4D offers you a dream. When you don't strike, you buy more.
Gideon, father of 2 adult children, started gambling in his twenties with friends. Beginning recreationally with 4D, he was soon into all kinds of gambling. By 2010, the interest on his debts alone was running at $12,000 a week, largely a result of losing at 4D as well as from the need to maintain his lifestyle.
For a long time, his one hope was to strike it big in 4D, so he could pay off his debts.
I was totally lost. I owed so much. No more car. Nearly no more house and family.
I really wanted to change.
I decided. After 20 years of this of lifestyle. Is enough!
Gideon went to see his MP. And, although he was unable to do anything, the MP's secretary managed to pass Gideon One Hope Centre's (OHC's) helpline number.
OHC helped me a lot. Where got organisation like this?
Gideon shares that OHC equipped him with what to do on Day 1. It was the lifeline and handle he had been looking for. He knew the way out. And now that he knew how, and he determinedly and doggedly stuck to "the plan" till he could see the light of day again.
He relates, "Day 1, throw away SIM card. Day 2, daughter and son came down with me (to OHC support group meeting). Day 3, face loan sharks… my debts began to clear."
He estimates that it took him 1 whole year to lose that sense of "feeling lost", and another 6 months to a year to restart with a whole new lifestyle and outlook in life. Working 2 jobs day and night, and with the help of his wife's own earnings, he managed to clear all his debts in 4 years.
Gideon adds, "My relationships with my family improved. Today, I am out of debt and can support my family again. Before, I never paid for anything, and now I am taking responsibility for my family's expenses. I have never failed to come to OHC meetings these past 8 years! I am a changed man."
Don't come, and the chances of relapse is high.
Gideon emphasises that coming to support group meetings have the effect of reminding him of the past. Remembering the trauma of what happened is important to him, because it helps him resist the urge that comes whenever thoughts of going back to play 4D for fun, return to tempt him every now and then.
He emphatically repeats, "We never met an organisation like this. Got seekers, got peer supporters with similar problems, know what to do, how to handle your problem and walk with you? Where got?"
His tips for gamblers wanting to kick the habit go debt free are as follows:
Come to OHC
Care for yourself
Care for family and others
Take responsibility and pay off your debts
Start a new life, learn how to be a person, change your habits.
My life is very comfortable now.
He shares that his wife was very supportive throughout their marriage. She paid for everything and for quite a time, and the family survived on her salary alone. Gideon is very deeply appreciative of her sacrifices and love, working to even help with paying off his debts.
Somewhere along the journey, Gideon shares that he faced some family problems he could not resolve. Although he was a devotee of the god he depended on for his big wins, this time he tried praying to Jesus, quietly and personally, and he says that Jesus answered his prayers "quite fast".
His dream is to keep working on further improving the relationships life brings to him, all around.