\n\nI remember that when I was little, I often wondered whether everyone would die, and whether I myself would die. When I got a little older, I came to my own conclusion: that people are born only to wait for death, so one might as well spend life in pleasure. When I came to America in my teens, because of my friends and my own playful nature, I began using drugs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first drug I tried was marijuana. Later, I felt it was not exciting enough, so I often went with friends to rave parties and began using ecstasy, LSD, magic mushrooms, and other drugs. For the next several years I lived in a dazed, self-indulgent way. Later I began selling drugs, making large amounts of money quickly to support that reckless lifestyle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the same time, I had a serious computer addiction, especially to computer games. I played every day to the point of neglecting sleep and food, and even felt that twenty-four hours a day was not enough. Later a friend introduced me to a drug, saying that after smoking it I could go several days without sleeping. That sounded perfect to me, so I began trying amphetamines. Before long I was using heavily and needed two hundred dollars a day to buy amphetamines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because of drugs, my relationship with my parents became more and more distant. One day my mother found a small straw I used for drugs at home. Because there was white powder on it, she began to suspect that I was using drugs. Not long after, my father asked me to get a blood test for a health check. When the test showed signs of drug use, my parents kept praying and seeking help from the church. At that time, the church told them about a gospel-based recovery ministry in San Jose, so my father called Pastor Yao, and in January 2007 I came to Operation Dawn. When I first arrived, Pastor Yao and Pastor Tu helped me with one heart. Pastor Tu\u2019s smile and kindness made me feel God\u2019s love. Not long after I came, on February 24, Pastor Yao\u2019s wife, Pastor Tu, died in a car accident on her way back from helping a young man in prison in Chicago. Pastor Yao went to Chicago in grief. Before boarding the plane, he said that Pastor Tu\u2019s blood had been shed on American soil for gospel recovery, and that he would continue fulfilling her heart for this ministry. Pastor Yao devoted himself to helping me. Originally I only planned to give my parents an explanation by saying I had come and tried it; at most I would stay two weeks to prove that so-called gospel recovery was useless. But not only did two weeks pass, more than a year passed as well. Now, under Pastor Yao\u2019s guidance, I have quit drugs, been baptized at church, and testified before others to God\u2019s grace and faithfulness. I have come to know that physical death is not the end; eternal life begins today. I will soon complete the eighteen-month program, and after returning home I will continue completing my university studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jerry<\/p>\n\n\n\n
***Jerry has completed the eighteen-month program and is currently studying at university.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I remember that when I was little, I often wondered whether everyone would die, and whether I myself would die. When I got a little older, I came to my own conclusion: that people are born only to wait for death, so one might as well spend life in pleasure. When I came to America in my teens, because of my friends and my own playful nature, I began using drugs.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":89,"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-122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-testimonies","entry","has-media"],"yoast_head":"\n