When I met with Brother Adong recently, he looked quite healthy, with a smile on his face that he could not hide. But he was completely different after he had been taking drugs for 18 years. At that time, he smoked, drank, gambled, and went whoring. His eyes were green and his face looked ghostly pale. Coupled with his tall figure, he just looked like he was going to do something really bad.
Brought into the Underworld by His Friends
The beginning of Brother Adong's life can be described as smooth sailing. Adong has had a flexible mind since childhood and began to learn to do business at the age of sixteen, so when he was thirty or so, he successfully settled down.
However, Adong could not escape the fate of "men become bad when they have money." At a young age, he made a number of disreputable friends and picked up some bad habits, like drinking, gambling, taking drugs, and going whoring. He was also involved in fighting and gun possession. He became a member of the underworld. Until now, so many years later, his body still has a dozen obvious scars left when he was in the underworld. At that time, he also gathered a group of people to set up a casino. He could earn thousands of yuan a day through that casino, and they would share the money and then spend it randomly.
After the arrest because of the many crimes committed, Adong was sentenced to a total of five and a half years in prison. His wife used to be a bank manager with good character. Because Adong did nothing but evil and even engaged in extramarital affairs, his wife decided to divorce him.
It is worth mentioning that all of Adong's family used to believe in Buddhism. Influenced by the family atmosphere, Adong, who was also a Buddhist, once went to the temple to receive training and got the certificate to be a monk.
Adong's 18-year Long Road of Taking Drugs
Adong first started using drugs in late 1990 and early 1991. At that time, the society in China did not pay as much attention to anti-drug propaganda as now; there was no drug rehabilitation center in Adong's hometown, and even the police did not know what drugs were.
In his twenties, Adong learned to take drugs from his friends out of curiosity. Because he mixed with the underworld, Adong has many injuries around his body. He often felt pain, but after taking the drugs he would feel much better.
Adong recalled, "When the drug was sucked in, I would feel like flying, and I could see what I wanted to see. That feeling is very intoxicating. Heroin is narcotic and very relaxing. After taking meth, when the music starts, the meth goes in, and you could get what you want. If you want money, you would see the tree full of money, just like a fruit tree full of fruit. If you want women, you will see beautiful women. Without happiness, why would so many people take drugs?"
In a very short time, Adong tried all the accessible drugs at that time, such as heroin, ketamine, ecstasy, and meth. In fact, if you count methadone, the "legal drug," Adong's drug history is as long as 18 years. The main drug used was heroin.
In the beginning, he only used a little drug. Then he gradually increases the amount. Adong started to take drugs more frequently. Every ten hours he would need to take drugs once. If he had many drugs, he may even take drugs 24 hours a day except for sleeping. If there was no drug, he may take some other drugs, such as sleeping pills, instead.
More than 1.9 meters tall, Adong weighed more than 200 kilograms before he started to take drugs. He has been exercising since he was very young, so his body was very strong. But even the best body cannot withstand such a long time of heavy drug use. The chaotic life destroyed Adong's originally strong body. Finally, he suffered a cerebral infarction, and his arms and legs became very inflexible. He walked with a limp, and he could no longer write with his right hand. After taking drugs for a long time, Adong also came into contact with many people who died because of drugs. "People I know died from shots, drug use, and even being beaten." Adong recalled, "Now the people I used to work with in the gangsters and drug addicts I was familiar with in my neighborhood are almost all dead," Adong recalled.
A Failed Road to Rehab
Adong knew that he might die from drug use. So, his family sent Adong to a rehab center. When he was in voluntary rehab, it was a very difficult time for him. Because of the long-term drug use, Adong had a serious drug addiction. Once the drugs were stopped, his body would have a serious reaction. At his worst, Adong even wanted to end his life by jumping off the building of a voluntary rehab facility.
The voluntary drug rehab did not let Adong successfully detox, and later he was sent to a compulsory rehab center. In the following two and a half years, Adong did not take drugs, but after getting out of the rehab center, Adong immediately relapsed. "When you get out of the rehab center, you basically relapse. Probably very few people will be able to successfully quit drugs." Adong said. "If you don't take drugs, you can't stand it at all. Drug addiction is not only a psychological addiction but also a physical addiction."
