DanielYKL

                            

                               I always believed that the last 23 years of my life has been a bonus from God since I quit drugs and committed my life to Him. I could have been dead by now from overdosed – as some of my friends did - or from some infections or from contacting HIV through intravenous. This I’m sure I can speak for some of my friends who were in the same boat as I was.
                          You see, there were five of us who knew each other since we were in primary school. We were about the same age, maybe about a year different between some of us. We grew up in the same neighborhood and some of us even went to the same school. During our teens, we go camping and picnics, dated girls, party, played in a “pop” band and do many other crazy things any teens would do. Some of us are into sports, even representing our states in football and one of us was a state 110 meter hurdler.
                         At that time, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones were such an influenced in our lives with their music. We were in the beginning of the Rock Era or rather the Hippie Era We kept our hair long; wear colorful “bell-bottom” pants, jeans, Nehru jacket, tie and dye T-shirts and riding chopped-up Honda S90. (haha!) Then we started to smoked cigarettes thinking that it’s cool and makes us looks macho. And we formed a band, playing real nice “bubblegum” pop music. We were even doing gigs on weekends while we were still in school. All that was just clean teenage fun or phase.
                          Then one day, one of out the “band of brothers” brought some ganja for us to experience. Not many of us like it at first but in due time we were consuming more and more of it. The reason is because we were told that you will perform and sing better when you are high on ganja. Personally, I don’t there is any truth in it. In fact I think it makes your singing even worst as you tend to forget your parts and your mouth is always dried up. But we didn’t stop here, we progressed to the heavier stuff – heroin! Yes all of us got hooked on it and that’s when our lives take a down turn. We became slaves to Heroin! We drifted apart from one another – and each of us found our own destiny to hell in a different way.
                         But God came to our rescued. God gave each and everyone of us a second chance. Even though we were separate because of drugs, we were brought back together again because of His love.  The amazing we are still the best of friends and always in touch with one another. What happened to us?
     
                     Billy or (Gideon) – He was the one who introduced us to Heroin. He then became a drug dealer and was also involved in burglaries, road-side robberies, house-breaking, extortions, gangsterism, etc. He was in and out of prison for many years. Then one day a friend’s mother came and visit him in prison shared to him about Jesus. She left a tract for him. And as he was about to use the tract to roll tobacco with he saw this phrase, “He can make you the man you that you should be.”  And that phrase became the motto of The Hiding Place – the Christian Drugs Rehabilitation- which he founded after serving his time in prison in 1981. Many have gone through the program and I’m one of the products of Hiding Place. He now serve as a director there and is a sort about speaker on drugs related issues. Today, he is married with four children and is better known as Gideon Khoo.
                         

                                Eugene – He used to called Eddy but then he changed to Eugene. He, like Billy became a drug pusher and was engaged in criminal activities. Later he moved to Kuala Lumpur and continued to live his life as a drug addict. Finally he decided to quit and got himself admitted in a Christian drug rehabilitation program. After he has completed the program, he came out and pioneered the Care Centre in Subang with the FGA Church of KL. He later further his theological studies in the Texas, USA and became a pastor. He has since then left the church. Today he is a successful businessman and is married with two sons.
     
     
     
                            Frankie or (Reuben) – He was just as bad as any of us.  But after when he was heavily hooked on heroin, he became more or less a loner. He has been in and out of prison a few times. After more than 10 years since I last met him, I met him again outside the immigration office in Penang. There he was filling in application forms for people for a small fee. He was still on drugs but he wanted to quit. So I took him in to the Hiding Place and since then he has never look back again. He changed his name to Reuben. He later served at the Hiding Place for few years. Later he went on to serve as a full time staff at True Light Baptist Church before pursuing a degree in Christian Theology at a local theological seminary. Later he was ordained as a pastor and served at Patani Baptist Church in Sungai Patani. Two years after his marriage, the Lord took him home. He died of liver failure. And now we can confidently say this for Reuben – “You have fought the good fight, you have finished the race, and you have kept the faith…”
      
                            Sunny Boy – He was the “angel” among us. He has never been to prison, never done any crime and no police record. But one thing though, he too became addicted to ganja and heroin. He was the lead guitarist in my band –The Jokers. He was and still is a professional keyboardist playing in clubs all over Malaysia. He too, became a Christian and was baptized in the church was working in. Today, he is living in the USA with his wife and two beautiful young daughters.
     
                          Danny or (Daniel) – That’s was my name before I change it to Daniel when I became a Christian in 1984. Prior to that, I have been a drug addict, hooked on ganja, heroin, etc.., for a good 15 years of his life. To support my addiction, I resolved to crime, such as burglaries, extortions, house-breaking and dealing with drugs.
                       I have traveled overland from India to Europe twice and was a drug pusher in Germany and France. I was arrested in Germany and was remanded in prison for 4 months. I have also spent four and a half years of his life in prison for drugs related offences here in Penang. After completing his prison terms, I continued my life of crime, deceit and drugs, and I was living in the streets for 2 years, sleeping at five-foot ways.
                       Finally, when I realized that I was not living anymore, just existing, I then decided to quit what I was doing. I even considered suicide, but then decided if I was going to die, might as well give myself another chance and get rehabilitated.  I then admitted myself to The Hiding Place, a Christian Drugs Rehabilitation Centre.
                    After completing my two years program, I continued to serve at the Hiding Place for another four years. I got married to in 1991.  Since then, I have served full-time in churches, social works, and pioneered Life Zone, a Christian Drugs Rehabilitation Centre with Glad Tidings. PJ.
                           In 1991, I migrated to Australia with my wife and stepson and was a permanent resident there for 7 years. After coming back to Penang in 1998 I continued to do social work and later served full-time with Excel Point Community Church from 2001, until I was diagnosed with Stage 2 cancer of the Larynx in 2005 and resigned from my work in 2006. I went through a 33 course of radiotherapy. And later there was a recurrence and this time I was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer of the larynx. I went through a 10 hour Total Laryngectomy Surgery, where my entire larynx is removed, with includes my vocal cord and also my thyroid. I also have to do a tracheotomy, an artificial opening called a stoma in the front of the neck. My normal speech is permanently no longer possible.
     
                       That’s us! Sometimes I still can’t believe how God in His divine intervention has brought all of us together again and not only that, He has placed a calling in each us to serve Him and the community within our capability. Glory to God!