“At the age of 25, my life was completely shattered, I lost hope and the spark of life,” Oleksandr says about himself.
He was born in Novy Rozdol. Rhys grew up in a single-parent family without a father. He studied well, studied music and was a very active child.
“I was an active and very promising young man, whom my mother loved very much,” Oleksandr says about himself.
But later his life began to change. In the 2000s, during the financial crisis in Ukraine, the boy’s mother had to go to work. And he increasingly began to spend time with bad companies of boys on the street.
Oleksandr remembers that time well: “There I smoked my first cigarette and soon started using alcohol and light drugs. My life changed radically, my relatives stopped recognizing me. I transferred from the gymnasium to a regular school, my academic performance dropped drastically. My life was filled with cruelty, hatred, bitterness and pride.”
At that time, the boy had not yet thought about where this life road was leading. Very soon he started using hard drugs. And when the mother learned about her son’s fate, she tried with all her might and prayers to help, but it was too late. The young man did not want to listen to anyone.
He received a suspended sentence. For the first time. Then a second time. And later he went to prison.
Oleksandr recalls that, despite all the problems, believers often appeared around him. They told him that they once lived the same way, but God changed their lives and He can help Alexander in the same way.
“My life was more and more destroyed. At the age of 25, my life was completely shattered, I lost hope and the spark of life. I became lonely and offended by the whole world,” Oleksandr recalls.
It was then that the servants of the “New Life” church in Boryslav came across the man’s path. They offered to go to the “House of Mercy” rehabilitation center.
It was here that Alexander’s life changed:
“I experienced a meeting with Jesus Christ, who freed me from all dependence, forgave me of my sins and filled me with His joy and peace. I became a happy person because I met Christ!”.