Dmytro Larin does not remember his real parents. He was left in an orphanage when he was only four years old. Even his name and surname were given to him in an orphanage. Fortunately, one lady, a staff member there, has decided to adopt the boy. At that time, he only knew few words - "shish kebab" and "vodka" ... Although in a new family he was offered love and care, his heart held a grudge and anger at his biological parents. It seemed that this hurt would always remain in the life of Dmytro, no matter how well he would be treated ...
At school, Dima always had problems with behavior. He was very rebellious. Several times he was expelled from school and he was barely able to finish his studies. As he says: "I liked to violate all rules and prohibitions." Although parents tried to correct their son, Dmytro’s friends had more influence on him.
The boy would steal things all the time, even from his family. He also began to use drugs. Mother got very tired of his lifestyle and she bought him a train ticket to Russia, where his stepfather lived. She thought that perhaps he may be able to influence the son. Unfortunately, the man was indifferent to the boy since he himself had left the family long time ago. Dmytro felt extremely lonely in a foreign country. Having no housing, no friends and no support, he became addicted to vodka and he realized that he can survive only through crime. He tried to get rid of loneliness by hanging out with gang members. He wanted to have at least some support from them, but all this was in vain.
"I did not even trust my friends, since I knew that if something goes wrong, I will be blamed for everything," Dmytro admits. Alcohol and drugs helped Dmytro to maintain courage in his dirty business. One day his friends asked him to wait by a store with a small package. Police caught him with that package where there were drugs. He received his first sentence in prison. But all these circumstances did not change the lifestyle of Dmytro. When he got released from prison he went back to his criminal business. As a result, he lost a place to stay and his job. In desperation he came back to Ukraine to his mother’s apartment. As it turned out she no longer lived there because the apartment had been sold. Dmytro did not know where to look for his mother.
"I sat on the staircase and felt desperate. I began to reflect on my situation. I wanted to quit drinking and I needed support of my mother like never before, but I lost her...", he recalls. Dima began to spent nights on the streets and looked for food in dumpsters.
Once he came to an Orthodox church and asked for a refuge, promising to pay back by doing some work for them. Unfortunately, they sent his out. At that time Dmytro also suffered a lot from high blood pressure which he had if he didn’t drink any alcohol. He could die because of this condition. One time he could not have a drink and as a result, he had an epileptic attack right in the middle of a street. No one paid attention to him, but one person stopped to help. A man had a pity on him and took Dmytro to his home. Since he was a Christian, he later invited Dima to a church, where Dima saw a very different attitude of people towards him.
- Dmytro Larin says.
These Christians offered him to go to through rehabilitation in a special center. Andriy Lipsky, a pastor who then helped Dmytro, added: "At the time he did not really understand where he was going. He thought that it was a “recreation center”, where he can enjoy fishing. At the center Dmytro was touched by the words of Scripture, which pastor shared with him:
At this moment, Dmytro felt as if his whole life passed by before his eyes.
In the church, he began to receive regular support and this helped him to start a new life. Now Dmytro is thirty years old. He is a Christian for nine years. He no longer has health problems.He works as a graphic designer and has a loving wife. Yulia Larina, Dmytro’s wife, still cannot imagine that her husband used to be a very different person from what he is now. The change is so dramatic!
- Dmitry says.