My Testimony

Last week at our women's Bible study it was my turn to share my testimony. I wrote it out and decided to post it here as well. May God be glorified...all praise goes to Him!

My Testimony – as of August 2007

My story begins June of 1981. I was born in Madrid, Spain to American missionary parents. A couple years before, they had felt God's call to be missionaries in Spain and they followed what God wanted. As an American growing up in Spain I always knew I stood out, but the Spanish people accepted me as one of their own since I had been born in Spain. They always called me “gata” which means female cat in Spanish – it's a name given to girls that are born in Madrid.

As a young girl, most of my days were spent at school. I went to a British school from Kindergarten until sixth grade. I learned how to read and speak like an English girl. Going to Hastings School added a new twist to my identity. An American girl going to a British school in Spain. I began to learn how different cultures lived and found it easy to adapt to different situations whether I was at home (American), at school (British) or at church (Spanish). On weekends and after school I loved playing outside with my Spanish friends as well as going to church with my parents.

When I entered 7^th grade I began to go to a school for missionary children. It took me a while to get used to the new school, but after a while I got right into it and made some great friends that I still keep in touch with today. The school had less than 100 students (K-12) and during my years there, there were no more than 10 people in my class at one time.

One of the first assignments I was asked to do was for Bible class. We were supposed to describe our Christian pilgrimage. At home I began to talk about my Christian life with my mom. I had lived a life of knowing about Jesus. I had loved Jesus. I had served Jesus. But I had never made a “formal”invitation for Him to be a part of my life. At the age of 12 I knew what that meant and decided that I wanted my life to be lived for Jesus. On September 5, 1993 I asked Jesus to be the Lord of my life.

Over the years God worked in me. I began to get more and more involved in church activities as well as at school. I loved the life that God had blessed me with, but in many ways I can now see how my faith hadn't matured yet. I was living the faith and Christian walk of my parents.

Fast forward a little to my senior year in high school. It was a year of imminent change. I knew that at the end of my year I would have to say goodbye to all my friends and Spain and venture out into life in the United States. I had never lived in the United States for more than 6 months so I knew there were big changes ahead.

I distinctly remember laying in bed one night thinking about Spain and how much I loved the country I had grown up in. And yet, the people of Spain don't love God like they should. The percentage of evangelical Christians in Spain is less than 1%. I began to feel a real burden for the Spanish people. I cried out to God and told him that I wanted Him to use me as He saw fit.

My transition to the United States went better than I had expected. I met a group of great girls in college that over time became my friends. I attended a small, Christian university. It was a safe place for me, which I think is what I needed at the time. I got through my four years of college and went on to get my teaching credential.

I can't forget to mention one of the major events in my life. December of 2003 I attended a missions conference called Urbana. It was there that I met a young fellow named Michael. Though I was not immediately attracted to him, his emails, instant messaging and phone calls eventually won me over. We began a dating/courting/whatever-you-want-to-call-it relationship. I was blessed to have met a young man who had also grown up in Spain and shared many of the same experiences I had.

Fast forward once again to July of 2005. Michael and I got married. I once again, packed up my belongings and moved. San Diego became my new home over the next few months. And Jesus began to become my friend like never before. I knew a lot about God during my growing up years, but it has been during the last two years that my faith and dependence on God has been stretched. I now know God in ways that I did not know before. Jesus is becoming sweeter to me each day.

As you may or may not know, Michael and I have a blog and I often write about what God is teaching me. I decided to go back and look over the posts to remind myself of that God has been teaching me and here are a few of those:

• I look forward to Jesus' 2^nd Coming – I didn't used to. It used to scare me. I look forward to the day when He will return to take us with Him.

• There is a quote that has transformed the way I live my life. It is my C.S. Lewis and it says: "If you read history you will find out that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most about the next." God has been molding my longing for heaven, and at the same time has been teaching me about what really matters in this world. People and relationships matter far more than a nice house or any other things that I will leave behind when I die. My view of heaven has changed how I live my daily life. Reading John Piper's “Don't Waste Your Life” has definitely also had an impact.

• My worship of God has become more complete. I have learned to praise Him no matter what. I have come to enjoy those times when I can worship God alone and feel His presence in my life.

• I have come to understand that my citizenship really is in heaven. Though I have an American passport, grew up in Spain and now live in the United States, I belong in heaven, just like Philippians 3:20 says.

• Being married has given me a glimpse of God's unconditional love. It's a love I don't always deserve (I'm not always nice to Michael) and yet God still loves me.

• I am learning more about the Holy Spirit and how to be sensitive to God's voice in my life. I want to obey what God tells me to do, even if it means picking up the phone and doing something as “insignificant” as giving someone a call.

• Various situations I have faced during the last year has also taught me that the decisions I make today affect who I will become tomorrow. I have learned that my decision to life for myself and thinking about my own pleasures will only lead to broken relationships, and a meaningless life. I want my life to be shaped by God. At the end of my life I want to be able to look back and know that it was all worth it – that I didn't waste it all away.

• And most of all, I have learned that I am work in progress. God is molding me. He is slowly and surely peeling off the sinful things in my life – when I let Him! I want God to continue to mold me into His likeness as I get rid of myself. As you look at me today, there are still things within me that don't please God. I have a critical spirit, a hard time reading my Bible consistently, I tend to judge situations without having all the information, and I don't like admitting I'm wrong (I had to deal with this one just last night!). The list goes on, but my God is merciful!

When Michael and I got married, Ephesians 3:20 became a special verse to us:

“Now to Him who is able

to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.”

I don't know where my life will lead me, but I am thankful that I can place my trust in Jesus no matter what.