I was born in Taiwan on September 29, 1976. I was baptized as an infant, so I “seemed” to grow up in a “Christian” environment. My grandmother took me to church whenever she could, but as a young child I did not really understand the faith. Around the age of nine, I came to America with my mother and younger brother, while my father stayed in Taiwan to earn money to support the three of us. At that time my mother was still a Buddhist, so she could not take us to church. I also encountered some “bad” Christians who claimed to be Christians but did many bad things, which made me begin to dislike Christianity. I once thought that whoever invented the Bible must have been a genius: telling people to do good while also asking them to tithe. What a clever scam, I thought. So for many years I was very hostile toward the Bible and Christianity.

I began going bad at the age of thirteen. I do not think it came from one single event, but from a chain reaction: first my grades were poor, then I skipped classes and school, then I began gambling, drinking, smoking, and eventually using drugs. When I lost money gambling or had no money, I began stealing from my family. When that path was cut off, I did illegal things to keep paying for drugs. Naturally, I began hanging around with bad friends, and then I joined a gang.

At that time, I felt as if I were “in the clouds,” high above others, with money, women, power, respect, and whatever I wanted. Then I began breaking the law. At fifteen, I was imprisoned for the first time. After seventeen, I became a frequent visitor to prison. I think God decided, “Enough,” and His time had come. The last time I was imprisoned, the condition of my parole was that I had to enter a recovery center within ten days of release, or I would return to prison. That is how I came to Operation Dawn in San Jose. Seven months later, my wariness toward Christians finally disappeared, because I finally met some true Christians, such as the center director Pastor Yao and coworker Wang Teng. I saw love and care coming from the bottom of their hearts, not motivated by money or pressure. In short, our God is the true God, because if another god had arranged things, I would not have come to Operation Dawn and my current church; I probably would have gone to a Buddhist temple or somewhere else. So I know our God is powerful. Although I still sin and struggle every day, I know God is with me. I know I am still far from being “good,” but I know I want to do good and do what is right. That is why now I have not only quit drugs, but have also become a follower of Jesus and been baptized at church. Operation Dawn also introduced me to work at a restaurant run by a loving Christian couple. I thank Operation Dawn.

Jonathan