Daikson grew up in the Pacific Islands. Thinking about his people and growing up, he says: “We’re not accustomed to certain things that were introduced to us, for example cigarettes and alcohol. Lots of my people get addicted to both of these things. I started using alcohol when I was in high school and I got hooked. It has been almost twenty years of using, and looking back on it, it’s pretty much ruined my life, school, and relationship towards marriage, family, and ultimately God.”
On the worst night of his life, Daikson came to the Mission. He’s pretty sure he had alcohol poisoning. He said to himself, “That’s it. I can’t go on with life like this.” “I ended up at the Mission on accident (or that’s what I thought at that time), but looking back on it, it was no accident at all. I believe it was God’s plan for me to end up here.”
A week later, the Mission staff started talking with Daikson about the New Life Program (NLP). “At first I said “I’ll look into it,” and that’s classic Daikson, procrastination and trust issues.”
But he actually did end up joining the NLP. At that point in time, he explains, “I was emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually dead.”
Now that a year has passed, he’s graduated from the NLP. Daikson says: “The program taught me a lot. I’ve learned so much in one year spiritually and as a human being than I learned in the last twenty years of my life. I have learned so much on my issues of anger, pride, procrastination, and about responsibility, trust, accountability; I can go on and on.”
“I would like to end my testimony with the greatest gratitude, thanking all the teachers, the chaplain, the staff, and the donors and volunteers here for your kindness and compassion towards others, your willingness to go the extra mile, and the program itself. The love, grace, and mercy of our great Savior has saved me.”
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