Changed by God's love

Dragging himself round the block next to Whangarei Hospital on crutches six years ago, Wi Pirihi was at rock bottom. He was recovering from crashing his car while drunk driving. A lifetime of being an alcoholic and a drug user had caught up on Wi. He’d nearly killed himself and a friend who was in the car.

Wi came from a family of 12 children and grew up near Whangarei, before moving to Auckland at 16. There he did an apprenticeship and became a qualified electrician. Through his job he made lots of money and travelled the world, spending 21 years living and working in Australia, as well as stints working in Nigeria, Kazakhstan and England.

Wi’s life looked like a success, but felt empty, he says.

It was in Auckland, as a young man who had just left home and was trying to make his way in the world, that he began to make bad choices, Wi says. He got into drinking and later into drugs. He managed to keep working, but the drinking and drugs took their toll. When he moved back to Whangarei he had split from his wife and was separated from his children.

Then the accident happened.

Broken and ashamed

Stuck in hospital, recovering from a broken leg and facing possible jail time for the crash, Wi says it was his lowest point.

‘That was the last straw. I felt really broken. I had no self-esteem, no confidence. I had suicidal thoughts. I was disconnected from my family and friends and I was ashamed of where my life now was.’

As part of his recovery, he began getting out on his crutches, walking round the block—and that was when he heard the music.

‘I heard the music coming from [The Salvation Army’s] Recovery Church and I thought it sounded pretty cool. So I opened the door and Lieutenant Hana Seddon stuck her head out and said, “Kia Ora, come in!” So I went in to the back row … and from there I found God.’

Wi says his parents were Mormon and he remembers going to church once or twice when he was young, but he never knew much about the Christian gospel. When he first moved to Auckland, Wi stayed in a Christian boarding house. While he was there, he gave his life to God, but he did not really understand and quickly drifted away.

It was at Recovery Church where he really heard the story of God’s love for everyone and of God’s plans to give people a good future. The story sank in.

That message and his relationship with God changed his life completely, Wi says. As we speak you can hear the excitement in his voice. Start him off and he can’t stop talking about what God has done for him; he bubbles with enthusiasm.  

A purposeful life

Since giving his life to God, Wi has completed an addictions recovery course. It’s not been easy, but it’s been more than worth it, he says.

‘I live one day at a time, because I’m a recovering alcoholic and drug addict. But it’s been two-and-a-half years since I put the cork in the bottle. The carrot of living with sobriety is that what I have now, and the relationships I have now are far more purposeful and valuable than they ever were in my life.’

Wi became a Salvation Army soldier (church member) two years ago and, feeling like God wanted him to, he started a social work degree that year. He did his social work placement at the Whangarei Corps (church) this year, helping others in need.

‘The change God’s made in me in two years is just amazing. I can’t explain it. I thank him every day for giving me this chance. When I look back, I can see God’s hand, because so many times I should have been dead. He saved me so many times!’

Wi’s family and friends were ‘a bit dubious’ about his change at first, but he says his life today is focused on living out the love of God and letting it show, and people have noticed the change. He has even been able to take a place of respect at tangis, which is humbling, he says.

The most exciting moment came last week, when Wi flew to Australia to visit his son and daughter and spend three weeks, including Christmas, with family. Without God’s transformation of his life, he would never have been able to re-unite with his family, Wi says.

‘I would never have been able to connect back with them—not this soon and not in this way of wanting to build back a relationship. I was a binge user. I had moments of clarity, when I wasn’t drinking, but I felt like my life was hollow. I didn’t know how to be a father. I hope I can be a father now.’

A wider whanau

Back in Whangarei, Wi says the town’s Salvation Army Family Store and the staff there were another foundation stone in his recovery.

‘I worked there for six months and they helped me get my self-esteem back, them and doing something for someone else. I still keep in touch with them. They’re like my whānau, and the same goes for the Salvation Army corps in Whangarei—they’re my whānau and it’s my marae.’

Although the corps has become his whanau, Wi says his tribe of Ngapuhi and hapu of Patu Harakeke are still very important. He is part of The Salvation Army Māori Ministry team in the area and has a dream of one day starting a church on his marae at Takahiwai.

Along with his studies and work, Wi plays guitar at Recovery Church and was part of a Māori Ministry team that made its first outreach visit to Ngawha Prison this year.

It was a humbling moment looking round a place he nearly ended up in on a few occasions, but also an exciting time being able to fellowship with the people there.

Giving back

That desire to care for everyone in a practical way was one of the things that attracted Wi to becoming a Salvation Army soldier. ‘That’s what I love about the Army—they roll their sleeves up and care for people, transform lives.’

He has many regrets; the car crash clearly still haunts him and regrets like that are things he lives with daily. But you have to have the courage to move forward and not let those things hold you back, he says.

When Wi sees people who are like he used to be, ‘they stick out like pilot-lights’. He wants to help them, but he can’t save them—only God can do that through Jesus, he says. And God has been using his past, giving Wi opportunities to help others.

‘Studying for the past two years, I’m putting names on things I’ve been through. I have got a heart that wants to help. I was never good at rugby or talking to girls, but my gift from God is being able to talk to people who are hurting and broken.

‘God’s really opened up doors, even with my whānau, with my nephews and nieces, through my experiences, even my travel; it allows them to think beyond their immediate world.  God doesn’t set limits for us. I believe God has called me and I can do whatever he wants me to do.’

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By Robin Raymond (c) 'War Cry' magazine, Christmas 2014, pp5-7
You can read 'War Cry' at your nearest Salvation Army church or centre, or subscribe through Salvationist Resources.