Norwegian Trond Langrind from Gørløse Denamrk, struggled with a hidden abuse, that destroyed his life and family. The battle ended some years ago, when he got saved and delivered from alcohol abuse.
Bakkegård lies "warm" on a bend at the edge of Gørløse. The avenue leading to the courtyard still has beautifully leaves left from autumn, and the main house shines white in the clear November-sun.
Inside in the living room, the table is set with tea and home made cookies. The dogs are sniffing around, while the children take turns to look inside while the parents are talking.
The atmosphere is light and relaxing, quite different from just one year ago, when alcohol destroyed the family´s life.
Trond and Hanne have lived at Bakkegård since 1983, but even if Trond had an uncontrolled alcohol abuse, they were good to hide it from their surroundings.
Hanne looked after the pigs on the farm, a herd of 300 swine with a yearly turnover of 7-7500 swine, while Trond was working for the council.
- I looked after my job, because I was "only" drinking for short periods, generally in the weekend. I also managed to keep my driving licence, which is a miracle in itself. When I stayed home from work, the official explanation was that I lay home in my bed with influenza, or had back pain. It could come like a lightning bolt from a clear heaven, without warning. When it happened, I drank three bottles of wine in one day. Aside from that, I didn´t drink one drop, tells Trond.
- The strange thing was, that I have always had a disgust for alcohol and people, who drank. I am not brought up with it, and I am not the type, who became funny, when I got something inside. Luckily I didn´t become violent, I just shouted highly. One time I fell down from the second floor, straight onto the concrete floor. Generally I just became tired and went to bed.
Worked out her problems
Hanne Langrind suffered a lonely and quiet battle home in the stable.
- I have always learned, that you have to work your own way out of your problems, so I did. If I hadn´t had my pigs, I don´t know, how I would have made it. It was never me, who shut the door, it was always him. When it was really bad, I told myself that I had married a sensible man, not the drunkard I sometimes found...
Hanne tells, how she, more than one time, had prayed a silent prayer to heaven, while she´d been out with the pigs. But apparently there was nothing, which helped. The abuse worked like a "chemical prison", and when Trond got some comforting medicine to keep the abuse at a distance, it just worsened the situation, if it was combined with alcohol. Gradually the children gerw older, and the problems become more visible, and in 2002.
Hanne couldn´t manage it any more without help.
- I contacted the council, and Trond was offered a six week Minnesota treatment at Helios in Ebeltoft. I remember how it was in the middle of autumn, when he went away. I was home working alone, when one of our close friends came by, "Where is Trond?" he asked. "At a course" I told him. "What kind of course?" he asked. "At a course where you learn how to stop drinking". "It is a lie", he replied. He simply didn´t believe me, even if he was one of our friends, who knew us best.
In Minnesota treatment
The stay at Helios in Ebeltoft made Trond temporarily sober:
- It was a good place. The man who invented the treatment is a Christian, even if you can´t see it in the Danish program. There you don't pray to God, but to a "higher power", which shall help you. It´s a Danish version, because at here in Denmark you can´t talk about religion. The only time where they mentioned God, was in the serenity prayer. "God, give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to see the difference". It was a good prayer, which I prayed every day. While I was there, I saw the light. I experienced a heat and a peace and saw a fantastic light coming down from heaven, on the long walks I took in my spare time. But there was nobody who could lead me to God. I lacked the last step, and because of that, I couldn't hold on to it. I believe that us in Denmark could have much better results, if we were allowed to talk about God. If there was only one person, who had led me to Him, I would be saved!
Trond continues:
- After the stay at Helios, nine months passed, and I fell back again. Once I was so drunk, that I was admitted to the hospital for detoxification, and then I began going to the alcohol clinic. I went for conversations there and so did my children. Hanne looked after the whole family and worked to co-operate with the government. When I look back, she should have a medal for holding me out!
A prayer by the kitchen table
Hanne became more and more desperate, and as a result she contacted Evangelist, more closely "the Evangelist" Christian Hedegaard, whom Trond had got to know through hunting.
- He often came by my farm and told lots of stories about people, who had received help. I thought it had to be the last way out, so I went out to him privately and laid the cards on the kitchen table. I have never been ungodly. I have always had an idea of religion. He told me, that Jesus had to do the miracle, and not him. I don´t remember so much, beyond that we prayed together for Trond by the kitchen table, and when I came home, there were no noticeable changes, Hanne tells.
- Still I had this deep conviction inside of me, that there would be a solution. I clearly remember one night, when I was in my bed, and I couldn´t sleep. It burned like fire in my stomach, but suddenly it went away, and I knew that the solution was on its way!
Trond adds:
- In this period of time, Christian Hedegaard continued to visit me, call, and send me messages, where he told me, that he was my friend. I thought it was irritating, and I didn´t know how to handle it. And every time he came with his stories, I didn´t know what to believe. I thought it was a "Christian attitude", he had. I didn´t understand, that it was his life!
