Johnson Pillay has triumphantly emerged from the shadows of addiction and peer pressure.

It is natural for young people to undergo a period of social and personal experimentation as they find their place in life. However, unfortunately, during this phase, peer pressure can influence their attitude. It can lead young people to engage in unhealthy and sometimes even dangerous behaviours.  Johnson Pillay experienced this firsthand when he decided to follow his peers and their actions to fit in with the crowd. His story is about how peer pressure led him astray and how God guided him back onto the right path. Today, he lives a vibrant life of renewal, full of hope and new opportunities.

He said, “I was born and raised in a disciplined Christian home in Durban, Phoenix. My parents were both dedicated and committed churchgoers, doing everything they could to raise us in the ways of the Lord. While visiting the community shop at the age of 12, I started to notice older children gathering and hanging around street corners, playing music and cards, wearing earrings, hats backwards, torn jeans, and so on. I said to myself, ‘Wow, these guys are so free and relaxed, not like me, just going to school and church and staying at home.’ It wasn’t long before this desire in my heart became a reality.

“In my last year of primary school, I was already standing on corners smoking cigarettes and dagga. By the time I reached high school, I was a hardcore Mandrax smoker. I began to steal money from my siblings and parents to support my drug habit. Things just grew worse at school, as I attended school high and drunk, got involved in fights, and was regularly absent until I dropped out of school in grade 10. I got a job at the local supermarket, but was caught stealing several times. I eventually landed up in prison. By then, I was addicted to smoking Mandrax tablets and crack cocaine.

“I later married and had a beautiful baby girl, but even this family couldn’t fill the void within me. I eventually left my wife and child after stealing a large amount of jewellery from my wife’s home, which I sold to buy drugs. I returned to live with my parents. I began to steal whatever jewellery was around the house, including my dad’s wedding ring. This insane behaviour destroyed my family, especially my mum. My dad and siblings couldn’t look me in the eye because of my threatening and violent behaviour.

“At this time, I worked in different clothing companies as a qualified cutter, earning quite a reasonable wage. But this did not last because I stole from my employers. Eventually, there was nothing left to steal at home anymore. I had no job or income, so I began to rob people on the street.

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“I once even stole a large quantity of Mandrax tablets from a drug dealer, and gangsters barged into my home with guns and threatened my family, leaving my mum devastated. She eventually passed on due to a heart attack (and I’m sure a broken heart), and later, my dad also passed on.

“A few years later, our family home was sold, and we all were given a share of the proceeds. I squandered my share at a drug den in a few months. When my money was finished, I became a total hobo with no shelter, food, or clothes. The drug dealer acknowledged the money I had spent at his drug den and offered me a job selling drugs and accommodation in the drug den. I had no choice but to accept the offer.

“I smoked Mandrax and cocaine day and night and slept only a few hours a day because it was a 24-hour drug-dealing operation. I sold drugs, stole, robbed, cheated, was involved in violent fights, and lived immorally. I was disappearing physically. The police were my greatest enemies, and I was caught in possession of drugs and arrested a few times.

“My older brother often came looking for me, but I refused to see him. I wanted no contact with my family because of the shame and disgrace I had caused them. While in this state of despair, with no hope left, I remembered the KwaSizabantu Mission, as my dad had taken me there once. I arose early one morning and decided it was now or never. I knew if I did not make a drastic decision immediately, I would die in the life I was living.

“I went to the Mission in 2012, and shortly after arriving, it was suggested that I take an HIV test as my physical appearance looked so bad they suspected that I may be HIV positive. By God’s grace, the test was negative, and it was simply the result of the drugs I was using having consumed my body. I couldn’t stand upright, always walked crouched and hunched over, and I had to pause every few steps to catch my breath. I was in desperate need, both spiritually and physically. I sincerely confessed my sins one by one, and God, in His great love and mercy, saw fit to set me free from every addiction miraculously. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed! (John 8:36)

“Since 2012, I’ve reconciled with my family and by God’s amazing grace, I have been living and working at KwaSizabantu for over a decade now, completely free from drugs and living a new life in Christ with His children. God has also seen it fit for me to be one of the proud employees at aQuellé, where I am employed as an Invoice Clerk. The company also allowed me to pursue my studies, and I have now completed a one-year course in Stores and Warehousing Management.

“I could have been dead 10 years ago, but because of one man’s obedience, the late Rev. Erlo Stegen, the founder of KwaSizabantu, I have been snatched from the very flames of hell and brought into God’s glorious presence.”

(Read more uplifting stories such as this one in our sister publication, Devoted under Restored Lives. Link: https://www.devotedmag.co.za/