I am eighteen years old and I have been saved for three years. I sometimes look back on how my life was before I was saved and how it is now that I walk with the Lord. Before I was saved, I was lost but now I am found. When I was seven years old I found out that I was half deaf. I had a speech problem. For some odd reason I thought I'd never had a single friend in this planet. I would always be teased because of the way I talked. I hated myself. As I grew older, I was looking for fulfilment in my life. I was always trying new things. For some reason, I always blamed God for the events that happened in my life. I was raped when I was thirteen years old by my grandfather. I went into depression. I started to cry at night. I even attempted to kill myself before. I no longer trusted anyone. I kept to myself for fear that someone would hurt me. I thought that everyone was out to get me. I started getting these thoughts that I didn't want to live anymore. My parents were on drugs. My dad was always in and out of prison. I had no love or friends. I would have sleepless nights. I envied the people who had a better life then me. I started stealing from people. I lied so many times. One day, my dad went to prison for drug possession. I was told that he wasn't coming out for three years. He wasn't himself and he was lost in drugs. He was always angry. He lived a sinful and lustful life. He never came in and spent time with me or my family. I would see my family falling apart. When my dad went to prison, we lost our house and we had no money. So we decided to move to New Mexico. I hoped for a better life. My mom was lost in drugs. She would physically abuse me. I was so hurt and confused. I ran away from home. My mom saw me on the streets. She pulled me by the hair. I started to cry. She never came home. She spent our rent money on drugs. She always went out drinking with her friends. I stopped going to school because I wasn't mentally stable . We ended up getting our electricity turned off. We were going to be evicted. I started working at people's houses so I could buy a loaf of bread and lunch meat. My mom took the money and spent it on drugs. One day I went to the restroom and found the drugs. Oh how I wanted to smoke it. I got to visit my dad sometimes in prison but it hurt to know that he wasn't coming home. I had nothing going for me so I started smoking and drinking. One day I was tired of leaving a sinful and unhappy life. I went to church but I wasn't ready to serve God so I stopped going. One night I was lying in bed and I cried. I did something that I never did in my life and that was pray. I cried out to the lord with an open heart. I asked him to come into my life because I was tired of being alone. I asked the Lord to forgive me and help me. The Lord was calling me. There I was hopeless and alone but ready to change. As time went by I started praying to God. We ended up moving back to California because my mom wanted to change her life around. I went to church and the pastor was called people to the altar, I cried and went up there. I got on my knees and the pastor prayed for me. I felt the holy spirit move in me. As the years went by I trusted God. My father came home from prison when I was sixteen. We all devoted our lives to God and went to church together. As I started learning more and more about the Lord, he was calling me to share the Good news to others and I did. I used every opportunity to help someone. I asked God for wisdom. Now that I have been a Christian for three years I have learned many things. I have become wise. I am a servant for the Lord and I do the work of the Lord in the areas he has called me to. I have read many Christian books and learned from other believers. I now have this love for people and for God. Everyone I see I greet them in love. I have learned how to pray and how to plant the seed. Now that I am saved I no longer feel like I am alone in this world. I live for the Lord. I put my trust in him. I thank God for the trials that I went through because I can share my experiences with others and share my testimony.