"In the 1990s, it took several hundred yuan to take drugs once. Later, it became more expensive. Five hundred, six hundred, or even eight hundred were always needed for taking drugs once. The drug addicts' own money had long been spent if they reached this degree. So, drug users will start to scam. They would borrow money from their family, relatives, and friends and end up heavily in debt."
"Later, people would start to lose their humanity, and they would be extremely hungry for drugs. They would be willing to do anything for a few hundred yuan. It’s pathetic that people can actually fall like this."
Released from prison five and a half years later, Adong still couldn't kick the habit of drug use. Then he turned to methadone, which he took for about six years. "Methadone is an alternative to drugs that the government allows to be legally given to those who are addicted to drugs. In fact, methadone is also a drug, but far less harmful than drugs like heroin, and much less. But you can't just drink the methadone randomly. You have to drink it on the spot and are not allowed to take it out."
Enter the Evangelical Rehab Center, which Turned His Life Over!
The family relationship of Adong was almost completely broken due to long-term drug addiction. Adong seemed to be abandoned and forgotten by everyone. But even so, God did not forget him. When Adong was the most lonely and sad, God's will and deeds began to quietly appear.
Adong has a Christian cousin who advised him to go to a church-run rehab facility. The evangelical rehab center on a mountain is different from those voluntary and compulsory rehab centers. "The life in the evangelical rehab center is very simple. The brothers read the Bible and pray every day." After entering this rehab center, Adong found that his hands and feet were much more flexible. His speech ability improved a lot, and his brain was more sober. "My bad habits are also gone. In the past, when talking to people, I used to swear first and then speak. After a few months in the Evangelical Rehab Center, I went home, and people were surprised to see me. 'Adong, why do you look so good and refreshed?' I said it is the grace of God."
The true grace of God soon came in a great way. "One morning, while we were kneeling down to pray, the Spirit of God seized me. When He caught me, I started crying for more than two hours, and in the end, I couldn't even speak. After crying, I got a great release. Tears seemed to wash away all my dirt and filth. I felt relaxed, and my heart was happy. This was clearly Jesus redeeming me," he recalled.
"I have experienced all kinds of suffering in my life. So many years later, I still have a dozen scars left due to all kinds of fights. At that time, I believed that a man could bleed but never shed tears. But when the Spirit of God came, I wept like a baby. These God-given tears washed away all dirt and filth from me, and I am reborn."
After this special experience, whenever Adong read the Bible again, he could understand it, and he was often touched in his heart. One day when Adong read the "Parable of the Prodigal Son" in the book of Luke, "I found that my whole life was written in this story, and I looked exactly like the second son. I cried again after reading this story, for a long time."
Even so, getting clean is not an easy task. "The first time I went into the Evangelical Rehab Center, it was very difficult for me. Especially in the first 20 days, I could only sleep for about an hour a day, and I felt very uncomfortable, as if many ants were crawling all over my body. But when I felt bad, I would think of Jesus, and I would feel peaceful in my heart. But after 20 days, the Holy Spirit filled me completely and I was clean."
He added, "Because of drugs, you would have an addiction. This kind of addiction is in your mind. Your mind would feel itchy and uncomfortable if you did not get drugs. Your mind will keep urging you to find the drugs. But after I believed in Jesus, Jesus replaced my addiction, and I no longer have the desire to take drugs. I stopped taking drugs physically, I quit drugs in mind, and I no longer have any interest in drugs."
Since then, Adong has completely stopped taking drugs and "completely does not need methadone anymore."
Because he has a history of gun possession, Adong needs to report to the local police station every year. After being reborn and saved, when Adong went to report again, he told the police that he believed in Jesus and would no longer hide guns, take drugs, gamble, or commit other crimes.
"When I used to take drugs, my eyes were green, and I was as pale as a ghost. People were very afraid when they saw me, and they stayed away from me. Now the situation is totally different. I would smile at people every moment, and I even would smile when I'm alone. When others meet me, they are amazed. They would wonder, ‘How can he change so much?’ It would be easy for people to become bad, but few bad people can be good again. They have never seen anyone who can change as big as me. It's really an amazing thing."
