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Ingleside Baptist Church
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Testimonies
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TESTIMONIES OF OUR MEMBERS
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The year was 1993, and I was 14 years old. I was in the backyard hanging out when one of my friends showed up at my house with a bag of marijuana. He asked me if I had smoked weed before. I said, “No.” Then he told me that he had just smoked some weed (marijuana) for the first time and it made him feel pretty good. That was when things made a turn for the worse as he asked me if I wanted to smoke some. I automatically said “yes.” From that day forward my life was never the same.
I started smoking weed every day, and I even started drinking alcohol. I was only 14, and I was already headed for a dead end. I started my freshman year at Norview High School in September of ’93, and I became very, very rebellious. I got in trouble at school a lot and was constantly suspended. That first year I missed 89 days of school and failed all my classes. The second year I missed 50 days, and the year after that I missed 50 days.
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Ben Barrow
aka "Son of Jacob"
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In my second year I got an out-of-district transfer to Granby High School to be closer to my friends. Finally, in 1997, after giving me three chances to straighten up, the principal had enough of me and my disobedience. As I was waiting for a suspension, I got up and walked out of the school. My parents brought me back to the school, and they tried to talk to the principal, but he was not budging this time. I had gone too far and deserved to be punished. I was then expelled from Norfolk Public Schools for the rest of the year.
Now having a lot more time on my hands not being in school, I started getting sick as I kept smoking, and drinking, going out and partying with friends. I remember one of those nights that I smoked a joint for the last time. After that I was not sure whether I was going to even be alive. That night I started panicking, and I told one of my friends to take me home right away. I felt like I was literally losing my mind. For the next three months I basically remember sitting in my room and blacking out and seeing stars. I would hardly eat, sleep, take showers, or even talk. My parents would come into my room to see how I was doing, and I would start panicking. I was always discouraged and did not want to talk to anyone about it.
One day I went to my dad and asked him why I felt like I was going crazy. He asked me if I had prayed, but I was so caught up in the things of the world that I had put prayer in the back of my mind. I was not even sure what prayer was anymore. I looked at my dad and said, “Prayed?” Then he said, “Have you prayed to GOD?” That’s when the lights turned on inside me, and I said, “No, I haven’t.” The very next day I remember being on my knees in my room crying my eyes out. I looked up and said to GOD, “If you save my life, I will never get high or drunk again, and I will live for you for the rest of my life.” My life has never been the same since. I did a complete 180-degree turnaround. I went back to high school and got my high school diploma, went on to college and eventually got my Associates Degree in Ministry Studies. GOD has even blessed me to be a Christian rapper. I thank GOD for Ingleside Baptist Church--my roots--and for the privilege of ministering to the youth at IBC and all over the world.
I give the LORD all the praise and honor for saving my life. It is only by the grace of GOD that I am what I am today. GOD is real and if He can change me, He can change anybody. It doesn’t matter what you’ve been through; GOD will meet you right where you are. This testimony is for somebody who doesn’t believe that GOD can touch them and heal them, but if you seek HIM right now, then you’ll find HIM. HE loves you so much. HE had me write this letter just for you.
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Check out Ben's web site: (Click the logo.)
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