Coming to Turkey, the home of Camel cigarettes, I knew I should learn how run a stop-smoking plan. But who could teach me? One month before leaving the States, I saw an elderly gentleman in church holding out a business card to someone: “Five-Day Stop-Smoking Plans—Milo Sawvel.” I soon learned that Milo not only conducted five-day plans, he’d also helped write the manual! He had headed the GC Health Ministries Department for dozens of years. I asked him if we could conduct a seminar the last week before I left. He and another man, Dr. Peshka, also in his 80s, agreed to teach me everything they knew. Between them, they had more than 100 years of experience helping people quit smoking! What advice and experience God had arranged for me!

Three weeks ago, Hasan, a stranger sitting next to me, said, “Next week, I am going to get a nicotine patch to help me quit smoking.”

Ali, also a stranger to me, jumped into the conversation, blowing cigarette smoke through his nose. I told him, “You can be free from smoking forever, starting now, if you will only decide.”

Ali squashed his cigarette butt into an ashtray and said, “How do I quit? Tell me.”

“First, you need to get rid of everything that helps you to smoke.”

He took his cigarettes from his pocket and threw them about 20 feet away. “I will do whatever you tell me, he said. What’s next?”

Seeing his sincerity, I said, “Get a piece of paper and write the following:” I began dictating Milo’s secret formula.

On the top of the paper, he wrote, “My Choice.” Below it, “I choose to be free! Today, I put cigarettes behind me forever. I choose to win over cigarettes. With God’s help, I will be the captain of my life. I am no longer a slave of cigarettes. I am a new man.” Ali got very excited as he wrote. On the other side of the paper, I had him brainstorm and write all the benefits of quitting. I told him to carry the paper around and read it every time he had an urge to smoke. Then I tailor-made a brief NEW-START program for him. He beamed.

Thanks, Milo. Thanks, Dr. Peshka. Our first victory! Three weeks, and Ali is still smoke-free. “This is great!” he says. “You have showed me the way. I will go and set people free, too.” God wins again.

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