I Now Have A Relationship with God

Martin was used to struggling through life. He had an abusive father, a broken family. And though his mom did try to bring them closer to God by bringing them to different churches, Martin knew that it wasn’t true faith. Fast forward to adulthood, he accepts an invite to a worship service in the Church Of Christ, where he discovers what it means to have a true relationship with God.

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I Now Have A Relationship with God

Martin Castillo: My dad was very abusive. He used to hit my mom. Just remembering the pain…and the sufferings. You had to worry about getting beaten or yelled at all the time. Day by day, you just go do what you got to do.

I was struggling really bad.

[Show open]

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Stories of Faith

My name is Martin Castillo. I’m 47 years old. I was born and raised in Wailuku, Maui. I am Protuguese-Filipino.

In Maui, it was simple life—not too busy. I am the eldest of four. I was the oldest, so I always had to take care of my other siblings. Make sure they eat, make sure they do their homework. My parents [were] always working. My stepdad was in the military. He was a Catholic.

We went to mass maybe once a month and on Christmas Eve. I went through their Bible studies. I even became an altar boy at a point. I did those things because that’s what my parents wanted me to do.

My teen years were busy. I started a newspaper route. I continued to do my studies in high school. From there, I graduated [and] worked at McDonald’s and take care of my siblings while mom goes to work.

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Emotional Roller Coaster

When my mom married my stepdad, I believe I was maybe 5 or 6 [years old]. My stepdad, he’s a good guy but, you know, he got into trouble—alcohol, drugs. But he taught me a lot of things. He taught me how to fix cars. He would be drunk all the time. And if the car didn’t do what he wanted it to do, he would get mad and throw the beer at the car or truck, whatever we were fixing. You know, he had a really bad temper. My mom even found cocaine under the bed and my mom confronted him.

At that point, she already got divorced from my dad, so basically, I was the man of the house so I had to help.

After they got divorced, it was still stressful because my dad would, you know, make you feel bad, “Oh how come you went with your mom? How come you’re not with me? Your mom is the one. Your mom is the bad person.” Emotional roller coaster.

Just remembering the pain…and the sufferings. You had to worry about, you know, getting beaten or yelled at all the time. Really, I just didn’t care anymore, you just… day by day, you just go, do what you got to do—go work. I tried to, maybe not come home as much. You go home, you go work. But during the time that my parents were married, I did, you tried more or I tried more to help with the house. So that, you know, my dad wouldn’t be mad. He would be…he would be happy.

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Money Was Everything

I was struggling really bad. Money was everything at the time, so that you could buy stuff that you need, put gas in your car. I used to dig into rubbish cans at the tire store just to get new tires for my car, because I couldn’t afford it. My mom, she had to provide us food, medical. My dad, he wouldn’t go to work so that he wouldn’t have to pay child support.

At that point in my life, I didn’t really socialize that much. I had friends. We used to go drink after work. That was my way out in life at that time—to go drink with my friends, hand out, play video games at the pool hall, and then go work again the next day. All I did was work, go to school. I did go to church with mom and that’s how I met people.

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It Wasn’t Really Faith

My mom took us to two different churches during that time. That church, it was a moving church. I think we were there maybe a year or two. We had to help put up a tent. We had to set up the sound equipment. There was a female pastor and a male pastor. It was one of those churches where you could dance around. Much later, after I left the church and didn’t hang around anymore, the pastors killed themselves. They were embezzling money from the church.

For me, it wasn’t really faith. It was, I guess bonding—to see other people, you know, believe in God or believe in Jesus Christ.

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Something Felt Different

I was introduced into the Church Of Christ by a close family relative. He kept asking me to come to a worship service. I said, “No, I’m okay.” And eventually, I gave in and said, “Ok, I’ll come.” So I went to a worship service. I was, at first, surprised because the sisters would sit on one side and the brothers would sit on one side. And I thought that was strange at the time.

I kept going back to the Church Of Christ because something felt different. I can’t explain it. I just remember even going to Bible studies and the minister, you know, when he would teach, he would teach from the Bible. He would even show you the verses. You could see the truth, not just being told it. The lessons are geared towards understanding the Bible. Because you can read it like a book and you [won’t] understand it.

And by going through the Bible studies, you get to learn the things that were wrong in my previous religions like, you know, why the Catholic Church uses the big cross in the front and statues of different apostles around the church, Mother Mary.

The minister showed me the correct verses where you don’t worship idols. The only one that should be worshipped is our Almighty Father.

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“You shall have no other gods before Me.

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—

any likeness of anything that is in heaven above,

or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water

under the earth…”

[Exodus 20:3-4 New King James Version]

The things that I liked about this Church was that the things were read straight from the Bible, you had the answers from the Bible. A lot of the teachings just kind of clicked in your head that this is right. All that stuff played into my…thinking of where, “This is the one. This is the true Church. The Church Of Christ.”

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Martin was baptized in the Church Of Christ on July 27, 2002.

Looking back at my life, I did have religion but I didn’t have that relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ and God. Now, you have that relationship with our Almighty God. With that, the Church taught you how to be a stronger family by boning. Take that time out of your day to connect with your child, your wife. I believe in the teaching that there [is] a heaven, a place that we can go to with no hardships.

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Straight From The Bible

I would encourage people to give the Church Of Christ, at least, a chance. I went to many different churches myself, and for me, the Church Of Christ teaches straight from the Bible. It encourages family, it encourages a relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ and our Almighty Father.

