| Testimony of Dan Landgraff Heaven's Saint Windsor Chapter |
Testimony What is a testimony? In this case it is what I believe to be the truth about my Life. My testimony will be a story of the things that happened in my life to bring about great change! There is much to be said about life changing events, the effects they have on you and the people around you!!! It is my hope that my words will have a profound effect on you as well!! Hear we go!! I was the youngest of eight children. We were all raised in a Christian home. What I mean by a Christian home is that our mother and father were both Born Again Christians. We went to Grace & Truth Chapel in Windsor, Canada. Every Sunday my mom and dad would pack up eight kids in the old Ford station wagon. You know the kind of car it was; the kind with fake wood grain on the side of it. Since I was the youngest I was the one in the very back seat , you know the kid that would make gestures as they went by. Ya that was me! I remember hearing stories about the rapture. The rapture is when Jesus comes back he is going to take the Christians back to Heaven. When I would come home and not find my parents as a young child I would think that the rapture had taken place and I got left behind!! When I was about fifteen I remember a time when I gave my heart to Jesus. I remember finding a quiet spot, getting on my knees and asking Jesus into my heart. I had a lot of Christian friends at that time, and we went to Church youth groups, and to Christian rock concerts, and all kinds of activities. It was around that time I met Shelly. Shelly and I dated and we did all the activities together. Soon after high school Shelly became pregnant with my oldest son Matthew. We did the right thing in everyone eyes and got married. We had two more children Stephen and Caleb. We stayed married for nine years. In those nine years we went to Grace & Truth Chapel, and a little church in Niagara on the Lake, and Brockview Bible Chapel. We were deeply hurt by some things that went on at these churches, and stopped attending.
started partying. Needless to say it didn't take long for the marriage to fail. At the age of 28 I had a failed marriage and I blamed God. I started living my life in the fast lane. |
I thought I missed out on what this life had to offer. I was hanging out with seedy characters and bikers, and doing whatever I pleased. I thought it was the pursuit of happiness, but it was the beginning of the end!! I had fast cars, fast trucks, and a Harley. I lived in a Condo and I had my own business. I was burning the candle from both ends. I was abusing alcohol, relationships, and I was starting to use drugs. In July of 94 I had a serious motorcycle accident. I broke my hip in about five places. I was almost ran over by a car at the same time too! You might think that that was enough to make a person reevaluate his position before God, but not me, determined to do my thing! I moved to Windsor in 95, and really started to get into the drug scene. I was growing my hair longer and longer and everyone knew me as "Fabio." Don't laugh I hated it! I really didn't like people calling me that!! People would see me in a bar and they would know that I had stuff!! (drugs) because of the long hair. I was bouncing at a lot of different bars and I had a lot of anger issues. One time we were coming home from a Jack and Jill party in the summer of 2000. Some sort of road rage started with another car. We got out and started fist fighting in the street on Drouillard. I don't remember much of what happened then, but my friend tells me my head was getting smashed into the curb. The next morning I woke up strapped to a hospital bed, with a nurse poking my feet with a pin. Boy am I glad that I could feel that, because I had a broken neck! It turned out I had multiple skull fractures as well. The doctor said one more hit off of the cement, and I would have been paraplegic or quadriplegic. You might think that all of that would be enough to make a person re evaluate his position before God!!!! Not me minor set backs, time to shift into high gear!! I was selling more and more drugs and my phone was tapped constantly. All the cops knew who I was. I also had child support issues and my licence was under suspension. You should know by now that would not stop me! I thought it was fun, kind of like hide and seek, and it was until I got caught. |
Trust me they caught me a lot!! My fines were in the thousands of dollars. Re evaluate now?? I was just starting to be someone!! Or so I thought. In May 2002 I lost my best friend My Dad!! Three months to the day My Mon dropped dead!! That was really tough on me, so I went deeper in the drugs. I guess that was my way of coping. All the time pulling away from, the people who truly cared! Early in 2003 I met a girl, we dated for about six months, and then we decided to move in together. We agreed when we moved in together, that I would stop doing drugs! Wow! It was a great feeling to think that I could stop!! Well I did!! I haven't done any since June 2003!! The thing is that 'we reap what we sow'. In the middle of that month June 2003 my son committed some very serious crimes. That was it. My children was what it took to make me re evaluate my relationship with Jesus Christ! I love my children with all of my heart. The pain and hurt I felt was unbearable. All I could think of was him away in a maximum security prison, away from me and my protection!! He was looking at nine years because of the seriousness of his crimes. When I first learned of what he did I immediately knew that what happened was a direct result of what I was doing. I decided that was the time to recommit my life to Jesus. My prayer went something like this Lord Jesus I have screwed my life up so bad it isn't worth any thing, If theres any value in it take it Lord its yours, and right at that point I gave up. ( later in further up dates you will see the value in giving up). At that time I started a new chapter in my life. It was a chapter that had Jesus Christ in the center of my life. I started going to different churches and eventually ended up at Lakeshore St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church. This is what I call my home church now. In February 2006, I started to wear the bottom rocker of the Heavens Saints Motorcycle Ministry patch. I am now a full member of The Heavens Saints and I love to tell the story of how much God Loved me. I hope that if you read this, you too have had a time in your life when you have accepted Jesus Christ into your heart and made him Lord of your Life!!!! |
| Thanks Dan Landgraff. |
But if from there you will seek (inquire for and require as necessity) the Lord your God, you will find Him if you [truly] seek Him with all your heart [and mind] and soul and life. Deuteronomy 4:29 |
| Heaven's Saints M/M Windsor Ontario Canada |
| JESUS IS LORD |
