Anita

Anita’s life details another miracle—another beautiful story of God transforming someone from the winter to the spring of her life through the ministry of Betel.  

Anita grew up the fifth of eight children in a home where love was not expressed.  She was often responsible for caring for her three younger siblings. Alcohol has always been a part of her life. Her mother, stepfather and siblings all drank heavily.  Considering these early influences, it is no surprise that she developed her own problem with alcohol. 

When Anita was 18, she left home. She lived on her own and felt free to do whatever she wanted. Sadly, she made very unwise decisions. In her “freedom” she became enslaved—addicted to cocaine, pills and alcohol for more than ten years.  Like so many addicts, she turned to stealing to pay for her habit.  This led to spending some time in prison. After years of living on the streets, serving time in jail, and wasting her money on drugs and alcohol, she realized she needed help.  She came to Betel by “accident.” She intended to enter another Christian rehabilitation center, but mixed up the addresses. When she went to where she thought the other center was she ended up at Betel. God had plans for her there.

Breaking free from the bondage of addiction is difficult, so it is not uncommon for Betelitos to enter and leave the program several times before they fully embrace the need to change and grasp the possibility of a changed life in Jesus Christ.  Such was the case for Anita.  She says of her first time in Betel, “All they talked about was God and the Bible, and I had always considered myself an atheist.  I was in a Christian center and I wanted to leave, but the fear of living on the street and going back to alcohol prevented me from leaving [at that time].”

Anita eventually left the program but later regretted the decision. She asked to return in March 2008. There is much grace exercised in Betel, and they welcomed her back into the program. Anita can see that God has been working in her life.  She thanks him for miracles and grace. “I give thanks to God that neither me nor my boyfriend has an illness.  I had hepatitis C and am now negative.  I know that this is the work of the Lord.”

Along with physical healing, Anita is being restored spiritually. She came to realize that Jesus died for her sins, and she accepted Him as her savior. She was baptized in September 2009.  Anita notes how God is transforming her character, “I am now much more relaxed and I try to listen to the voice of God when He is working on me to teach me a better way to do things.” She wants to help others who also need freedom through Christ. The current house leader is soon to be married and Anita will take her place. In her winter, she “accidentally” came to this house; now God will use her here to help others to see past their winter to the spring that only He can bring.

—Lynne Larson, Betel Spain

A New Song

Izzy was raised in a Christian family in Spain. His father was a pastor. When he was eight years old, Izzy accepted Christ at a Good News Club that his mother was leading at home. Although he was saved that day, it would not be long before his faith would be severely tested.

Two years later, Izzy and his siblings attended summer camp. When their mom picked them up from camp, she decided to drive home late that night to get home sooner than planned and surprise her husband.  Tragically, she fell asleep while driving and crashed. Izzy’s brother, Isaac, died instantly. His mother crushed a bone in her lower back and was unable to walk for more than a year. His sisters suffered cuts and broken bones. Izzy’s injuries were severe and he was put into a medically-induced coma for several days because of the surgeries he had to endure and the shock he experienced.

Izzy and his mother spent over a month in the hospital. His injuries included broken feet and glass crystals in his eyes. He had over 100 stitches all over his body. His sphincter was destroyed and had to be reconstructed. For ten years he would have daily pain and bleeding from this injury. His father would sometimes have to burn the wound closed with silver nitrate. The pain was excruciating.  

Along with the physical pain came great emotional pain. Izzy’s life was turned upside down. When he came out of the coma, his brother was already buried. Nobody wanted to talk about what happened. His father decided they should move to another house. Pictures of Isaac were not hung in the new house. Izzy’s oldest sister moved to London. His other sister remained at home but walked away from her faith, blaming God for taking her brother away. All of these changes were hard to process for a ten year old, and Izzy began to store up anger in his heart toward God and his mother. Izzy’s injuries made it painful to sit, so he sat on a cushion. The children at school made fun of him. This added to his anger and he began to fight a lot. He was well able to defend himself.  He had been studying karate since he was six and won the regional championship when he was ten.

Izzy found some comfort in playing music, so he began to play guitar and percussion in the church. He became very skilled on flamenco and African drums. He decided that he wanted to go to college to study music and computers, but his father had other wishes for him. In his anger and immaturity, Izzy rebelled and moved to London, leaving church and God behind.

When Izzy moved to London, he lived with his sister who was heavily involved in the drug scene. It wasn’t long until he was also using marijuana, ketamine and cocaine. He started playing music in nightclubs. His sister had friends who were DJs, and they booked shows for him. People liked this young man with a good show.

By the time he was eighteen, Izzy was completely lost in a life of what he calls “sex, drugs and technohouse.” In the world’s view he had it all—talent, women, money and success. He was finishing his studies in music production, getting a master’s diploma in African drumming and taking some computer courses. But deep in his heart he was not fulfilled. He knew this was not what he was supposed to do. His cocaine addiction got worse, both physically and emotionally. He was destroying himself and hurting the people who loved him.

The Lord had mercy on him and sent Izzy’s best friend from Spain, Kevin, to work in a Christian hostel in London. For three months Kevin invited him to church every Sunday. Because he was living a sinful lifestyle, Izzy declined. Finally, though, he agreed to go with him. The sermon that day was about the prodigal son. Izzy broke down and wept, praying for forgiveness. Afterward he called his parents and soon returned to Spain.