In Adong's view, the way of detoxification in the Evangelical Rehab Center is completely different. "Life in Evangelical Rehab Center is living together, reading the Bible, and praying every day, and everyone becomes very happy after doing these things." Then the Spirit of God will come down and fill you. After being filled with the Spirit of God, people's spiritual eyes are opened, and their past life experiences can be seen. As if we were watching a movie in a movie theater, my life experience was shown to me scene by scene, and my tears flowed out uncontrollably. In this process, you will see a lot of mistakes you have made before, you will see some very despicable things you have done before, and this kind of moment would be very painful. You would ask yourself, 'How could I do such a thing?' And then you would repent. This is a deep impression of God on me. A man who has such an experience of being filled with the Spirit of God is bound to change, and it is not by himself that man can change, but by God and God's Spirit."
Overcome Obstacles and Copy the Whole Bible with His Left Hand
Brother Adong developed a strong interest in the Bible during his rehabilitation and praying. "I was almost fascinated by the Bible." This is the reason for him to copy the Bible later. However, copying the Bible by hand was not an easy task, especially because Adong could not even write with his right hand.
After trying it out, Brother Adong finally decided to learn to write with his left hand. With practice, he began to copy the Bible book by book. By 2021, he had copied the entire Bible and is currently on track to complete a second copy. He said, "When I began to copy the Bible, I found that I knew almost nothing about the Bible. And the Bible is wonderful. It's different every time you read it and every time you copy it."
After Brother Adong’s successful detoxification from drugs, he is currently participating in some services of the Evangelical Rehab Center. In addition, he ran a restaurant when he was young and now he can serves many people through cooking, especially young people, through his own hands.
He said that with the improvement of government propaganda and social attitudes, many people have realized the dangers of drugs. There are far fewer drug users, especially those who take heroin and methamphetamine. There used to be a lot of people coming to the Evangelical Rehab Center, but over the years there have been fewer and fewer people coming in. In this context, the Evangelical Rehab Center has also made many transformations according to reality. At present, the people here are mainly the ones who want to get rid of Internet addiction and alcohol addiction. Many people who have Internet addiction are young people around 20 years old. The fundamental method of getting rid of addiction is still the same, that is, through faith and gospel, let them unite with God, unite with God's spirit, and get rid of these addictions by God's power.
