I was the only boy in my family, with two sisters much older than me, and from childhood I developed a self-indulgent and dependent personality. My father was strict and often disciplined me by scolding or hitting, so I rarely liked talking with him. Because my sisters were much older, there were many things I could not talk about with them. Friends suddenly became the most important people in my life, and I thought they understood me best. After eighth grade, I began to dislike going home and often stayed out late with classmates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One time while singing karaoke, someone took out a packet of white powder and said, \u201cThis is No. 4 (heroin). Who wants to try it?\u201d Of course I knew what heroin was, but out of curiosity and a desire to be accepted by my friends, I used it and began trying it. After using it, I felt it could help me escape many unhappy realities in life. From then on, I often used drugs with several friends, and gradually everyone became addicted without realizing it. At that time, our only pastime was finding drugs to use. At home, my behavior became more isolated. I had no interest in school, my grades fell, my relationship with my family grew colder, and my daily routine, sleep, and eating habits all changed completely. As I used drugs more and more, I needed more and more money. I realized I was completely controlled by addiction. I began borrowing money, maxing out credit cards, and stealing money and jewelry from home. Eventually my family could no longer bear it and asked me to leave. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Drugs caused me to leave my family. I mixed with a group of drug-using friends and began using other drugs, such as amphetamines, marijuana, and speed. For one hit of drugs, people around me taught me how to obtain money through improper means. These were things I did not like, yet I could not help myself. I began doing bad things, and in my heart I hated myself. I went to many recovery centers, but I could not break free from the bondage of drugs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eight years ago, I received help from Operation Dawn. They received me free of charge. Those who helped me recover were all Christians. They used no medication, only Bible reading and prayer, and helped me with a grateful love that came from being set free from the bondage of drugs. They let me experience acceptance, love, care, and hope. I also saw my own mistakes deeply. With Operation Dawn\u2019s help, I turned back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because communication with my family was poor, I made a group of friends. To gain their approval, I tried drugs for the first time. Drugs caused me to lose family affection, health, education, and conscience. Through God\u2019s love and Operation Dawn\u2019s help, I regained family affection, freedom, and purpose in life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now I help friends in recovery at Operation Dawn USA. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wang Teng <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I was the only boy in my family, with two sisters much older than me, and from childhood I developed a self-indulgent and dependent personality. My father was strict and often disciplined me by scolding or hitting, so I rarely liked talking with him. Because my sisters were much older, there were many things I could not talk about with them. Friends suddenly became the most important people in my life, and I thought they understood me best. After eighth grade, I began to dislike going home and often stayed out late with classmates.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":93,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"0","ocean_second_sidebar":"0","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"0","ocean_custom_header_template":"0","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"0","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"off","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-testimonies","entry","has-media"],"yoast_head":"\n