I was born into a devout Christian family. When I was a child, my parents brought me to a Protestant church Sunday School, where I learned about the Bible, sang religious songs, and was taught to love all of God’s creatures. When I was in the second grade, my parents decided to join First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Jakarta, and enrolled my little brother and me in the Sunday School. There I learned to understand the Bible and discovered God’s infinite love to His creation, and that He created men and women in His image and likeness. I was also healed of several illnesses from which I’d suffered since a very early age.
However, I had a difficult time when I turned 13. The stronger children in my school neighborhood often bullied the weaker ones, and that happened to me. I was treated unfairly by those who were stronger. I felt hurt and wanted to take revenge. At that time, I felt that prayer could not help me.
I was determined not to become a victim ever again. I wanted at least to be able to defend myself physically when I was attacked, so I joined a gang. Early in 1991, I joined several gangs: the gang in my school, a gang in my school neighborhood, and a gang in my neighborhood at home. Doing drugs and smoking was a must among the gang members. So I started to smoke and drink. It wasn’t long before I did drugs and smoked marijuana.
