The Witness Stand
"Hello, my name is David Hanna"
Hello, my name is David George Hanna and I am an inmate at the Federal prison camp in Sheridan, Oregon. My number is 60275-065 and I am currently serving a five year sentence for Drugs.
I would like to share with you my testimony concerning my past life and my present life. My past life has not been all that pleasant. I was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. When I was 11 years old I began using drugs. I started out smoking marijuana and drinking beer, and as time went on I began using other drugs, such as cocaine, acid, speed - you name it, I used it, it didn't matter to me, 'cause I liked 'em all. Because of my addiction to drugs I began getting in trouble at a young age. I was doing burglaries and stealing anything I could sell so I could buy drugs. I went through foster homes, and group homes. I went to MacLaren School for Boys, and then finally, a month after my 18th birthday I was sentenced to 10 years at Oregon State Penitentiary, for robbery.
If I was to sum my whole past life up into one word, that word would be this - DRUGWAR. My past life was a Drugwar, not like the Drugwar you hear on TV between the Police and drug dealers, and it wasn't between me and other drug dealers, it was the drugs and myself. It was a war between the addiction I had for the drugs and myself. It was a war between the addiction I had for the drugs and myself, I was a prisoner to drugs. If I wasn't selling 'em I was using 'em and if I wasn't using 'em I was out looking for 'em, and if I wasn't out looking for 'em I was thinking about 'em, every hour of every day was consumed behind drugs. While I was in the Penitentiary I was thinking of ways to get drugs into the Joint, and because of dirty U.A.'s and being involved in the drug world inside the Penitentiary I did harder time in the Hole (segregation). When I paroled in December of 1983, I hit the streets with one thing in mind, I was going to make a lot of money selling drugs. Well I did - but I also became my best customer. I was a prisoner of the Drugwar again, worse than ever.
This time the Drugwar almost took my life 6 times. Six times I overdosed (O.D.'d) on drugs. Two of those times I was taken to the hospital in an ambulance and woke up on a heart machine with the needle going crazy because I was rushing still. You would think that I would have stopped using drugs at that point, but nooooo, I was a serious prisoner of the Drugwar and I could not quit on my own. I ended up going back to the Penitentiary for another 3 years behind drugs and lost everything!
I got out in '94 still a prisoner of the Drugwar, which caused me to pick up this crime that I am now doing 5 years for. But, while I was on the pre-trial release the best thing that could of ever happened to me - happened! On August 30, 1996, I got remarried to the most beautiful woman in the world, bless her heart. She introduced me to Jesus Christ and we were baptized in the river right after our wedding in front of everybody. That's when my life finally began to change, Praise God!
I began thinking differently, my personality changed, I became compassionate and more loving toward people. I wasn't the hard core convict I used to be. Most of all, I experienced an inner peace and freedom that I've never known. Whether I was locked up or not, I feel more freedom and peace now than I have ever in my whole life. Romans 12:2 says, "Do not conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." There are three things in this scripture that's happened to me since I've accepted Jesus into my heart:
- Do not conform to this world anymore. I do not conform to that Drugwar anymore - Jesus set me free.
2. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. When I accepted Jesus into my heart, He not only transformed the renewing of my mind, but He transformed the meaning of my past into a new meaning, which is this:
D = DO
R = RIGHTEOUS
U = UNDER
G = GOD'S
W = WILL
A = AND
R = REJOICE
DRUGWAR = Do Righteous Under God's Will And Rejoice. I can't go wrong if I do that. Praise God!
3. That you may prove what is good and the perfect will of God. I can prove it.
A few months after I accepted Jesus into my heart, I was at the prison camp, and I was having these thoughts and cravings to use drugs again when I get out. Well, because I've accepted Jesus into my heart and my faith was growing more and more everyday, I knew I could ask Him and pray that He will take these urges and cravings away from me and He would. But the drugs were such a big part of my life for so long that I didn't want to - Satan was trying one last time to hang onto me. One side of me was wanting to use drugs again one last time when I get out, but the other side of me wanted me to ask Jesus to take those urges and cravings away, and I knew He would - but I didn't ask 'cause my old self still wanted to do some drugs again, so I would just block it out. Well, this went on for a little while, and it was driving me crazy. It was like a tug-of-war inside me constantly, I was actually having dreams at night and could not sleep.
Well, there's a scripture that happens to be my wife's favorite scripture, and it's 1 John 4:4 and it says, "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."
So then one day it started again, real bad. I started having those cravings, and they were very intense, and then I felt so convicted in my heart by the Holy Spirit, I just dropped on my knees and started praying so hard to God, asking Him to please take these urges and cravings away from me, and to wash me clean of this bondage that I've been in to drugs. I must have prayed for at least 20 minutes straight on my knees hard, and finally, Praise God! "He who was in me, was greater than he who was in the world!"
I haven't had any more cravings or urges to use drugs. I haven't even thought about it, and I'm serious, it feels so clean and so good to know that Jesus helped me win that final battle with the Drugwar, I thank Him so much!
Philippians 4:13 says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" - and that is so true, because when you accept Jesus into your heart, then He is who IS in you IS greater than he who is in the world and you can overcome anything!
Jesus Christ is definitely my Lord and Savior.
Lord bless you and thank you.
Postscript: David was released in 1999 and is currently ministering back in Oregon, but we have infrequent contact with him. Wherever possible, all emails will be forwarded to him.
Any comments? Feel free to respond.