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 It seems that I’d always known about God, but had never truly experienced a personal relationship with Him. Sometimes I visited church but continued to live in sin. After the opening of the borders of USSR it became possible for us to go into to Western Europe. In time I found myself in prisons in Germany, Switzerland and Finland. The first time that I read the Bible was in 1994. At the time I was in a prison in Switzerland, actually in solitary confinement. I was permitted only on hour of walking outside the cell per day, along with two other prisoners from neighboring cells. The remaining 23 hours of the day I was alone. I had no access to TV, Radio, or Russian literature. After one month of being there, a prison guard brought me a packet of food and a Bible. From what the guard told me, these things were given to me by some anonymous woman. While in the cell I opened the Bible and started to read. After 4 months I finished reading the entire Bible. I think that this reading of the Bible became like a seed which was planted within me. In 1996 I began experimenting with, using, heroin. In 1998 I came to Israel, with hope of becoming free from drugs, but became even more addicted than I was before. In 1999 I left Israel and never wanted to come back here again, because here I saw how quickly people lose faith and start using drugs. I didn’t want to be in such a place. I tried frequently to stop using drugs, but I couldn’t get free from them on my own. It always to me, as if there was something missing in my life, but I couldn’t understand what it was. In 2005 my younger brother, who was also addicted to drugs, went to Israel. In 2006 he came to Living Israel Rehab Center, where he became free from drugs, and began serving God there. During the course of on year he persistently prayed for me. Every week, during our phone conversations, he told me testimonies about the things that God done in his life. I decided to go to Israel, to the rehab center. Here I not only did I become free of drugs, alcohol and cigarettes, but also from other things that were ’normal’ for me before I became a believer. God gave me love for Israel and His nation. I decided to give whole my life to God, to serve people who were like me, before I came to know God. Now I am responsible for one house of the rehab center and serve in the evangelization ministry at Living Israel congregation. I thank God for everything that I have. I feel great joy in serving my God.
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