new! (2 Cor 5:17)

11/20/2025

11/19/2025

My Name Is Heather & today I am so grateful and thankful to be alive and free in Jesus Christ. I am so grateful to be a child of God. He has always been for me and has never given up on me. He has brought me so far, and I will never turn my back on Him again. I am excited about how far He is going to continue to take me in life.

He brought me out of my darkest places and into His glorious light. He has restored pieces of my life and, like a puzzle, put them back together. I could have left this world many times, but God kept me here.

I came to the end of myself, and I wanted real change. I knew God had to be my number one focus before anything in my life would change.

I did six years in prison, got out, relapsed, and was heading right back if I hadn’t reached out and found this program. They welcomed me with open arms and love here at RSM. I am so grateful and honored to have all my sisters and my spiritual covering here.

I want to continue to follow Him and draw nearer to Him each day. I am thankful for each and every person in my life today.