My Testimony

I grew up on a farm in northern Illinois, attending church every Sunday. My mom was the church custodian, and I loved sitting in the quiet sanctuary after helping her clean. Even as a child, I sensed God’s presence in the sanctuary of the country church.

Around age 10, life began to unravel—our farm was lost, my mom was diagnosed with cancer when I was 12, and I was bullied all through high school. After my mom died when I was 15, everything felt unstable. My dad remarried and we moved to another state. To finish high school, I returned to Illinois and lived with a Baptist minister’s family. We attended church three times a week, and I heard altar calls at each service but never responded.

College became a fresh start at Ball State. Alone in my dorm room near my 18th birthday, I finally prayed the sinner’s prayer. I joined Christian groups and made friends, but the grief, trauma, and family upheaval consumed me and I lived my life just going through the motions.

Several years after college, I moved to Florida, entered a painful relationship, and drifted from God. Then came a season of heavy loss—my step-brother, my best friend, and another friend all passed away. I continued to drift further away from God.

But God was still drawing me back—through small things that reminded me of childhood faith, including a stray cat that bonded to me (a story for another time) and a Christian rock CD I discovered at the library that spoke to my heart in ways I hadn’t expected.

When my parents invited me on a mission trip to Alaska, I started attending church again. In Alaska, we had no access to the internet, TV, radios, phones … completely unplugged. Many times, I would go sit by myself by the bay. All alone without other distractions, it was like being in the sanctuary again on a Saturday morning when I was a kid. In Alaska—surrounded by mountains, water, and silence—I encountered God and knew He was real again!

When I returned, I devoured Scripture with a hunger I’d never known.

Through the Word, I realized my sin and brokenness were the result of my own choices—not God abandoning me. That truth changed everything. After two more mission trips to Alaska, I felt called to missions and eventually joined One Mission Society (OMS) 14 years ago, where I now serve with Men for Missions, an affiliate of OMS.

I hold tightly to 2 Peter 3:9: “The Lord is not slow… He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” God never gave up on me—using a cat, music, missions, and people to guide me back. If I had known His Word earlier, I could have avoided much heartbreak, but His grace patiently led me home.