I am a new man

A marvellous testimony from a Rehab Centre in Bulgaria

Bozidor, a helpless alcoholic, drug addict and criminal, found himself in the Rehab Centre. His life had sunk to the depths of despair and it seemed there was no way up or out for him and his mother was at her wit’s end. Being given a place in the Centre by a lovely Christian girl was a last resort to help him out of the mess and misery of his life. The girl’s husband had often carried him in his helpless state, upstairs to their apartment, where he slept off his drunkenness, as there was no place at that time for him in the Rehab Centre.

He now had a place in the Centre and over a period of time there, he found not only help for his addiction, but love and care given in the name of Jesus. Eventually, as he came to understand the love which was reaching out to him, he came to trust in the only One who could help Him, the Lord Jesus Christ. He was wonderfully changed.

He still had a problem however. Earlier in his life of crime he had committed a very serious offence, but had always denied it, when questioned by the police. They couldn’t arrest him because they could never find enough evidence against him. Now that he had found new life in Christ this weighed heavily upon him and he told his mother that he was going to confess to it. She was upset and angry, and protested that he shouldn’t do it, as this decision would have repercussions for her also. His reply to her was, “Do you want me to go back to the old ways?”

He confessed all to a lawyer and eventually found himself in court. There he ended up testifying to everything that he had done in the past and also testifying to the saving and transforming power of the Gospel, through Christ, in his life. He told how he was a changed man. The authorities knew of the work of the Rehab Centre and to everyone’s amazement he was only given a suspended three-year sentence. As he left the court the judge said to him, “So, you are now an ex-drug addict”, to which he responded, “No! I am a NEW man.”

Praise God for those who work in this Rehab Centre, for their patience and love for such people. Not all stories are success stories but in the name of the Lord they continue to seek to ‘rescue the perishing and care for the dying.’ Pray that God will bless their labours and give them the joy of seeing many more lives changed by the power of God.

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