I was on drugs since I was fifteen. It started using them after I made friends with a hippie - I liked his company and even looked up to him as my ideal.

Later I tried to quit the drug habit many times in many ways but all was in vain. Still on drugs, I got married. My wife Daiva was an addict too. Our first daughter was born, but life went from bad to worse. Finally, we split up and my parents took to raise our daughter.

At that time, my mother started searching for God. Together with a few friends she joined a Pentecostal church and encouraged me and my sister to join too, but we only mocked at her. Believers from that church started visiting us. They spoke about God but I could not relate to what they were telling. My mother started to pray for us and God answered her prayers by sending a man who showed me the way to salvation. That man was a believer for twenty years, and, surprisingly, I took to him at once. He spent at my place for three days speaking about God and answering my questions. After his visit, I came to believe that Christ was the only God.

Though I come from a Catholic family and have always known that God exists, being a drug addict I immersed myself in a philosophy which combined various deities - Buddha, Krishna, etc. into one whole. When, in hard times, I wanted to call upon God I did not know whom to address, so I called upon them all. But the visit of that brother changed my understanding - through him God spoke to my heart. Sadly, shortly after our first meeting that brother died. I thought him to be the only person who had answers to all my questions. Also, I decided that I could not seek God by myself because my sins were too many, so, first, I had to quit smoking, drinking and using drugs and only then come into His presence.

In 1992, I put much effort into trying to change my life, but I failed. Still being on drugs, I spoke to my friends a lot about God hoping that it would help me to get free from addiction. Such duplicity was getting unbearable. I called upon God praying all the prayers that I could think of. I even pledged to give up smoking. After the prayer, God's peace filled my heart. I got rid of all cigarettes that I could find, took Kenneth Hagin's book Words and started to read it. Next morning, however, I started craving for a cigarette. I found one but did not light it because the thought that God was looking at me made me feel ashamed. A week later, a Gospel Conference was launched in Vilnius. I joined it and was baptised in water. It was the beginning of my new life.

Another challenge was relations with my wife Daiva. God's will was that we lived together again, though we had been living separately for a long time and even received court's decision to start our divorce process. I did not want to come back to my wife because I lived with another woman, though I understood that it was against God's will. God helped me to realise that living together with Daiva would be the best choice. So I took Bible and went to my wife to clear the things up. At first she thought that I was out of my mind, but after a while she became a Christian herself. Though we could hardly believe that we would ever be a normal family again, God started to rebuild our relations. We both had to forget the past and start following God's direction. This was a hard way but it was the best. My wife made up her mind and came back to me. The first months were hardly bearable, I still was tortured by doubts who was my true wife. Several times I could not bear this tension and would leave home to stay by myself for a few days.

However nothing is impossible to God. He showed to my wife how to restore our family. Also, we were surrounded by loving people who helped and supported us. Finally, my inner eyes opened and I realised that Daiva was my true wife. From then on, all doubts were come for good. In 1997, my wife gave birth to twins, Deborah and Urte. Now we are all happy together.

Work was still another test for me. I was not fit for anything as I had never worked. Anyway, I was enrolled at a construction and building college and graduated from it. My first job was not easy and the salary was not high. After a while, I found another job, which was much better. In everything I did, I felt God's support and grace.

I found freedom and my strength to stay free which comes from this verse: “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8; 31-32). Indeed, the truth has set me free. Drug addicts are usually taught to live with their problem and deal with it daily. Every morning they have to make up their mind not to take drugs. This is an unbearable burden. Only God is able to set one's mind free, to change one's thinking. Today I'm happy to be free from drug addiction for five years and to be able to serve those who need help. I work in a rehabilitation centre for drug addicts helping them to find Christ, who would set them free and change their lives.