Brother Adong said that as he has been committed to following Jesus for all his life, he is dedicated to spreading the gospel to more people so that people in trouble can be free and released in Jesus Christ.
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
跟阿东弟兄见面的时候，阿东红光满面，脸上挂着根本掩饰不住的笑容，但是以前长期吸毒的阿东却完全不是这样的——加上生活非常混乱，抽烟喝酒、吃喝嫖赌，那个时候的他的眼睛是绿的，毫无血色，再加上身材高大，看上去就是一副穷凶极恶的样子。
被狐朋狗友带进了黑社会
阿东弟兄刚开始的人生可谓是顺风顺水。阿东从小头脑灵活，十六岁的时候就开始学习做生意了，就这样直到三十岁左右顺利成家立业。
然而阿东也没有逃过那句“男人有钱就变坏”的宿命。年纪轻轻就小有成就的他结交上了一些社会上的狐朋狗友，学会了吃喝嫖赌抽。除此之外，还有吸毒、打架斗殴、私藏枪支等等，他成为了一名标准的黑社会一员。直到现在这么多年过去了，他的身上还有着当时混黑社会的时候所留下来的十几处非常明显的刀疤。他当时还从社会上拉了一帮人，搞起了赌场，当时一天就可以赚几万块，几个人分掉然后乱花。
只是案发之后因着犯下了众多罪行，阿东总共被判了五年半的有期徒刑。进入监狱之前，他妻子以前是一所银行的经理，人品非常好，奈何自己无恶不作，而且还搞婚外情背叛了他们的婚姻关系，无奈之下妻子决定跟阿东离婚。
值得一提的是，阿东的家里以前全是信佛的。受到家庭氛围的影响，阿东也是一名佛教徒，曾经去庙里做了超度，拿到了做和尚的证书。
阿东18年的漫长吸毒之路
阿东最早开始吸毒是在1990年底1991年初那个时候。那个时候社会上并不像现在这么重视禁毒宣传，阿东家乡那边也没有戒毒所，连警察都不知道毒品是什么东西。
阿东二十多岁时因年轻人好奇心重，从朋友学会吸毒。本来因为混黑社会，阿东身上有很多伤，经常会疼，可是吸了毒以后身上哪里都不疼了。
阿东回忆说：“毒品吸进去的时候，整个人都会飘起来，想什么就有什么，那种感觉让人非常沉醉。像海洛因是麻醉的，吸了以后让人非常放松；像冰毒，音乐一响的话，冰毒打进去的话人是想什么就有什么的，想要钱的话就会发现就像一颗果树长满了水果一样树上长满了钱，想要女人看见的就全都是漂亮女人。没有快乐的话，哪里能有这么多的人去吸毒呢？”
就这样，海洛因、K粉、摇头丸、冰毒……在很短的时间里面阿东就把当时所有能够见到的毒品吸了一个遍。事实上，如果算上后期的“合法吸毒”美沙酮的话，阿东的吸毒史长达十八年。其中主要吸食的毒品就是海洛因。
从刚开始的只有一点点，到后面不断往上加量，阿东吸毒的胃口越来越大，也越来越频繁。十几个小时就要吸一次，甚至都等不到一天。如果手里毒品很多的话，可以一天二十四个小时除了睡觉之外不停地吸，但是没有毒品的话就用其他的一些药物比如安眠药等代替一下。
阿东的身高超过一米九、体重超过两百斤，而且他很小开始就锻炼身体，因此他身体非常结实，但是再好的身体也经不住这么长时间大量毒品的折腾。加上混乱的生活，彻底掏空了阿东原本强壮的身体。最后，他得了脑梗塞，手脚变得非常不灵活，走路变得一瘸一拐，右手甚至无法再写字了。吸毒时间长了，阿东也接触了许多因为吸毒而死亡的人。“打针打死、吸毒吸死、被人打死的都有。”阿东回忆说，“现在我附近一大片地方曾经跟我一起混黑社会和吸毒的人基本上都死了。”
失败的戒毒之路
阿东头脑里面知道，自己可能会因毒品丧命。所以，家人把阿东送进了戒毒所。在自愿戒毒所戒毒的时候，那段时间对他来说是异常艰难的一段时间。因为长期吸毒阿东已经产生了严重的毒瘾，一旦停止吸毒身体就会出现严重的反应。最痛苦的时候，阿东甚至想要从自愿戒毒所的楼上跳下去结束自己的生命。
而自愿戒毒所并没有让阿东顺利戒毒，后来他又被送进了强制戒毒。这两年半的时间阿东并没有吸毒，但是出来以后阿东马上就开始了复吸。“进戒毒所出来以后基本上都会复吸。可能极少数的人能够成功戒毒”，阿东如此说。“不吸的话人受不了的，根本受不了，毒瘾不止是心里有瘾，生理也会成瘾。”
“90年代毒品吸一次也要好几百，后来那就更贵了，吸一次五六百、七八百总是需要的。可是往往吸毒吸到这个份上，吸毒者自己的钱早就花光了。“所以，吸毒者会开始骗钱，把家人、亲戚、朋友全部都借光了，负债累累。
“后来变得人不像人了，对毒品又极度渴望，这样的时候哪怕能弄个几百块也可以，为了几百块什么事情都愿意做，人居然能够落魄到这个地步。”
五年半以后从监狱出来后，阿东还是戒不掉毒瘾。后来他只好去喝美沙酮，喝了大概六年左右的时间。“美沙酮是一种毒品的替代品，是国家允许给我们这些吸毒的人合法喝的。说白了美沙酮其实也是一种毒品，只是危害性远比海洛因这些毒品小，而且小很多。但是也不能拿着美沙酮随便喝，一定要在里面当场就喝掉，不准带出去。”
进入福音戒毒所，人生彻底翻篇！
长期吸毒的阿东妻离子散、亲缘关系几乎彻底破裂，阿东似乎被所有人都抛弃了、遗忘了。但是即便如此，上帝却并没有忘记他。在阿东最孤独和落寞的时候，上帝的旨意和作为开始悄然显现。