Wanted to go to a "séance "
At the end of November, Trond got a new visit from Christian Hedegaard, this time he had a hangover, so it could be that he gave the evangelist a "brush off". He ended by saying, that he wanted to come to a "séance", and the Evangelist answered, that it wasn´t possible. There were no more speeches on the program, only a partner dinner in Arnborg, and that was far away! But Trond ended up going along, partly because a hunt had been arranged at the rehabilitation centre Vildkildegård prior to the partner dinner.
The actual arrangement was a huge experience. Trond was deeply moved, so he had to go out and shed a tear because of all of the personal testimony´s, which were told.
After the dinner, there was intercessory prayer, but he held back.
- I wouldn´t enjoy anything, because I was convinced, that they would shove me to the floor, just to get money in their pockets. By nature, I am quite reserved, and I didn´t want to go forward to be in a "scene show", he laughs.
- Afterwards, there were some evangelists, who came and asked me, if they could pray for me. I was frightened, but they got me convinced, that it wasn´t dangerous. When they started to pray, I got sick and started to throw up in a bucket, without anything coming up. I don´t know, how long they where praying, but when I came to myself, I was sitting on the floor sweating.
Then I was lying on the floor. I saw another person lying on the floor yelling and howling, and I was wondering about, what had just happened. Inside I felt an incomprehensible peace and a feeling of relaxation, which I had never experienced before. Afterwards I called my wife and told her, that I was saved!
Completely changed
When Trond came back home to Hanne, she couldn´t recognize him.
- I felt like I was on speed, which I had tried once before, Trond tells.
- It was impossible to talk to him. He floated under the ceiling, and it was almost impossible to get him down to the ground, Hanne remembers.
The explanation was that Trond also had received the gift of tongues, and it gave him so much energy, that he started to run and to clean. Something needed to happen, so the stereo was turned up to full volume, playing Ron Kenoly, while he cleaned out his old bottles and washed out the old smoking smell from the kitchen, and afterwards painted it white.
- I felt an enormous change. The need for alcohol was completely gone. Instead I felt disgust and felt like I needed to throw up, if I saw a bottle, a bottle cap or an ashtray!
- Shortly after, Hanne and I took a trip with the Swedish boat to shop duty-free for my father. I almost threw up, and needed to hand over the shopping to Hanne while I went outside. I couldn´t talk to people, who had an alcohol breath, I had to turn my head another way, Trond says.
Even if Trond came "down to the earth", he was no longer the same:
- In the beginning of 2007 I called the alcohol clinic and told them, that they would never see me again. I explained, that I had become a Christian and, that I would never drink again. I also called Helios and told them that I - with Gods help - had control on my alcohol problems, Trond remembers.
The white dove
After Trond has become a believer, he has only met positive response, also among the local people in Gørløse, even if he is together with the "people from Evangelist".
- No matter what kind of reaction I would have gotten from my friends, it wouldn´t have affected me. I would never exchange my new life, Trond says.
Hanne is taking it all very calmly:
- I have always been a believer, but I have never talked about it. And I am not doing it now either, she says firmly.
The change can be felt over the whole farm, also his mother-in-law, who lives on the farm can feel it. Now she is eating with them for all their meals, but before she was held at a distance. Things are settled and things are forgiven, and many things are about to change.
- We have made big decisions over the last year, no less about the farm. We are going to shut down the pig-production and reorganise for rental housing. Faith has given us courage to take some new steps, so we can be more together as a family, and I can see, how God has blessed us on our way, Trond tells.
It feels like the air around Bakkegård is cleaner. Not alone because of the pigs, which are leaving, but everywhere. It has been cleaned outside and inside after the "alcohol devil", as Trond calls it, has left and Jesus has arrived.
Before the alcohol lay as a big black cover over Bakkegård, but now there is a white dove sitting on the top of the stable building, which we must say is quite symbolic. The dove arrived about 1-1/2 years ago, after Hanne went to see Christian Hedegaard, so they named the dove after him.
-I know it sounds strange, Trond says and smiles.
-But I don´t think it is accidental. Actually there haven´t been tame white doves Bakkegård since we took the property over in 1983.
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Som 14-årig farvede hun håret rødt og gik med hængerøvsbukser, og senere blev det hele sort i sort, inklusiv musikken, som hun lyttede til. Hun troede ikke, hun kunne leve uden kærester, og fik både anoreksi og bulimi indtil Gud gav hende en ny chance for at leve et liv, som ikke var styret af fortiden.
Micheel Saraj Høyer kom til Gørløse i november 2002 efter sit livs mørkeste periode, hvor hun var på stoffer og bare ønskede at dø.
Finn Hedegaard var arbejdsnarkoman, storryger og drak for mange øl, når han havde fri. Han vidste, at hans usunde livsstil ville føre ham i graven.
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