I was born into a non-Christian family. No one ever told me anything about God. When things were going well I never thought about him. Only in moments of pain and fear would I pray, saying: "O Lord, help me!". I was raised by my mother and stepfather. My stepfather was often drunk and abusive toward her. They argued constantly and I was almost always on edge. I didn’t like the relationships in our family, and I tried to make things better all the time. For my part I tried to be a good son, but everything remained the same.

Often I daydreamed about my future family, where everything would be completely different.

Immediately after school I went away to study, and rarely went home. I began to learn about the world. Unfortunately, I made bad choices: alcohol, cigarettes, girls and drugs.

When I was twenty years old I got married. A year later our son was born. I loved my family, but drug addiction prevented my from being a good father and husband. During this period I was arrested for the first time for drug possession. It was then that all my relatives found out what I was doing. It was a complete shock to my wife. And still, I continued to use drugs. I covered up by "taking" a little alcohol so my wife would think that I was just drunk. That is how I lived; I deceived my family, cheated on my wife with other women and got into trouble with the police. I realized that I was destroying my own family and that I had a big problem, but I did not know how to get rid of the drug addiction. I repeatedly tried to quit drugs, trying everything I could think of, but always returned to my old habits. I met a friend who also was once a drug addict. He was sober, neatly dressed, and it seemed to me as if his face and his eyes shone with light. I asked him, "What happened to you?" He said to me, "I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart as my personal Savior and Lord."

My aunt was a believer. When she found out that I was an addict, She immediately wanted to help me.  She invited me to visit her city. That was the first time I went to a service in an Evangelical Church. My aunt thought that as soon as she got me to church, I would immediately repent and become a different person (because that was her prayer). But unfortunately in my case, the plan didn't work. I didn't understand what was going on in church. "There are some strange people here!" - This was what I thought over and over. My aunt was trying to convey to me things that I could not understand at the time. During my stay there she often read the Bible and continued to take me to meetings. The rest of the time we were working in the garden, repairing her car and listening to Christian songs. Honestly, I was not excited about that way of life. My aunt constantly told me about Jesus Christ and His love. For my part I resisted, saying that I was a realist, that I believed in what I could see and feel. She sincerely tried to convince me of the opposite: "But you believe that radio waves exist, even though you don't see them!". In turn, I said that I could tune the radio to a station, and the music confirmed that the waves were there.

My aunt was a doctor by profession. She took me to different medical clinics, where I was examined. The doctors discovered I had a lot of diseases that, for the most part, fell under the label "chronic". At that time I had not injected for a month, although the temptation to go back to drugs lay in wait for me at every step. The desire to "take the needle" permeated every cell of my body. To combat it was unbearable. I could not stand it and went back to my former lifestyle. At home I used the New Testament as a "cover", telling everyone that I had became a believer and no longer used drugs. But it didn't take long before I was arrested with both drugs and the New Testament in my possession. In the cell I began to read the Gospels. When I read to the place where Jesus taught his disciples to pray the Lord's prayer, I began to repeat the words. I tried to turn to Him, saying, "Lord, do a miracle and set me free. I promise I won't shoot up any more." And by a miracle I was released with a warning before the trial. I never kept my promises. On the way home I shot up, having gotten drugs from some unfamiliar addicts who were remarkably generous. I relapsed completely. But a little later, something happened that made me think seriously about my life. A medical examination showed that I was terminally ill, and if I didn't stop, then I would have only a few months left to live. During this period, like a leper, I was all alone. My wife and son left me. Life had lost all meaning. Despite poor health, I continued to steal and use drugs. The next time I was arrested, they locked me up. I couldn't even imagine what would happen next.

When I got to the prison and saw the conditions in which the prisoners lived, I realized that in my state of health I wouldn't live for long. One Sunday some Christians came to visit. From them, God gave me another opportunity to heard His Word. But now, things were very different. They explained that a person who is in Christ is a new creation. I so needed someone who could help me start all over again and change me, give me a new life. I started going to the meetings with the Christians. I read the Bible and other Christian books. My aunt had not forgotten me, either. I understood that I needed forgiveness for my sins. Then I started to pray to God. I saw how he responded, and believed in Him more and more every day, because now I saw the evidence that he actually exists. He delivered me from fear and gave me confidence in the future, gave me health and freedom from the power of sin.

While in prison, I felt more free than in the old days before I went to prison. Reading the Bible, I understood that up to now I had not been living by the laws that man should live by. Every day of my term of punishment the Lord helped me. If God is with you, then where ever you are is a good place. And without God, you will never escape your problems no matter how far you travel. 

After I was released, I went home to my mother. My wife had divorced me while I was in prison, and did not want to have anything to do with me, though I repeatedly tried to reconcile with her. Four of my neighbors were believers who attended church. Two of them, like me, had spent time in prison, and two were members of the church. They invited me to the services. I started attending a group in preparation for baptism. Within half a year I was baptized and became a member of the church, promising to serve God with a conscience.

I have now been free of drugs and alcohol for eleven years, I have not smoked and I have free from the other sins of my former life. It's a miracle, because at one time those sins were my whole life. I always say that the miracle is not that I do not do this or that sin, but rather that I have no desire for those sins. Now I am serving people who have the same problems I used to have myself. Together with other brothers and sisters we bring God's word into drug treatment and tuberculosis centers, and into correctional facilities in the Poltava region.

Perhaps you are a person who wants to find freedom. I am sure that you do not want to die, but to live. This is exactly the reason why our savior came into the world. He loves you and wants everyone to be saved and to know the truth. If Jesus was able to save me from death and from the wasted life which I led, He can save you, too. He gave me health and made me a completely different person. He gave me a beautiful wife, a son Michael and a daughter Anna. He gave me a new life. So I want to devote every day of this new life to Him. And when the time of my pilgrimage on earth is over, I know that I will go home to my dear and loving Heavenly Father.

Sergei Perepelitsa