Contributed
The man behind the story - a reformed Wayne Weeks and his family in Christchurch, Barbados.

Billed as a powerful Christian play, Free ... At Last opened last night at the Life of Jamaica (LOJ) Auditorium, in New Kingston.

Free ... At Last is the story of Barbados-born Wayne Weeks, who was a notorious drug dealer in the United States.

Weeks had built an empire selling drugs, earning up to US$9,000 in 15 minutes. He had hurt and abused many women (he stopped counting at 200!), was involved in voodoo and witchcraft against others, lied, stole and cheated to get ahead, and contracted hit men to kill his rivals and enemies. For his crimes, he received 60 years. But he was saved by the Word.

Weeks' descent into the drug world is an all-too-familiar story of rejection. At 16 years old, he had become a Christian, and would later say it was for all the wrong reasons - he became a convert because of a girl he liked. After her parents discovered that they were having sex, they forbade Weeks and the young girl to see each other, and even threatened his life.

Weeks never forgave the girl and her family, who were also Christians, and their lack of forgiveness was the catalyst that propelled him into a life of hate - so much hate that Wayne set out to hurt not just every Christian female but every woman who would have the misfortune to cross his path. Within a year, Weeks would become a full-fledged drug dealer.

Life was rough

Wayne had migrated to Brooklyn, New York, with his mother when he was nine years old. Life was rough and tough, and immediately following the break-up with his girlfriend, he went to work with his mother at a restaurant to earn some extra cash. He had also dropped out of high school. Wayne's take-home pay was about US$70 per week, due to a costly, out-of-state commute to his job.

But one day, he met some men who offered him a 'job' in Washington, D.C. He knew exactly what he was getting involved in and lied to his mother that he had received a 'legitimate' job. He was now headed to D.C.

Wayne's lifestyle had a punishing cost, he was arrested several times between 1988 and 1997, but, for some reason, he kept getting off. These close shaves with the U.S. authorities did not deter Wayne from his drug-dealing ways, nor, as he recalled, the several people that God had sent. Wayne enjoyed the lifestyle of a drug dealer - fancy clothes, flashy cars, and lots of cash - he could earn up to US$15,000 to US$20,000 within two to three hours.

No matter how much money Wayne made, it could not fill the emptiness inside him, so he tried to fill it with a child. That worked for a while and for the first time in his life he was really happy.

Broken the code

Weeks' demise came early one morning, about 1:00, while fast asleep beside his five-month-old daughter. A team of 15 police officers raided his home after a friend had turned him over to the police in exchange for leniency. Wayne had broken the code most drug dealers live by: Don't sell drugs in your neighbourhood or where you lay your head. He was now truly headed for prison and was sentenced to 60 years in a United States federal prison.

It was while Wayne was in prison that he received the Word, and, after serving almost five of his 60-year sentence, he was deported to Barbados, where he now lives a quiet life with his wife, Alicia and their three children. Today, 42-year-old Wayne is the deliverance minister of the Revival Time Assembly, and caregiver for a few children from the church. After 15 years of nothing but hatred and rejection in his heart, Wayne said he is receiving the goodness of Jesus Christ right now.

Free ... At Last is produced by Eagles Christian Theatre Troupe, and will run until January 2008.

Tickets are available at the Covenant Community Church on Half-Way Tree Road.