Ooh, 23 years old, grew up in one of Bangkok's many slum areas. His parents seperated when he was just 4 years old. Since that day he started living with his aunt, who has become his mom. Ooh tells me: " I got to see my father very seldom. Once or twice a year he would come and visit me. I still remember how much I longed to see him."

Since nobody was at home when Ooh came back from school he started hanging around with friends from the slum. He began sniffing glue at the age of 12. Later on he was sent to the province to finish 6th grade. He wasn't smart enough to study further. Back in Bangkok he met with his drug buddies regularly. If he had a job he kept loosing it after a short time because of his addiction. Ooh confesses:' During those years I would take any drug I could lay may hands on, I didn't care if it was glue, speed, hashish or heroin.'

Longing for a change
In the meantime Ooh was 19 years old and he was longing for a change in his life. The turning point came through a christian street worker. Ooh remembers:  I finally wanted to quit drugs but I didn't know how. While talking to the street worker I was encouraged.' That's how I ended up in the rehab center of HELP. After finishing the program Ooh stayed clean of drugs. But bit by bit the small things like smoking and drinking got hold of him again. He was unstable and changed jobs often. Those things and an additional conflict in a relationship made him come back to our center 8 months ago.

New beginning
Ooh works as a shop assistant in a store that sells construction material. When he comes home in the evening he greets us with a very loud shout at the garden gate. It always seems that he is very glad to come home after a straining day of work. Mostly he is in a good mood, even though he has to let off his frustation over work or his boss from time to time. It is really encouraging for us to see how much more stable he is getting in dealing with his daily life.

In the evening Ooh partakes in our evening schedule. Later on you can see a little lamp burning in his room. That's his time of reading his bible. Not long ago he made a commitment to pray and fast once a week for a youth camp during fall. Of course he wants to attend that camp, too. When our guys dance and jump during worship you can be sure that Ooh is one of them.

His decision to ask again for help is paying off. We can see how God confirms this step of humility by changing Ooh in a positiv way.