My experiences with the Christian faith started at a very young age. My father
and mother were both Christians so they took me to church and taught me about
the Bible. A few months before I turned three, I told my mom I wanted to be a
Christian as well. We prayed together, and I accepted Jesus Christ as my
personal savior. Since then, life has been one adventure after another, as I
learn lessons from my experiences with Christ and the Christian faith.
Many of my experiences with Christ and the Christian faith have been through my
church. I’ve attended the same church for most of my life and love it to pieces!
Through my church I’ve learned, among other things, how service plays a role in
the Christian life. My church is very active in the community and I am very
active in my church! We have a program called “Adopt-a-Block,” in which we as a
congregation “adopt” a city block. Every Saturday, groups of people go
door-to-door on the block, handing out “goodies” (everything from bookmarks, to
apples), and asking if the family has any prayer requests. A few times a year,
we have big events such as Thanksgiving dinners and Christmas caroling. The
point of the program is to make the block feel as though they are members of our
church family. While I have been unable to fit this ministry into my schedule on
a regular basis, I make it a priority to go to all of the “big” events. So, I’ve
planted flowers, dished up pie, played with a deaf girl, and sang Christmas
carols. Another service opportunity in my church is in my youth group. We have
had a leadership/drama team for the past few years, and together as a group we
did a wide variety of activities. Since joining that group I’ve done things
ranging from dramas to scraping paint off of windows, to taking attendance for
youth group, to going street witnessing. Through these and other opportunities
for service, my church has taught me that serving the people around you is a
vital part of the Christian faith.
One of my biggest experiences with Christ and the Christian faith was when God
called me to the mission field. I always thought missions were a great thing…for
someone else. One day, however, as I was looking through a magazine, I started
scanning all the advertisements for mission trips. While I was looking at them,
I felt God tell me I was going on one of those trips. I thought to myself, “No
way! I’m the pickiest eater in the United States, I’d starve to death!” Well, I
went ahead and sent in the forms asking for more information anyway. When they
arrived, I checked out the trips offered, to see if there were any trips that
fit in with my summer schedule. I found a few that worked and started praying
about them. I told God He would need to completely convince me if I was really
supposed to go on a trip. Well, He did! He filled my life with “Australia
sightings.” If I read a book, it was about Australia. If I watched a movie, it
was set in Australia. Things like this just kept happening, so I finally went on
a mission trip to Australia. Once the trip was over, I thought, “Hey, that
wasn’t so bad. Maybe I should try again!’ So, back to Australia I went that very
next summer. While I was there, I felt God calling me to make missions a
permanent part of my life. This experience helped me realize we always need to
be ready for God to call us to new places and adventures in our lives.
Another of my significant experiences with Christ and the Christian faith was in
deciding to choose a college. After visiting about half a dozen colleges, I
narrowed it down to Indiana Wesleyan and Bethel. My father was in favor of
Indiana Wesleyan, while I was in favor of Bethel. My father liked the food
service and the academic programs at Indiana Wesleyan, while I liked the campus
scenery and the atmosphere at Bethel. We began to pray hard about the decision.
After taking the SAT, my financial aid packages began to come in. Indiana
Wesleyan and Bethel both offered me a $3,500 academic scholarship, so that
didn’t help my decision any. I decided to take the SAT again, and scored just a
little bit higher. This booted up my Indiana Wesleyan scholarship to $4,000 and
my Bethel scholarship to $7,000. That was all it took to convince my father, so
here I am! This experience taught me that even though two people may not always
agree on a decision to begin with, God can always bring them to harmony.
My experiences with Christ and the Christian faith have taught me immeasurable
lessons. They range from learning how service is a vital part of every Christian
walk, to learning to always be ready for a new calling of God in my life, to
learning that God can bring any disagreement to an agreement. Even though I have
learned a lot of lessons already, I know God will continue to teach me more and
more, as I grow in Christ and the Christian faith.
Please Send All Comments Or Suggestions To: Ruth