The pathway of drugs and alcohol leads one down a very dark and lonely road. A place where light does not shine. A place of shame and regret. A place of hopelessness. However, when our eyes are opened to the light of the Gospel, things change. It doesn’t happen instantly, but little by little the pathway becomes brighter.
We see light begin to shine through the darkness. Hope becomes real through the reading of God’s Word, fellowshipping with other believers, and giving our lives over to prayer. With every step forward, we are one step closer to seeing the blessings that come from following our Savior. It doesn’t mean that life will be perfect, or even easy, but it does mean that we will have strength and courage to walk forward through dark trials. It means that we have hope for our future. And, it means that we have eternal life with our Heavenly father.
There are many pathways here on Earth. Many lead down paths of destruction. Only one leads us to the place of peace and restoration. That is the path of Jesus Christ and His gift of salvation. You can see the difference in the lives of people based on what path they are walking. Please pray for the many men and women who are courageously taking the more difficult path. The one that might be harder in the beginning, but one that is a journey filled with hope. Pray also for the SGA-supported rehab centers, and for the men and women who are leading the way.
From a Rehabilitation Center Report in Russia . . .
My name is Maxim, and I am 44 years old. I grew up in Shelekhov, a small town located in the Irkutsk region. I spent my childhood in a typical Soviet family. My mother was a seamstress, and my father was a welder. I have two younger sisters. My father often abused alcohol, leaving the entire burden of providing for the family on my mother. Initially, I was an excellent student who participated in sports. However, my father’s behavior gradually impacted my conduct. By seventh grade, I had started smoking and drinking, and my grades began to decline. I started to skip training sessions as well. After completing the ninth grade, I went to a vocational school, but I left after a year to start working. Life was challenging for my family. My father was unemployed and drank alcohol, so we were always in need of money. Once I started earning money, I began spending a lot of time in bars, often staying there until morning. During that period, I despised my peers who used drugs. Our noisy, drinking company would even beat them up for it. After another party in 2003, a friend suggested I try heroin to “improve” my health. I tried drugs for the first time at the age of 22, and by the summer of 2004, I was totally hooked. I tried to hide it from my family and friends at first, but my condition and appearance always gave me away.
Before I started taking drugs at the end of 2002, I experienced a life-changing encounter. I ran into my sister’s classmate, who had previously struggled with drug addiction. During that period, his life was in shambles. His parents had kicked him out, and he was living in a basement. But when I saw him again, I failed to recognize him completely. He was neat and tidy, accompanied by his wife and son. There was something new shining in his eyes. He told me that he had found salvation in the Lord and undergone treatment at a rehabilitation center.
I must admit that I was initially skeptical. I thought he had lost his mind when he started talking about God. I had always thought of believers as narrow-minded and gullible. So, we said goodbye and went our separate ways. When I started using drugs, I met him again. He approached me and said, “You need God, Maxim.” At the time, I laughed it off, saying that I didn’t need it. Over time, however, my life gradually descended further into the depths of addiction’s darkness. I realized that I could not function normally anymore without another dose. Then I heard about a rehabilitation center from someone and recalled those words about God. I decided to find out more, and tracked that guy down to ask him how to get there. He invited me to a church service where I met brothers in Christ who provided me with the address of a church in Krasnoyarsk where I could find a coordinator named Yevgeny.
When I arrived at the rehabilitation center, I noticed a sign on the main door that read, REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS; AND AGAIN, I SAY, REJOICE (PHILIPPIANS 4:4). This phrase made me wonder who the Philippians were? I was greeted warmly, but at first I didn’t understand what was going on around me. I did nothing but watch, listen, and try to figure out what was going on. After a week or a week and a half, I turned to God in prayer and asked for forgiveness. Even though nothing supernatural happened, I felt calm inside. In that instant, the Lord came into my life. I developed a desire to study the Bible. I began to ask the minister plenty of questions and send letters back home to my family about the Gospel, and how great God is.
After completing the rehabilitation program, I spent some time assisting the center’s director while contemplating my next steps. Should I stay there or return home, where unresolved financial difficulties accumulated over the past few years awaited me? God guided me throughout every step in an amazing way. Together with my Christian brothers, I established an adaptation ministry. Following the main phase of rehabilitation, I became part of it. This helped me find a job, begin serving God, and progressively rebuild my life while embracing its new reality, in which Christ became the center of my life and my Lord. Later, more brothers in Christ joined our group, and we began working, praying, and going through our adaptation together. Those moments remain special in my memory, and I’m grateful to God for them. As time went on, we began to actively engage in children’s ministry. I also weekly visited prisoners in jail and enabled Christian programs on the prison radio. During my free time, I visited the rehabilitation center because I wanted to speak with those undergoing rehabilitation and share how the Lord can transform and save their lives.
As you look back, you can see how many individuals were given a chance by the Lord, and it is so heartbreaking to realize that many lives ended or turned tragic due to their rejection of Christ’s invitation to salvation. In March 2005, my future wife came to the rehabilitation center. Our paths crossed by chance while my Christian brother and I were heading to the library to get materials for a sermon. That was our first encounter. Following the completion of her rehabilitation course, Katya remained there for an adaptation period. While preparing for the baptism, we started praying about our relationship. We were baptized on August 21, 2005. On September 3, we got engaged, and on October 28 of the same year, we got married.
Our family life began, and the Lord continues to teach us the meaning of true love. We are grateful to Him for guiding us through every day. In 2006, we were blessed by God with our first daughter. She was baptized this year. In 2013, our second daughter was born—our comfort from the Lord and the most calm, obedient child. Then, in 2021, when we were no longer expecting anything like this, a miracle happened. The Lord blessed us with a son, an active child with an attitude. Through him, God continues to show us our immaturity, keeping us on our toes and strengthening us. He helps us realize how much we need Him and His mercy. In 2022, I was ordained as a deacon. God has given us an amazing life full of meaning, purpose, and joy. Even in our wildest dreams, it would be difficult to imagine achieving something like this without His involvement.
