PHARAOH CONDEMNED him to death. But as Pharaoh’s daughter lifted baby Moses from the hand-hewn basket bobbing in the Nile River, Moses passed from certain death to life. Not just life — he would be elevated to the status of a prince. Miriam, Moses’ ever-protective older sister, stepped forward, securing a way for their mother, Jochebed, to continue caring for her son.
God spoke to Moses from a burning bush when he was 80, sending him to sever the 400-year bondage of his people — the Israelites. Once again, Miriam witnessed a supernatural deliverance. She stepped forward. Accompanied by her tambourine, she sang and led the freed captives in worship.
When Pastor Caleb McCall started Be the Bush (BTB) Recovery Ministries in 2018, now anchored in the old Normandy School, Moses’ story inspired the name. Their slogan became, “If God can use a bush, He can transform the lives of recovered addicts.”
Addiction reaches into every family, and McCall experienced this personally. As a Manchester native, he knew the need for a local addiction program was enormous. As he prayed about starting a transformative 12-month recovery program for women, he thought of Moses’ sister and chose the name Miriam House. Though BTB and Miriam House mirror each other, they are two separate organizations.
“We relate to Miriam because she was once captive, but through the delivering power of God, she and all the Israelites were delivered out of the hands of the Egyptians. We relate to that spiritually because the women in our program were once in bondage to drugs and sin. We see them set free by the power of God,” Director Tasha Hill said.
Before McCall invited Hill to direct Miriam House in December 2019, she had been in “active addiction” for 20 years, but had found healing. “I am not the same person I was then,” Hill said. “I know how she thought, felt, responded, etc. I no longer desire to do drugs. I’m not even tempted. I am completely free and recovered. So, therefore, I am no longer ‘Tasha the addict.’ This is the same story I see with others who have been completely transformed by submitting their life to God. They are no longer addicts. They are healed. Healthy. Recovered.”
The change in Hill’s life was so evident that others needed to experience it. “I knew the Lord was leading me to open a recovery center for women,” Hill said. “I had been volunteering and training at other recovery facilities. I thought I would do it on my own, but the Lord was already paving the way. Pastor Caleb told me he had a property and donors ready; he just needed someone to lead it.”
During a time when COVID-19 closed countless doors — by faith — Miriam House opened in Hillsboro on April 15, 2020. In March 2025, they began building a modest farmhouse-style home complete with an open floor plan, spacious bedrooms, stylish furniture, and inspirational decor in Normandy near their BTB campus.
Hill said, “This expansion allows us to serve even more women, offering them not just a place of refuge but a place where they can rebuild their lives — and for the first time, welcome their children into the journey. We believe that if we can help the mother find identity and heal, she will then be able to return to her family and teach the same things she has received. Broken produces broken. Healed produces healed.”
Between the insurance, mortgage payment, utilities, groceries, and other needs, plus making payroll, it costs a staggering $20,000 to operate Miriam House each month. To offset these costs, they created Miriam’s Maids, a residential and commercial cleaning service that provides job training, accountability, and a renewed sense of pride and purpose. The income helps sustain the ministry.
Ashley Trimue wears many aprons at Miriam House. As the intake coordinator, she schedules and interviews women seeking help with addictions, and in order to “do life” with them, she lives on-site while also running the cleaning business.
“I make sure the day-to-day operations run smoothly and do our scheduling,” Trimue said. “I do whatever is needed: ‘See a need, fill a need.’ Before Miriam House, I lived in Nashville. My life wasn’t always good. I struggled with addiction for about 12 years. My childhood was full of dysfunction, trauma, brokenness, sin, violence, abuse, and poverty. I knew what addiction was from a young age. I had an encounter with the Lord in 2019. I had come to the end of myself. God picked me up, turned me around, and my life has never been the same.”
McCall had helped Trimue get into a treatment program and find healing. “When Pastor Caleb called and asked me to work at Miriam House, I knew it was the Lord. I see ladies pass from death to life when they come through the program. Their mindsets change. They find out who they really are in Christ and begin to have true joy and find purpose. It is such a blessing to have a front-row seat to what God is doing in their lives.”
The same God who led Moses and Miriam out of bondage is still setting people free from addictions, restoring them from certain death, and giving them a new life. GN
For more information on the Miriam House addictions program, for a consultation for Miriam’s Maids to transform your home from cluttered to clean, or to have the ladies from Miriam House speak at an upcoming event, go to www.miriamhouse.com.
