Many people think and assume that I’ve been addicted to drugs and alcohol. Or that I’ve had criminal ties in my past due to the fact that these are the types of people that I’ve ministered to since I turned to God. I heard about faith in God in my youth from my grandfather and grandmother, my parents were not Christian at the time. When I was nine years old, my mother died—I didn’t understand why God allowed this to...

Our lives consist of the choices that we make. The choices that I made in my life were egotistical and foolish.  I never intended to hurt others or myself; I just wanted to have freedom and a good life.  I thought that if I gave my life fully to God, I would be deprived of my desires.  However, life without God results in a lot of sin and deprivation.  Drugs and alcohol came into my life at an early age, and...

I was born in a Christian family in Ukraine. When I was six years old, our family moved to America. Growing up in this country, I was negatively influenced by many of my friends who were not Christian.  It was interesting to hang out with them and try “forbidden fruit” that I didn’t have access to with Christian friends. I didn’t think of the consequences.          My wrong choices led me to a drug addiction that lasted more than 5...

I was born and raised in a Christian family, but as I got older, I started to rebel and go against the Christian faith that I was taught as a child. I started hanging out with the wrong crowd. I started to go against those in authority over me, thinking they were trying to take away my ‘fun.’ I thought that I could go about and do whatever I wanted to do and that I’d be able to change whenever...

It doesn’t matter now how it all started, nor would I have room for such details…but let me tell you of the moment when it all changed. It was a cold, rainy day—February 7, 2015—my first morning at GOF. Everyone went out to do their daily chores. I was in the living room alone, depressed and miserable. All I could think about was money and drugs. The day before was the day that I had reached rock bottom. So here...

I would like to testify to what God has done in my life. I was raised in an unbelieving (non-Christian) family, and I didn’t know God. I led a bad lifestyle which began with disobedience. Later, I tried the things that the world offered me. The devil trapped me, and no matter how hard I tried to become free from addiction, I was unable. When I was 17 years old, I moved to America. It was at that age that...

NEVER GIVE UP HOPE   Luke 18:1—“…men always ought to pray and not lose heart”   I would like to address those whose close friends and loved ones have fallen into addiction. For a long time, my parents prayed for freedom from addiction for both my brother and myself. Every time that some small glimmer of hope would appear, another disappointment would come and take away the hope. Years passed. The situation seemed as though it would never change. But...

BAILING OUT MAY NOT BE THE BEST OPTION During prison outreach, I ask inmates how many would not be alive today if they had not ended up in prison. Usually, over fifty percent raise their hands. For them, prison became a place where they were torn out from the dark places of their lives and now had time to think about the bad choices they had made in life. Consequently, they would hear the Word of God presented to them...

TOUGH LOVE The salvation of a loved one, someone who is struggling with addiction, may require serious (and time consuming) efforts. Unfortunately, sometimes even with our best intentions, our help may cause more harm to an addicted individual by feeding the person’s old habits. There may come a point when we need to seriously get involved in someone’s life in order to save them and their health from being utterly destroyed. Tough love may be needed. Loving a close person...

Artem’s Testimony As a young person I would always stand my ground. I even remember making a decision to never become a drug addict after hearing an ex-addict share his testimony. However, this decision in its self was not enough to keep me from that lifestyle. Soon I started to hang out with people my parents did not approve of. After a while this small disobedience led to more wrong moves in my life. I began to smoke and drink...