
All Stories | Wiedenhof Story
All gambled away!

It all started on a depressed, frustrated day of the kind I knew only too well. My name is Dustin. I was 27 years old at the time, addicted to cocaine and amphetamines, gambling and alcohol, violent and hopelessly trapped in this vicious circle. By then, I had already served a number of long prison sentences, I was still on probation and there were several investigations against me.
The day that changed my life
On the day that changed my life, I had gambled away all my money in an online casino and didn't have a cent left for drugs. On top of that, I was afraid of going back to prison, paranoia, withdrawal and the shameful view of my wasted years. My cell phone rang, a WhatsApp from my mother. As so often, it was a link to a video that was supposed to get me out of my situation or help me in some way. I had never watched any of these videos, but that day, in desperation, I dared to. It was a video from the YouTube channel "ERF Mensch Gott". When I had watched several videos on this channel in which people told me how they had met Jesus, I thought to myself: "It can't get any worse, I'll give God a chance - if he even exists." Then I lit a candle, knelt down, folded my hands, closed my eyes (I thought that's how you do it) and said a simple prayer, I can't remember today.
But God can remember that. Psalm 91:15 says "... when he calls out to me, I will answer him. I will be with him in his distress. I will deliver him and I will honor him." When I opened my eyes after the said prayer, I did not have an epiphany of Jesus as described in many videos. I was still in a bad way, the circumstances were still the same. So I immediately rejected the idea of God and instead thought about how I could get money. What I didn't know at the time was that I had invited the Creator of the universe, the King of kings, into my heart and he began to move his mighty arm in my life…
At rock bottom again
A few days later, my cell phone rang and a man answered. He knew someone who knew someone who knew me and, out of the blue, he offered me a job as a manager in his business. Completely astonished, I declined as I had other plans for my life. Weeks later, I was once again at a low point, in debt, money gambled away and coked up. My phone rang again, it was the same man with the job offer. This time I said yes, as I urgently needed money. I was overwhelmed by the responsibility I had been given, I was still addicted and tried to hide it as much as possible. "What am I actually doing here? What is this all about?" I asked myself. It was God's providence. I made friends with a colleague at work who quickly realized that I needed help. He is a Christian, and at some point he got me to come along to the church he attended. He introduced me to the pastor, who immediately recognized the problem. After several meetings and prayers that he said for me, he told me that I absolutely had to go to therapy and preferably at "House Wiedenhof". I put it all off and always clung to the worldly things I still had and somehow I still believed in self-redemption.

I lost everything
A short time later, I lost everything: my girlfriend, my job, my money and finally my apartment. From then on, I went to my mother's apartment to sober up and " straighten out". In between, I was out on the street or with colleagues from the scene. Always high, always on it, drug excesses that sometimes lasted up to 10 days. When I almost lost my mind during one of these excesses, I agreed to receive help. When I arrived at the Wiedenhof, I realized that I had already tried pretty much everything to get free and that this was my last chance. For the first few weeks, every morning and every night when I lay in bed, I gave my life to Jesus: "Jesus, I've ruined my life, I've messed it up, I have nothing left, I have no idea how to go on, I have no idea what to do, I don't know what to do here. You do what you want with my life. I agree to everything, I say yes to everything."
Jesus has given me grace!

Jesus is the standard and the truth, every Christian knows that. I didn't know it at the time, but Jesus gave me grace and I was able to trust God and the people He put in charge of me. I threw myself blindly into the arms of the staff, let myself fall, lost everything so that Jesus could save my life. I came to the Wiedenhof with a mountain of guilt. I was constantly plagued by this guilt, which I had previously only been able to escape through alcohol and drugs. As part of a "life confession", I was able to confess all my offenses to God and people I trusted. "When we confess our sins, He is faithful and just" - I was forgiven and my past could no longer accuse me. I was given a new life, new thoughts, new direction and new values. Jesus freed me from addiction, from dark chains that had bound me. He healed my soul and my heart, which had deep wounds from disappointment, fatherlessness, bitterness, violence and jealousy. I also experienced physical healing and found a new home in the security of our almighty Father. A simple prayer has changed my life. Perhaps you are in need right now, don't know what to do, are seeking love or the meaning of life? Then say this prayer: "Lord Jesus, I want to get to know you. Please come into my life and lead me to a place where I can meet you. Amen"
Dustin