his four-year addiction after finding God.

At the height of his sickness New Yorker Calvin Hunt, 42, was smoking four to five hundred rocks a day but now he travels the world to evangelise on his conversion.

Mr. Hunt has also recorded two gospel albums and sings with the Brooklyn Tabernacle choir.

He will be singing and speaking at churches and venues across the Island as well as talking to inmates at Westgate and those on the Harbour Light drug treatment programme.

He told The Royal Gazette he had become hooked after he and his wife Miriam, 47, tried crack with friends in 1980. He said: "We stayed up all night and spent $700 -- a week's salary -- on getting rocks.'' "We went home broke and disgusted, we couldn't even pay the babysitter. I vowed never to do it again but at the next weekend I let myself down and went back to it.

"For two years I was heavily involved. It was escalating out of control. We didn't sleep or eat, we were losing weight. We started on heroin just to bring us down so we could sleep.

"We were totally consumed by it and weren't mindful of the children. We would lock them away with the TV, VCR and junk food.'' In 1984 Miriam started to look to the church for help and the pair married but their problems were far from over, with Calvin hanging around crack dens for five and six days at a time.

The breakthrough came when the pair hosted a crack party at their Brooklyn home.

Miriam explains: "We were getting high when I went to check on the children in their room. They had bunk beds but they were both in the bottom bunk clinging together like the only they had in the world was each other.'' "I saw a bright light and God came to me. He reminded me that I had given birth to my children when I was on methadone. The doctors had told me that neither would be expected to live but they both survived, thanks to God.'' "It gave me the desire to change my life and from that moment I ditched everything -- the crack, the heroin, the alcohol, the pills and the cigarettes.'' Miriam kept praying with fellow church members for Calvin's salvation but he was still in at the deep end.

Calvin said: "Strange things began to happen. I'd be at the crack dens, smoking and helping people get more drugs but they still didn't want me around.

"We'd get busted and everyone would get arrested but the Police would look me in the eye, say `you don't belong here' and send me home. It would upset me when this happened but Miriam would just laugh and say God is setting you free.'' "I'd been away smoking crack for about five days and snuck home to eat while Miriam was at her prayer meeting, praying for me.

"I felt like I was dying. But when I got in I heard these voices, it sounded like someone weeping. I felt God was calling me, I got on the metro and headed for the meeting.'' Miriam said: "We were chanting his name, calling on God to deliver them and in he came in filthy and dirty. He walked up the aisle to the pastor who spoke and said `He's here.''' "The church went berserk.'' Calvin admitted he wanted to kick the habit and the church, the Christ Tabernacle in Brooklyn, paid for Calvin to go on a 14-month addiction treatment programme.

Calvin said: "I graduated within six months.'' Now he's been on the road ever since spreading the good word. For details on where to see him on his Bermudian tour call 296 9897 or 293 0911.

Salvation: Calvin Hunt, pictured on the cover of his CD, will be telling people how God saved him from a $500 dollar a day crack habit.

DRUGS DGS