阿东有一个基督徒堂姐，她建议他去一个教会办的戒毒所。这座山上的福音戒毒所跟那些自愿戒毒所和强制戒毒所都不一样，“福音戒毒所的生活非常简单，弟兄们每天读经祷告，生活虽然很单调，但是内心却很喜乐。”不但如此，阿东发现自己的手脚也灵活多了，言语表达能力也提高了很多，脑子也比较清醒了。“我的坏习惯也改变了很多。以前跟人说话都是先骂人再说话的，早就养成了骂人的口头禅。在福音戒毒所过了几个月我想回家看看，别人看见我都非常惊讶——‘阿东，你怎么脸色这么好看了？人也精神了？’我说这是上帝的恩典。”
真正的上帝的恩典很快就极大地降临了。“有一天早上我们一帮人跪下去祷告的时候，上帝的灵就把我抓住了。把我整个人抓住以后，我就开始不停地哭，哭个不停，嗓子彻底哭哑了，哭个两个多小时，最后连话都说不出来了……哭了以后，人就得到了极大的释放，眼泪似乎洗净了我一切的肮脏和污秽，整个人也轻松了，心中也喜乐了。这分明是耶稣救赎了我。”
"我经历过社会上的各种苦难，各种打架、受伤，直到现在这么多年过去了我身上还有十几处当初打架留下的刀疤，但是那个时候的我信奉男子汉可以流血、流汗但绝不能流泪。可是在上帝的灵降临的时候，我流泪了……这些上帝赐下来的眼泪洗净了我一切的肮脏和污秽，我重生了。”
有了这个特别的经历以后，从此阿东再看圣经的时候，都能看懂了，而且还常常心中有感动。有一天阿东正好看到路加福音里面浪子的比喻的故事的时候，“我发现我的人生全部写在了这个故事里面，我的样子跟第二个儿子简直是一模一样的，想到这里我又哭了，而且又是哭个不停。”
即便如此，戒毒也不是那么容易的事情。“刚进福音戒毒所的那段时间，非常艰难。特别是最初那二十多天，每天只能睡一个多小时。整个人就非常难受，好像很多只蚂蚁在我身体上到处爬那种的难受。但是很难受的时候，想想耶稣，心里就会觉得很平安。但是等到二十多天之后，圣灵就完全充满了我，我的毒瘾就彻底戒掉了。”
“因为毒品你就会产生心瘾，这个瘾是在心里的，不去吸毒的话心里就痒痒、难受。你的心就会不断地催促你，让你赶快去找毒。但是因为我信了耶稣之后，耶稣就把我的心瘾代替了，我就不再有想要去吸毒的心瘾了，生理上戒毒，心里更戒了毒，对毒品不再有一丝一毫的兴趣。”
从此，阿东就彻底不再吸毒了，“彻底不需要（美沙酮）了”。
因为有过私藏枪支的前科，阿东每年都需要去当地派出所报到。重生得救后的阿东再一次去报到的时候，阿东说他信耶稣了，从此以后不会再私藏枪支、吸毒、赌博还有别的犯罪了。
“以前吸毒的时候我的眼睛都是绿的，人没有任何血色，人家看见我了，都很害怕的，仿佛看见了鬼一样，都躲着我。现在不一样了，不管什么时候对人都是笑脸相迎，就算没有人的时候依然笑容满面。别人看到以后就非常惊讶——人怎么能够变得这么多？人想要变坏那叫一个容易，但是没有几个能够变好的，能够改变像我这么大的他们更是一个都没有见过。真的是很奇妙的事情。”
在阿东看来，福音戒毒所的戒毒方式是完全不一样的。“在福音戒毒所的生活就是住在一起，每天读经、祷告，大家就会变得很喜乐。然后上帝的灵就会降临下来，充满着你。被上帝的灵充满以后，人的属灵的眼睛就被打开、就能够看见了，曾经的人生经历都能够看见。像电影一样的，好像我们在电影院里看电影一样，把我的人生经历一幕一幕地展示在我面前，我的眼泪就不受控制地哗哗地流出来。在这个过程当中，会看到很多自己以前的所犯过的错误，会看见以前做过的很卑劣的一些事情，这个时候会非常痛苦：我怎么能做出来这样的事情呢？然后会认罪悔改。这是上帝给我的深刻的印象。一个人有了这样的被上帝的灵充满的经历以后一定会改变的，人能够改变也不是靠着自己，而是靠着上帝和上帝的灵。”
克服诸多障碍，左手抄完全本圣经！
阿东弟兄在戒毒和信仰的过程中对圣经建立了非常浓厚的兴趣。“我对圣经等于说迷住了一样，非常着迷。”这才有了后来的抄经。但是，手抄圣经并不是一件容易的事情，尤其东还需要克服写字的障碍，右手甚至无法写字。
阿东弟兄尝试了一番之后，最终决定学习左手写字。通过大量的练习，他开始一卷一卷的抄圣经了。到2021年，他已经抄写完了整本圣经，目前在向着抄完第二本圣经的方向不断前进。他说：“开始参与抄写圣经以后，发现我对于圣经几乎还是一窍不通的。而且圣经非常奇妙，每读一次、抄一次都不一样。”
阿东弟兄顺利戒毒以后，目前在福音戒毒所一边信仰一边参与一些服事。此外，他在年轻的时候还曾经开过饭店，做得一手好菜，现在能够通过自己的手来帮助到很多人特别是年轻人。
他说，随着政府宣传和社会观念的进步，很多人都认识到了毒品的危害性。现在吸毒者尤其是吸海洛因、冰毒的人减少了很多。以前来福音戒毒所戒毒的人很多，这些年来进来戒毒的人越来越少。在这样的大背景下福音戒毒所也根据现实情况和需要进行了很多转型。目前在他们这里的人主要是戒网瘾和酒瘾的人比较多一些，尤其是网瘾，很多有网瘾的人都是二十岁左右的年轻人。根本的戒瘾方法还是一样的，那就是通过信仰和福音让他们跟上帝联合，与上帝的灵联合，借着上帝的力量戒掉这些网瘾、酒瘾。
阿东弟兄说，他这一辈子跟定了耶稣，想要把福音传出去，传给更多的人，让更多心灵艰难的人在耶稣基督里面得到自由和释放。
故事|阿东弟兄：1990年代曾为吸毒耗资百万 18年漫长吸毒路在基督里彻底新生
When I met with Brother Adong recently, he looked quite healthy, with a smile on his face that he could not hide. But he was completely different after he had been taking drugs for 18 years. At that time, he smoked, drank, gambled, and went whoring. His eyes were green and his face looked ghostly pale. Coupled with his tall figure, he just looked like he was going to do something really bad.
Brought into the Underworld by His Friends
