Richard Karpiuk:  

Hey y'all, I didn't graduate, but attended QE in 1970-71. You may remember that I was arrested during a class change for selling pot and "went away" for a while. This was the beginning of a 12-year self-destructive journey that caused me (and especially those close to me) a lot of grief. Decisions during that time were "all about me". I Know now that I was very angry and didn't care about anyone, nor myself. Mistakenly, I thought I was having a good time and was in control, but the drugs, alcohol and anger were the authorities in my life. I was convicted of trafficking narcotics a second time and went to BC Penitentiary 1975-77. I moved from Surrey to Penticton in 1972 or something like that. I got laid off each winter, returned to Surrey to work & then went back to Penticton to work in the same company 'till the next lay off. I did that for about 10 yrs. I've been in Penticton since 1980, during which time I married Boo, also from Surrey. We’d been together for 3 years by then. In 1982 I met Jesus Christ but was still extremely self-centered for the first 10 yrs. of my Christian life, while I tried to figure it out. Boo & I had a child together and divorced after 8 yrs. because, to be honest, I was controlling, insensitive & didn't know anything about relationship building, so in fairness to Boo, I don't blame her for leaving. Before Boo & I moved to the Okanagan, we visited my parents' home to say, "Bye for now", as we were leaving town. My mom was preparing for a yard sale. She was pricing stuff and I asked for a few things. She agreed and while we were picking some things out, mom sensed the Spirit of God tell her to slip my old Gideon New Testament Bible, that I received in grade 5, into one of the boxes. Shortly after we arrived in the Okanagan, the Gideon Bible was discovered, so Boo & I decided to check it out. Trouble is, we began reading the book of Revelation, got scared out of our minds and put the Bible on the fireplace mantle, where it sat for several years. Boo & I, still drinking & drugging, had personal clashes over the years and I tended to get violent, verbally abuse her, break things & frighted her & the 2 children. Our marriage began to fail, so Boo and the 2 boys left one day. I came home to silence & initially thought, "Good, I'm glad that's over", but as I sat in the living room, I began looking at all the photos Boo had placed in remembrance of our positive experiences together and I began to feel a great sadness of loss. Tears flowed & I realized how unsuccessful I'd been at life. I remembered how I'd tried several times to change my life by changing my friends or moving, but I kept botching everything thing up. I'd even given drugs away in hopes of starting a new chapter & getting my life together. Then my eyes fell upon that Gideon Bible. I realized that I believed there was a God, but that I didn't know what he had to do with me & I understood that I'd never allowed him nor the Bible to have any influence upon me and my life. I felt a glimmer of hope, picked up the Bible and began to read. In the front, there was an introduction suggesting that each time, before I read, that I ask God to show me Jesus Christ as my Saviour. I remember thinking, "The people who wrote this Bible know more than I do, so I'll just trust them," so I prayed and began to read some selected verses that were printed there, which got me thinking. I spent the next week (I was not working at the time) reading the New Testament & began to see things from a different perspective. Jesus was portrayed as such a strong but loving individual who cared so deeply about absolutely everyone. This was all revealed to me as the Bible showed him relating to all kinds of people from all walks of life. As this was being revealed to me, I also noticed that my own beliefs, attitudes and lifestyle were such a total contrast that I longed to be different. I wanted to be like him. By this time, I had read through the New Testament books of Matthew, Mark & Luke. It was when I was somewhere in the book of John. (These are biographies of Jesus Christ, each from a different person who spent 3 yrs. listening to him, thus different perspectives.) Reading this much of the New Testament, there were many, many stories showing me what kind of a person Jesus truly was, plus, I had read about his crucifixion and resurrection at least three times and began to understand, ever so slightly, why He came to Earth in the first place. I realized how guilty I felt about the many self-centered and hurtful choices I’d made, as well as the truth that Jesus was offering me complete and total forgiveness and freedom. I put the Bible down and prayed asking Jesus to forgive me & make me like him. By this time I had enough faith to believe that he not only heard me, but that his answer was, “Yes, of course". When I was done the prayer, I simply said, “Thank you.“ Instantly, I felt a weight lifted off of my chest that I never even knew was there before. Also, a deep and profound peace enveloped me in the depths of my soul, and I knew at that moment that I had been born again. A very powerful thing happened next. I jumped up, ran out my back door, saw my neighbor hoeing her garden and yelled, "Sophie, The Bible is true, God is real, Jesus is God !!” Poor lady. She was startled, did not believe in God (her and her husband were in their 60's and retired Satan's Choice from out east) and she actually staggered back a few steps. Seeing her reaction, I went back into the house and began praising God for what had just happened to me. I was elated and overjoyed. I knew that I was "born again" and completely forgiven for all of my past attitudes and behaviors against myself, my family and society. That was in the spring or summer of 1982 and today is July 19/22. Since then, I've been learning that human beings are very complex. Life and the enemy of our souls (the satan) can have very negative and devastating effects upon us, so it does take a fair bit of time to heal and mature as one should. I believe that we all have within us a deep desire to do well, be healthy, enjoy life and contribute to our world in a positive way, but I've also discovered that we cannot do it alone. In fact, since we're created beings, we are completely reliant upon our Creator, God for every breath we take! We are not our own. This dependency is the key to a relationship with God in which we actually experience His faithfulness, lo...Expand for more