{"id":3679,"date":"2017-05-20T05:22:28","date_gmt":"2017-05-20T05:22:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/?page_id=3679"},"modified":"2018-12-09T13:41:08","modified_gmt":"2018-12-09T13:41:08","slug":"ian-nortons-testimony-heroin-to-halleluyah","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/ian-nortons-testimony-heroin-to-halleluyah\/","title":{"rendered":"Ian Norton – Founder of The Jerusalem Gift Shop – Testimony"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Heroin to HalleluYAH<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

by Ian Norton,<\/p>\n

I landed here in Israel on a one way ticket after a 4 year long party in Greece… crawled off the boat in Haifa with about $10 in the pocket, Guitar in hand and hopeful of a wonderful brand new start just around the (next…) corner… or so I thought. Became an Israeli citizen in 1991 and after some years trying to \u2018find myself\u2019 in Tel-Aviv ended up performing in private \u2018Live Sex Shows\u2019 \u2026 that made a lot of money\u2026 but such dirty money would only be spent on dirty living – to anesthetize the reality of my situation (it was not a \u2018fun\u2019 job guys).<\/p>\n

\"Begging

Begging outside Tel-Aviv bus station<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

The serious descent into such a living hell began after diving into every pain killer available to man… to becoming totally \u2018hooked\u2019 on Heroin\u2026 for many years. Moving into a \u2018nice doorway\u2019 for shelter or next to a bush in the park does not take long. The only priority in a junkie’s \u2018life\u2019 is getting that next fix – and what full time a job it is trying to feed that habit\u2026. There isn\u2019t anything I would not do\u2026. Sexual stuff, break into houses, steal, swindle or just begging on the streets. From time to time I would \u2018come around\u2019 and tell myself \u201cThat\u2019s it\u2026 enough\u2026 today I am stopping!!!\u201d In those rare moments of clarity when a desire to live would once grab hold of me I would go through another \u2018cold turkey\u2019 (withdrawal without medication.) They really are the most horrendous experiences \u2013 mental, physical and emotional torture \u2013 the initial intensity lasting around 4 days. Usually lasting 2 days before relapsing, but on some occasions would stay clean a couple of months.<\/p>\n

After about 7 years of sucked down that hole, these words one day were suddenly launched from my mouth toward a Jewish friend in Tel-Aviv…. \u201cGet me a Bible and take me near water!\u201d<\/strong> \u2013 At the time I had\u00a0absolutely no idea where ‘those words’ came from\u2026 He was as shocked at them as I was, but anyway he tried to get me a \u2018Tanach\u2019 (Bible) on Allenby St in Tel-Aviv, but there was only a Brit Hahadasha for sale (New Covenant).<\/p>\n

\"where

where i would ‘jack up’ in Tel-Aviv<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

My friend did not want to buy \u2018that\u2019 so I told him \u201cok forget it\u2026 I\u2019ll just go \u2018score\u2019 another bag of heroin. Reluctantly he says \u201cOK I\u2019ll get it.\u201d We then headed to the bus station and purchased 2 tickets to the first place a bus was heading where there was water (not the beach) \u2013 that happened to be Tiberius next to the Galilee. We started a 20km walk from Tiberius down to the beginning of the Jordan River \u2013 seemed like a Mt Everest climb as every step the effects of my last \u2018fix\u2019 were felt wearing off quickly, \u00a0with the \u2018horrors of withdrawal\u2019 starting also to set in.<\/p>\n

Eventually getting to the Jordan River exhausted and hungry I just collapsed on the banks. Coming round about an hour later I picked up and started to read the book of Mathew, those scriptures were the only thing I owned in this world at that point. The expected pains were starting to increase now but I was still able to stay focused on the Word, \u00a0which happened to be about John the Baptist at the Jordan River\u2026 just at that moment a thick \u2018Cloud of Comfort\u2019 that could almost be touched, and most certainly was felt, surrounded me. The typical torture of \u2018cold turkey\u2019 pains melted away and I just continued reading. This went on for the whole 4 days and there was absolutely no pain whatsoever felt during that \u2018encounter\u2019. Any junkie will tell you ‘that’s just impossible’ – but that is what happened!<\/p>\n