The beginning of Brother Adong's life can be described as smooth sailing. Adong has had a flexible mind since childhood and began to learn to do business at the age of sixteen, so when he was thirty or so, he successfully settled down.
However, Adong could not escape the fate of "men become bad when they have money." At a young age, he made a number of disreputable friends and picked up some bad habits, like drinking, gambling, taking drugs, and going whoring. He was also involved in fighting and gun possession. He became a member of the underworld. Until now, so many years later, his body still has a dozen obvious scars left when he was in the underworld. At that time, he also gathered a group of people to set up a casino. He could earn thousands of yuan a day through that casino, and they would share the money and then spend it randomly.
After the arrest because of the many crimes committed, Adong was sentenced to a total of five and a half years in prison. His wife used to be a bank manager with good character. Because Adong did nothing but evil and even engaged in extramarital affairs, his wife decided to divorce him.
It is worth mentioning that all of Adong's family used to believe in Buddhism. Influenced by the family atmosphere, Adong, who was also a Buddhist, once went to the temple to receive training and got the certificate to be a monk.
Adong's 18-year Long Road of Taking Drugs
Adong first started using drugs in late 1990 and early 1991. At that time, the society in China did not pay as much attention to anti-drug propaganda as now; there was no drug rehabilitation center in Adong's hometown, and even the police did not know what drugs were.
In his twenties, Adong learned to take drugs from his friends out of curiosity. Because he mixed with the underworld, Adong has many injuries around his body. He often felt pain, but after taking the drugs he would feel much better.
Adong recalled, "When the drug was sucked in, I would feel like flying, and I could see what I wanted to see. That feeling is very intoxicating. Heroin is narcotic and very relaxing. After taking meth, when the music starts, the meth goes in, and you could get what you want. If you want money, you would see the tree full of money, just like a fruit tree full of fruit. If you want women, you will see beautiful women. Without happiness, why would so many people take drugs?"
In a very short time, Adong tried all the accessible drugs at that time, such as heroin, ketamine, ecstasy, and meth. In fact, if you count methadone, the "legal drug," Adong's drug history is as long as 18 years. The main drug used was heroin.
