I was eight years old when my dad died. I hated the world; I hated God for the occurrences that destroyed my life. I grew up in the system beginning at the young age of fifteen. I hated my mom for what happened to me and my sister. Taken by C.P.S. from there I was raised by foster parents and group homes, raped in a group home. That was the beginning of my racism. So I got involved in gangs. From there it was drugs, weed, pills and drinking. After graduation I began selling drugs and using. I caught my first case selling drugs. But I still continued until I was 22 and got married and was still in that dark place. Another drug case. At 23, my son Dustin was born and I was divorced at 24, lost my son to my ex-wife. At the end of that year, I met another girl and had another child, Dagan, still doing sinful things including intravenous drugs.  I moved to Hemet, Ca and met another girl and had another son named Tyler, still in criminal activities. At the end of 2015, my son Tyler was taken from us. I just gave up and became homeless. This led to darker things. I was homeless for 9 Months in LA’s Skid Row. Depression, shame and hate took over. In 2016, I came to Set Free and began studying the Word, but I was not ready, nor did I ask. I left, but I did well for a year and then depression overtook without faith. I went back to the same thing I did before. I met another girl and after a year off and on, I relapsed 5 different times. She insisted several times I needed help. But one day crying in the garage I told her I needed help, but she said she’d stand by me no matter what happens. In 2017, I returned to Set Free, I got right with God. He forgave me for my sins and now I go on as a new child of God.

 

–Jared Yepez