By Ariana Erickson–
At the age of 13, Elisha was addicted to cocaine and speed. He sold drugs and was stealing cars. To support his habit, he fell into prostitution by age 16 in the Arab town of Jaffa.
“My dad was a pastor. That’s why I tried to do the opposite,” Elisha says.
At age 17, Elisha decided he was burned out on jail, vice and crime. Returning to his father’s house, he kneeled and begged for forgiveness. “You need Jesus,” his father said.
The precipitous descent into a life of hell started with Elisha’s rebelliousness. Wanting to turn his back on his father’s faith, he turned to the Arab mob, where he submitted to a boss.
“He had a gun and he pointed it at me,” Elisha says. “It was wild. it was such an intense environment.”
From stealing cars and running drugs, he turned to male prostitution.
By age 17, the lies of “fun” in the world were showing hollow.
“I’m drugged up, I’m doing things that I know are bad for me,” Elisha remembers. “I have no hope.”
The prodigal son returned to his dad.
“My spirit was destroyed,” he confesses. He couldn’t go on.
Elisa got baptized that very day.
“I felt this presence of God, and that there was nothing I couldn’t do,” Elisha says. “I felt like a new creation, that there was no shame in my past.”
Until this day, Elisha serves in ministry in Israel, helping others escape the same darkness that once held him captive. Serving God is what makes him happy; he encourages others and lifts them up, which is a sign of a true relationship with God.
“I love God so much, because I know how much he did for me.” Elisha says. “Everywhere I go, everyone I meet Jesus is something I want them to know about.”
Source: So Be It! YouTube
