Raymond Haack's Testimony
Three years before I gave my life to Christ, I met a man named Kent. We were in construction together. He was the foreman of the crew. I had learned that Kent used
to be a hard living, drug abusing, gambling, man. But the Kent I knew seemed to be a radically changed man from the way he used to be. Someone told me he was one of
those "Born Again" guys. My response was, "Ooh - I hope that doesn't happen to me." Over the next three years I kept testing him with the current
events and problems of the day. What amazed me was that he always answered my questions and concerns with scripture and not with his opinions.
Since the age of 16, I was usually under the influence of one sort of drug or another. At one point, I began spending upwards of $1,000 a week on methamphetamines,
cocaine, crack and gambling. During this time, I was still able to maintain a functioning life. I owned my own home, maintained my daily job, and had a wife and child
that I was providing for. I was regarded as a "man's man". Womanizing, partying and gambling were all a part of the normal routine for my life. We'd start
the party on Thursday night and keep using, drinking, and spending time in the card houses or the crack houses with no sleep all weekend. We'd go to work on Monday
without sleeping a wink. We'd crash hard on Tuesday and Wednesday. Then on Thursday, the cycle would start all over again. I was lucky to be alive.
On July 2, 2002 my wife and daughter were preparing to fly to Chicago for my father in-law's birthday. I had just ordered $500 worth of cocaine and I was going
to tell my wife to stay in Chicago. I was going to throw my wife and child away. But God had a different plan.
I ended up at a job site in Rio Vista, having suddenly been called out there to work at the last minute. I was originally scheduled to do a job in Hayward, much
closer to home, when I was told that I was needed on another project 75 miles away. The foreman was Kent. It had been months since I'd seen or talked to him. I
went up to test him again with a question; "Isn't it a shame about that dad who's trying to take 'God' out of the Pledge of Allegiance?" This time he didn't
give scripture, but it sounded like it. He said, "That's the legacy he's going to leave his daughter." Then he walked away. That's when God began to work on
my heart, asking me, "What kind of legacy are you going to leave your daughter?!" Hours later I walked up to him and he looked at me and simply asked,
"Do you love Jesus?" And that's when it really hit me. I was overwhelmed with the love of God. It drenched every part of my being. I began to weep
uncontrollably, telling Christ, "I do love you!" I dropped to my knees right there on the job site and gave my life to Jesus. Kent asked me if I wanted to
pray and I said, "Yes." When we prayed, I felt this overwhelming presence of Christ in my life. Everything changed at that point. It was like lightning.
You can't produce it by yourself, but when it strikes, you know you're in its presence.
One of the things that Christ did in my life immediately was to heal me from the havoc that the drugs had wreaked on my body. Up until that point I was taking 5 ulcer
pills a day on top of the drugs that were causing the stomach problems in the first place. Because of the immediate healing that took place, I haven't had to take any
ulcer pills since. The Lord healed me from addiction. Because of the miraculous healing of the Lord, I never went through withdrawals when I quit the drugs. I quit that
day and have never gone back.
I went home to my wife and I told her about what Christ had done in my heart just a few hours earlier. She thought I was crazy. But after a few months of seeing me as a
changed man, she also gave her life to Christ.
Now one of the most important priorities in my life is serving Jesus Christ and my family. I bear witness to the life changes that Christ has blessed me with. On the
job site, men see a tattooed, 300 pound teamster and they expect to talk the "man's man" talk. And when we talk, I tell them how I used to be and I tell them
how Christ has changed my life forever.
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