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Some changed lives
Vanessa
I had always thought I was a Christian.
Raised Catholic, attending Mass regularly until my parents divorced. Throughout childhood I attended different churches, where my friends went, I went. I'm not sure my parents even knew where I was going.
In my teenage years, I started instruction at the local Catholic church 3 times (we moved), but never completed it. Eventually, in a desperate part of my life, I did complete instruction - at the age of 30 - but my life was falling apart, and I "ran away" to London.
I was always a “goody two shoes”, I did not fit in - people who got what they wanted were those who played the system, not those who followed rules. More and more I felt pressured, it became more and more difficult for me to accept my life in this world.
I had medical help to cope with the depression, but I knew there was still something wrong. In my therapy sessions one of my biggest wishes was to be part of a Church, I didn't know why.
I wondered what life was about, why it was a constant battle, I couldn't understand what I was fighting for.
Debt problems overtook me, and I (eventually) looked for help. I found Christians Against Poverty, and they visited me. The CAP workers prayed with me and I felt something lift immediately. I was invited to attend Church. I went. Instantly when I entered the room, I knew I was in the right place. The feeling of love and acceptance was overwhelming.
I can now live my life the way I want to. God loves me, and I love him. The depression, whilst not gone, is much easier to cope with, and I know why I am alive.
Becoming a Christian has truly saved my life.
Heja and LinaWe are Heja and Lina and we have been married since February ‘06. We are both Iraqi Kurds.
Lina: I became a Christian, aged 14 – both of my parents are communist/atheists.
Heja: I became a Christian at the age of 18 on a church youth holiday. Jesus spoke to me for the first time saying, “If I am not worthy of praise, then who is?” My father is also a Communist/atheist and my mother is a Muslim.
Around the time of our wedding, we experienced God’s overwhelming blessings during an emotionally, spiritually and financially tough time. Financially, all together we needed £2,000, as we had no money for the food, clothing and honeymoon! God kept providing with various cheques, given to us in various ways. On our honeymoon we received a final cheque for £200, and as we counted up, we realised that we had received exactly £2,000 worth of cheques! The blessings keep coming to us as and we’re continually learning to rely on God for all our needs. God has opened many doors for us to share the Gospel with our family, which we are thankful for.
Emma
Two years ago, I walked into a Church primarily because I had inadvertently agreed to go with a friend. I’m not one to break agreements so there I was pretty sure I had everything sorted, at least the belief side of things and that generally this was going to be a long two hours. I realised that since I’d agreed to come, I should walk in with an open mind. My general view of any kind of religious, spiritual group or organization was that a general misguided need for something and some things worked but generally signified weakness.I grew up in a rather bizarre, alternative, eco-village, hippie commune kinda place in South India. I could say I knew a lot about religion, the reality is that though I did engage to some extent, really I just disregarded the lot as dangerous or loopy, depending what form they came in. I wasn’t sure if God existed; I believed in humanity, its constant disappointment and self-reliance.
So there I was at a Church being held in a school canteen. I didn’t think it could get any weirder. It did. I don’t remember what the preach was about or what songs we sang. What I do remember is being hit by Love; I don’t know how else to describe it. I don’t even know where the image of a heart of stone being replaced by a heart of flesh came from, it may well have been in the song lyrics. I have since found out that it’s the acceptance of Jesus and an image from the Bible. I undeniably knew that God existed, even though it took me a while to come to grips with what Jesus did, who he was and what it all meant. Since that day my life has been completely different.