I am 53 years old and I’m from Brooklyn, New York. Although I felt the call of God on my life as young as 9 years old, I also felt the pull of the inner city streets and the influence of older peers and, at the age of 15, I began to experiment with alcohol and drugs. At first it was a lot of fun, but soon Satan had me in a grip of drug abuse, coupled with lust and perversion which lasted past the fun and sent me spiraling into an abyss out of which I could not climb.
Before I knew it I was using heroin and pills. My years in the military were clouded over by drug abuse and denial. Even though I functioned, I was a functioning addict. Finally, toward the end of my career in the Marines, I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I thought finally I would be free, but the process had just begun.
I went into several programs, both Christian and secular. But I continued to relapse, costing me more and more each time.
Although I was “churched” and in ministry, I was also double-minded and had not reached the end of myself. The last relapse was devastating, and I knew what I needed. I needed deliverance, I needed Jesus. Not more AA, NA, CA, nor more “church”—I needed to let go and let God be God in my life. It was then that I ran into an old friend, Cynthia Franklin. She herself had graduated from the New Life Dream Center for Women and she brought me to Brownsville (Brooklyn) and introduced me to the Pastor of the Brownsville Word Of Life Ministries, Pastor David Orr.
I knew when I got here that I was tired. Tired of going around the mountain and I was determined to get what I came here for. I was determined to get set free! Still, it didn’t happen as fast as I had wanted it or had expected it to happen. After about 9 months (3 months in Freeport and 6 months in Florida) I received a complete deliverance while at care group. Since that Wednesday night, I thank and praise God I have never looked back at my Egypt.
Even though there have been some hard times, and temptations, Jesus changed my heart that night and delivered me. Today I am walking in the calling that the Lord placed upon my life so many years ago. I have a passion and desire to see others set free from the bondages of the enemy. I know God is not a respecter of persons. If He did it for me, He’ll do it for anybody. I thank Him for my New Life Dream, “for whom the Son sets free, is free indeed”.
—Robert J., 2007 Graduate