Pamela Brown, inset, led a troubled life in Belfast before turning to Jesus. Main picture: Andre Ouellet,,,
A Belfast woman who was set free from a vicious cycle of drinking and deprivation is now helping others find freedom.
“I didn’t know how to look after babies,” says Pamela Brown, “our home was a mess and my husband Roy and I were always partying and drinking.”
Life had always been tough for the young mum. One of nine, she had grown up with a single mother who struggled with alcohol on a tough estate in Belfast.
At 12 Pamela was drinking, at 15 she met Roy in a bar, by 17 she was married and by 19 she had two babies. Now she was struggling to cope.
“I was getting more depressed and fed up, but I didn’t know how to make things better,” she says.
The arrival of Roy’s stepbrother Jackie at a house party one evening sparked the change she craved.
Jackie shared his new Christian faith with the group and invited people to church. Amid the drunken jeers, Pamela heard herself accept. The next day, she went with Jackie to Templemore Hall, a church in Belfast
It was like walking into a completely different culture, she says. But week after week she was struck by a sense of peace there and soon decided to become a Christian herself.
Her new faith helped her become a better wife and mother, but it wasn’t long before tragedy struck.
Pamela went to visit her brother David, only to discover he had committed suicide.
“I found him dead in his flat and the family was thrown into trauma.”
She relied on her new faith for help.
“I had stopped drinking, which had been my coping mechanism, and I’d stopped smoking. In the middle of this tragedy where should I turn? I remember being on my hands and knees crying to God, ‘I need you to help me. I can’t do this.’
“He helped me and healed me from a scene I thought I would never forget.”
Shortly afterwards, Pamela became involved with the Stauros Foundation, a charity which helps people with addiction issues.
In a job she loved, life was looking up. But her marriage was in trouble and Pamela and Roy split up.
God knew how to help the family, however.
Roy sought help for his drinking from Stauros. He too found faith, the couple rebuilt their marriage and Roy began working alongside Pamela.
Her mother likewise became a Christian and was freed from her alcohol struggles.
Pamela says she has learned that while life isn’t easy, she can always trust God for help.
“No one is exempt from heartache, but when I rely on him he always comes through. Nothing is too hard for the Lord.”
