RECOVERING DRUG, ALCOHOL ABUSERS GET AWAKENING

The first Camp Meeting in Timmins came to a rousing conclusion Sunday
night, after four successful days at the Senator Hotel.

People recovering from childhood abuse and addiction to alcohol and drugs
gathered for healing and continued wellness through the word of God,
testimonials, prayer, song and the company of those who have come through
those experiences and healed.

Attendance peaked at 250 Saturday.

I don't know what the police thought last night, organizer Reverend Ernest
R. Linklater said jokingly. It shows we can get drunk on the Holy Spirit
and wake up with no hangovers or black eyes.

The occasion was joyful in spirit for the tragedy people have lived through
as they shared their testimonies.

Linklater himself is a recovering alcoholic. He was freed from alcohol 24
years ago.

His son Victor, also a preacher, spoke about the environments that may
cause First Nations people, including himself, to be bound by alcohol and
drugs.

At nine years old, living in a drunken man's house, I saw things, violence,
that a child should never see, but that was the norm in Moose Factory, said
the young Linklater.

A revelation came at 16, as the sun came up by the riverside after a night
of drinking with friends.

The spirit of suicide came over me, making me walk to the water, saying,
You might as well give up and end it its all bad.

The spell was broken when he heard the voice of God saying he loved me, and
returning quietly to his bed, heard his mother, unaware of his presence,
praying for his safety in the next room.

That was the first of three falls from grace and recoveries, underlining
the need for constant renewal of faith through fellowship offered in Camp
Meetings.