In the beginning, he only used a little drug. Then he gradually increases the amount. Adong started to take drugs more frequently. Every ten hours he would need to take drugs once. If he had many drugs, he may even take drugs 24 hours a day except for sleeping. If there was no drug, he may take some other drugs, such as sleeping pills, instead.
More than 1.9 meters tall, Adong weighed more than 200 kilograms before he started to take drugs. He has been exercising since he was very young, so his body was very strong. But even the best body cannot withstand such a long time of heavy drug use. The chaotic life destroyed Adong's originally strong body. Finally, he suffered a cerebral infarction, and his arms and legs became very inflexible. He walked with a limp, and he could no longer write with his right hand. After taking drugs for a long time, Adong also came into contact with many people who died because of drugs. "People I know died from shots, drug use, and even being beaten." Adong recalled, "Now the people I used to work with in the gangsters and drug addicts I was familiar with in my neighborhood are almost all dead," Adong recalled.
A Failed Road to Rehab
Adong knew that he might die from drug use. So, his family sent Adong to a rehab center. When he was in voluntary rehab, it was a very difficult time for him. Because of the long-term drug use, Adong had a serious drug addiction. Once the drugs were stopped, his body would have a serious reaction. At his worst, Adong even wanted to end his life by jumping off the building of a voluntary rehab facility.
The voluntary drug rehab did not let Adong successfully detox, and later he was sent to a compulsory rehab center. In the following two and a half years, Adong did not take drugs, but after getting out of the rehab center, Adong immediately relapsed. "When you get out of the rehab center, you basically relapse. Probably very few people will be able to successfully quit drugs." Adong said. "If you don't take drugs, you can't stand it at all. Drug addiction is not only a psychological addiction but also a physical addiction."
"In the 1990s, it took several hundred yuan to take drugs once. Later, it became more expensive. Five hundred, six hundred, or even eight hundred were always needed for taking drugs once. The drug addicts' own money had long been spent if they reached this degree. So, drug users will start to scam. They would borrow money from their family, relatives, and friends and end up heavily in debt."
"Later, people would start to lose their humanity, and they would be extremely hungry for drugs. They would be willing to do anything for a few hundred yuan. It’s pathetic that people can actually fall like this."
Released from prison five and a half years later, Adong still couldn't kick the habit of drug use. Then he turned to methadone, which he took for about six years. "Methadone is an alternative to drugs that the government allows to be legally given to those who are addicted to drugs. In fact, methadone is also a drug, but far less harmful than drugs like heroin, and much less. But you can't just drink the methadone randomly. You have to drink it on the spot and are not allowed to take it out."
Enter the Evangelical Rehab Center, which Turned His Life Over!
The family relationship of Adong was almost completely broken due to long-term drug addiction. Adong seemed to be abandoned and forgotten by everyone. But even so, God did not forget him. When Adong was the most lonely and sad, God's will and deeds began to quietly appear.
Adong has a Christian cousin who advised him to go to a church-run rehab facility. The evangelical rehab center on a mountain is different from those voluntary and compulsory rehab centers. "The life in the evangelical rehab center is very simple. The brothers read the Bible and pray every day." After entering this rehab center, Adong found that his hands and feet were much more flexible. His speech ability improved a lot, and his brain was more sober. "My bad habits are also gone. In the past, when talking to people, I used to swear first and then speak. After a few months in the Evangelical Rehab Center, I went home, and people were surprised to see me. 'Adong, why do you look so good and refreshed?' I said it is the grace of God."
The true grace of God soon came in a great way. "One morning, while we were kneeling down to pray, the Spirit of God seized me. When He caught me, I started crying for more than two hours, and in the end, I couldn't even speak. After crying, I got a great release. Tears seemed to wash away all my dirt and filth. I felt relaxed, and my heart was happy. This was clearly Jesus redeeming me," he recalled.
"I have experienced all kinds of suffering in my life. So many years later, I still have a dozen scars left due to all kinds of fights. At that time, I believed that a man could bleed but never shed tears. But when the Spirit of God came, I wept like a baby. These God-given tears washed away all dirt and filth from me, and I am reborn."
