Having everything, he wanted more

Alrick grew up in a stable home in Wellington. He lacked nothing, yet he wanted more out of life. At 12 he started smoking cigarettes, and from about 14 years he experimented with alcohol and Tik. He still finished his schooling, hiding his addiction from his strict church-going parents. They suspected something, but whenever they confronted Alrick, he denied it.

After school, he moved to Worcester to be close to his girlfriend Abigail. He sporadically used drugs without her knowledge. Eventually, at age 22 he moved to Cape Town, where he had the opportunity to further his studies. He had more time on his hands, and his drug habit flared up. He was drawn to the wrong friends, and through them, he had better access to drugs.

Denial, denial, denial

After finishing at Northlink College he worked in Cape Town. His employers tested him for drugs a couple of times, and even though he was positive, he always found a way to deny it convincingly.

Alrick was very ashamed of his drug habit; he didn’t want people to find out and didn’t want his reputation to be marred. But in 2018 he gave up his job. He moved back to Worcester and kept his drug habit hidden from Abigail. Eventually, the downward spiral was too evident, and he couldn’t hide it from her any more. She noticed how he moved around with gangsters although he wasn’t one himself. These guys were his means to obtain drugs.

You have to leave…

Abigail’s mother reached the point where she asked him to leave. He moved back to his parents in Wellington. He found a job, but as soon as he earned money, he bought drugs.

Due to Covid, he couldn’t work anymore. Without income, he used his wits to make an income by illegally getting alcohol and cigarettes for people. He was the go-to guy.

Aggressive behaviour was normal

“I became aggressive towards my parents, yet to me this was normal behaviour. After times of scuffling with my dad and yelling at my mother, I was asked to leave the house.”

Homeless

“I lost everything, my car, I was jobless, and I had no place to sleep or to call home. I was rock bottom. At night I would break into my parents’ garage and sleep in the car. Before they woke up in the mornings, I would be gone.

“One specific night I realised I couldn’t go on like this. And I remember in my growing up years I had learnt to pray. I lay quietly in the back seat of my parents’ car. ‘Father, show me how to pray for I want to be saved.’ I heard a small voice in my heart: Pray in the name of Jesus. So in Jesus’ name, I asked for help. The very following day Abigail sent me a message saying she had heard about Heinrich May whose life was completely transformed after going through the Change Maker Program. Abigail arranged with Mia for an interview.”

Moria House

“As I was not on speaking terms with my parents, so Abigail phoned my parents asking them to bring me to Moria House for an interview. I was desperate for help and Mia arranged for me to be admitted at Moria House in February 2021.

“It was while I was in the program that I realised how God had answered me when I cried out to him in the back seat of my parents’ car. So I began to pray for many things – for recovery, for reconciliation with my parents and my family, because all ties were broken. Gradually God answered all my prayers. I realised how powerful prayer is – how powerful God is!”

New life

Alick’s life has so much meaning. He has become a role model in the community. Through God’s providence he married Abigail in 2022. He is the assistant manager at Bro’s Street Food. He is a member of the Mountain club where he volunteers by taking delinquent boys on hiking trails, ministering to them and sharing the Gospel with them.

Alrick, we are grateful that you turned to God. Truly, through your testimony we can see what it means to taste God and see that He is good!