In Spain he attended church regularly, worked hard and began his first year of studying law in college. But he neglected to put God first in his life. Before long he began to play drums in jazz clubs and concert halls, performing with other artists. Because drugs were all around him, it didn’t take him long to fall back into addiction. Everything went downhill quickly. He dropped out of law school. Within a few months he was living on the streets, playing in the subway to earn money for his next “fix.” He lived like that for almost a year until he became ill with pneumonia and nearly died. He was only 19. Once again his family had mercy on him and helped him. They took care of him in the hospital and then took him back home.

After his recovery, Izzy got a good job in a computer company, returned to church and began to save money for a car. He stayed clean for a year before his priorities began to slip again. He became a workaholic and stopped going to church regularly, working instead. Disconnected from the Vine, he began to die, slipping back into a destructive lifestyle.

He spent his summer vacation swimming and drinking beer. He met a friend from the past and started using cocaine again. Izzy disappeared, and for two weeks his parents did not know where he was. He went back to their house to pack up his stuff and return to life on the streets. But what he saw at his parents’ home changed everything. During the time that he was missing, his parents had shaved their heads, fasted and prayed with ashes on their heads, crying out to God on his behalf. When he saw his parents like that—especially his mom without her beautiful, long, curly hair, he realized that he was going to kill them if he didn’t change his life. He broke down and cried for a long time.

Izzy’s parents recommended that he enter Betel to receive help for his drug addiction. Even though he knew that drugs were not the real problem—they were just the outward signs of his sin and disobedience to God—he decided to enter for a short time to satisfy his parents. Izzy and his family were very familiar with Betel. His family visited there several times a year, bought furniture from the shop and hired Betelitos to do work for them. The Director of Betel taught Izzy how to ride a bike when he was young. It was very awkward for Izzy’s father to take his son to the home for a very different reason. When they entered the home they were greeted as old friends. One leader put his arm around Izzy’s father’s shoulder and encouraged him—many pastor’s sons had come to Betel to get their lives turned around.

Izzy intended to only stay at Betel for a few weeks. But God had other plans. At first it was quite hard to be in the program. Betel is a very strict Christian rehabilitation program that deals with character flaws in people in a very simple way—allowing iron to sharpen iron. Men change by living in a community with a bunch of other men who have the same problems and attitudes. They work hard, have daily devotionals and spend 24/7 serving each other, which helps to shape each individual’s behavior. The older guys in the program take care of the newer guys, helping them to get through the withdrawals, which are severe since Betel operates on a “cold turkey” system. No substitute drugs are allowed to ease the withdrawal. Despite the hardships, Izzy continued in the program.

After Izzy had spent three months with Betel, the house leader shared a devotional that changed his life. He taught about Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane and how He could have refused to go to the cross but he prayed, “Your will be done, not mine.” Those words struck Izzy like an arrow. That night he prayed to God: “Lord, from this day on I want your will in my life and not mine; direct my path wherever you choose; here is my life; here is my will; it’s yours from now until the day I die or you return.” Izzy’s life changed radically after that day. God placed love in his heart and gave him a desire to serve Him and others. He determined to live every day for God, to deny himself and live for God alone. At that moment, God healed his heart and enabled him to forgive those who had hurt him in the past.

Since that time God has blessed his life with unbelievable miracles. Once, when working in Betel Spain, a wildfire threatened the house. It raced toward Izzy and three other men who fought the fire for two hours. The fire encircled the house, coming so close that it killed the chickens they were raising, melted the kerosene lights on the porch and blew the electric lines, but miraculously did not touch the house. In the aftermath of the fire, Izzy dug up hundreds of bricks from a burned-out factory and used them to build several structures at the house, including a prayer patio. It was a picture of how God was rebuilding his life—bringing beauty from ashes.

Izzy remained in Betel Spain for one year and then moved to New York City to help with Betel America. Initially he was a “senior responsible.” During the day, he restored furniture, made deliveries and performed basic house maintenance duties. He also “shadowed” new guys, literally watching their every move 24/7 and caring for their needs during withdrawal. This meant staying up all night long with them, providing whatever they needed in their struggle—blankets, hot tea, massages to relieve the severe muscle cramps that often accompany withdrawal. It also meant showering them and cleaning up their vomit when they become ill.

Izzy spent two years in Betel America, eventually becoming the house leader, a position of great responsibility: overseeing the men, managing antique stores, leading devotionals and preaching at church services. He also used his love of music to help lead worship services and began to write and play his own worship songs.

Throughout his time in Betel, Izzy has been learning to depend on God alone, to go to Him for strength and guidance and to pray daily for wisdom to make the right decisions to help all the men who need to hear the gospel on the streets of New York. Izzy learned to stop focusing on himself and his desires and needs and begin to look for how he could serve others. God has also blessed Izzy with deep friendships among the men who have wrestled through similar issues and trials.

God has called Izzy to prepare in a much deeper way for His service. He is currently studying at Elim Bible Institute, where he desires to develop a deeper knowledge of the Word of God. He hopes to learn more about drawing people into God’s Word and leading them in worshipping Him. He is also studying music and songwriting. He is open to whatever God wants him to do after graduation. He may be a missionary, a worship leader or a pastor. He may return to Betel in some capacity. Wherever he goes and whatever he does, his goal is to bring the lost to Christ, to help others find the freedom that he has found.

—Penny J. Hood

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