After this special experience, whenever Adong read the Bible again, he could understand it, and he was often touched in his heart. One day when Adong read the "Parable of the Prodigal Son" in the book of Luke, "I found that my whole life was written in this story, and I looked exactly like the second son. I cried again after reading this story, for a long time."
Even so, getting clean is not an easy task. "The first time I went into the Evangelical Rehab Center, it was very difficult for me. Especially in the first 20 days, I could only sleep for about an hour a day, and I felt very uncomfortable, as if many ants were crawling all over my body. But when I felt bad, I would think of Jesus, and I would feel peaceful in my heart. But after 20 days, the Holy Spirit filled me completely and I was clean."
He added, "Because of drugs, you would have an addiction. This kind of addiction is in your mind. Your mind would feel itchy and uncomfortable if you did not get drugs. Your mind will keep urging you to find the drugs. But after I believed in Jesus, Jesus replaced my addiction, and I no longer have the desire to take drugs. I stopped taking drugs physically, I quit drugs in mind, and I no longer have any interest in drugs."
Since then, Adong has completely stopped taking drugs and "completely does not need methadone anymore."
Because he has a history of gun possession, Adong needs to report to the local police station every year. After being reborn and saved, when Adong went to report again, he told the police that he believed in Jesus and would no longer hide guns, take drugs, gamble, or commit other crimes.
"When I used to take drugs, my eyes were green, and I was as pale as a ghost. People were very afraid when they saw me, and they stayed away from me. Now the situation is totally different. I would smile at people every moment, and I even would smile when I'm alone. When others meet me, they are amazed. They would wonder, ‘How can he change so much?’ It would be easy for people to become bad, but few bad people can be good again. They have never seen anyone who can change as big as me. It's really an amazing thing."
In Adong's view, the way of detoxification in the Evangelical Rehab Center is completely different. "Life in Evangelical Rehab Center is living together, reading the Bible, and praying every day, and everyone becomes very happy after doing these things." Then the Spirit of God will come down and fill you. After being filled with the Spirit of God, people's spiritual eyes are opened, and their past life experiences can be seen. As if we were watching a movie in a movie theater, my life experience was shown to me scene by scene, and my tears flowed out uncontrollably. In this process, you will see a lot of mistakes you have made before, you will see some very despicable things you have done before, and this kind of moment would be very painful. You would ask yourself, 'How could I do such a thing?' And then you would repent. This is a deep impression of God on me. A man who has such an experience of being filled with the Spirit of God is bound to change, and it is not by himself that man can change, but by God and God's Spirit."
Overcome Obstacles and Copy the Whole Bible with His Left Hand
Brother Adong developed a strong interest in the Bible during his rehabilitation and praying. "I was almost fascinated by the Bible." This is the reason for him to copy the Bible later. However, copying the Bible by hand was not an easy task, especially because Adong could not even write with his right hand.
After trying it out, Brother Adong finally decided to learn to write with his left hand. With practice, he began to copy the Bible book by book. By 2021, he had copied the entire Bible and is currently on track to complete a second copy. He said, "When I began to copy the Bible, I found that I knew almost nothing about the Bible. And the Bible is wonderful. It's different every time you read it and every time you copy it."
After Brother Adong’s successful detoxification from drugs, he is currently participating in some services of the Evangelical Rehab Center. In addition, he ran a restaurant when he was young and now he can serves many people through cooking, especially young people, through his own hands.
He said that with the improvement of government propaganda and social attitudes, many people have realized the dangers of drugs. There are far fewer drug users, especially those who take heroin and methamphetamine. There used to be a lot of people coming to the Evangelical Rehab Center, but over the years there have been fewer and fewer people coming in. In this context, the Evangelical Rehab Center has also made many transformations according to reality. At present, the people here are mainly the ones who want to get rid of Internet addiction and alcohol addiction. Many people who have Internet addiction are young people around 20 years old. The fundamental method of getting rid of addiction is still the same, that is, through faith and gospel, let them unite with God, unite with God's spirit, and get rid of these addictions by God's power.
Brother Adong said that as he has been committed to following Jesus for all his life, he is dedicated to spreading the gospel to more people so that people in trouble can be free and released in Jesus Christ.
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
From Millions Spent on Drugs to New Life in Christ: The Transformation of a Former Addict