I guess my greatest fear is that when I speak to my mom and she doesn’t respond, my fear is that she will, ultimately, someday pass away and not find the Church or find the true religion that she’s seeking for.

For me, God is my Father—someone that you can talk to, someone that you can cry to. Only in the Church Of Christ, they teach you how to pray to God and to have that relationship with God.

I believe if I had the Church Of Christ when I was growing up, I would have probably gone through struggles knowing that you could pray to God and He would answer your prayers. Knowing that someone is there to lead you in that direction, I think would be so much more easier than the way I did it.

My story of faith is…never give up. No matter what you’re going through in life, keep seeking, keep looking, keep praying, and keep praying.

I Learned How to Truly Talk to God

“For me it was something I dreaded doing and it didn’t really mean anything more to me…” – Paolo Montinola

Paolo Montinola was raised in a loving and supportive home. He followed everything his parents told him to do. But there was one family tradition he thought was pointless.

Praying the Rosary

“When I was younger and I would see my mom pray, I didn’t know why she was doing it. I did what I was told, but I wasn’t told what it should mean to me. As soon as I could talk, we’d do what’s called the ‘Rosary,’ which is repetitive prayer in a pattern for Catholics.”

But to be a good son, Paolo kept following what his parents wanted him to do.

“It just… it didn’t have an effect on me. It’s like I’m just saying the same words over and over, I [didn’t] really know what the words meant; I was just taught to say them. I was never taught what it was supposed to mean, how it’s supposed to affect my life. And it’s just something we’re supposed to accept. For most of my life, that’s what prayer was, unfortunately. It was just something that I just did because I was told to.”

It wasn’t until he was in high school that Paolo learned the importance of God, true faith, and the Bible…but he learned it somewhere else.

“It’s not what I expected, because the Catholic Church and Iglesia Ni Cristo—they’re so different.”

Paolo was invited to a Bible study in the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ) by a friend, and it was there he learned that the Church Of Christ believes in the Bible and that it’s the sole basis of their faith.

“I actually started thinking about what I learned and how it was different from what I’m used to. In between the Bible studies I would examine what exactly was different; how [I felt] when I was at the Bible study, and that’s where it really sparked.”

The Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ) believes there is only one true God, the Father, and there is a correct way to pray.

“The minister really took the time to take care of the Bible students. After each worship service, he would sit us down and ask us, ‘What did you learn from the lesson today?’ I’ve never had that before—someone asking me what I learned and what it meant to me. Then he said, ‘Each time you come together, one of you will pray. But don’t worry, I’ll guide you through it.’”

Learning to pray the correct way

“How I learned to pray was first through our group prayer meetings. It was so refreshing because I thought that a prayer was [something] you [only] did by yourself. And there was this person guiding me on how to talk to God. I never had someone guide me that way. He sat me down and told me the parts of the prayer. First of all, make sure it comes from the heart. And that was something I never heard before. Make sure it comes from the heart. It’s different each time because you’re praying to God. You’re actually talking to Him. You’re [not just] reciting something. That’s when I really learned how to talk to God. It became more than just the word ‘prayer.’ It became conversing, and letting God know all your cares and worries, and knowing with full confidence that He’s listening.”

Paolo was faced with a big decision. Would he leave the Catholic Church behind, walk away from his family’s traditions, and risk disappointing his parents, and would he take a leap of faith? After learning about the power of prayer, Paolo decided to pray on it.

“I felt so lost. I felt confused. Am I even where I’m supposed to be? The first thing I prayed for was, ‘Show me the way. If I’m in the right place let me know. If this new church is where I’m supposed to be, let me know also.’ I prayed for guidance. I prayed for answers and I also prayed for comfort.”

God answers prayers

Paolo moved from Sacramento to San Diego. He was in a new city by himself. He was lonely and decided to attend a worship service. The moment he arrived, he was welcomed by the members of the Church Of Christ.

“I don’t know where I would be without them. I knew it was God’s way of taking care of me. I knew for a fact that God was with me at that moment. I knew for a fact that I made the right choice, that I was where I was supposed to be.”

Paolo was baptized into the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ) in 2011 and has learned the true value of prayer.

“Looking back now, it’s like every step of the way, He guided me. I could keep telling myself that all these things were coincidences. But at a certain point you have to tell yourself that all these things aren’t happening just by accident. It’s because God has been guiding you. God listens to the prayers of His people”

I Wanted to Find the One True God

Mala grew up in a religion that believed in many gods but didn’t entertain her questions. As an adult, she had more questions—and wanted answers.

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As a little girl, I always asked my mom, “There [are] so many different gods, who is really the true God? Why [are] there so many? What [do] the different gods represent? When it came to the Hinduism and with the different gods, we were told sometimes, “Don’t ask any questions, just do what we tell you.”

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Stories of Faith

My name is sister Mala Hatman. I was born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago. I’m 42 years old. We were raised with a Hinduism religion. My mom taught me about praying. You pray to God and you ask God for His help, and God will help you. He will see you through.

We would go to our regular Sunday worship in the temple. I always asked my mom, “Well, there [arer] so many different gods. You know, who is really the true God? What [do] the different gods represent?” Every time I asked my mom, they would just redirect us.

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Mala Hatman
Former Hindu

They wouldn’t really, fully give us an answer of what the different gods [are] for, why we’re worshipping them and why we’re doing the things we do. When it came to the Hinduism and with the different gods, we were always told “Hey, you’re a child, don’t ask any questions. Just do what we tell you.”

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“Who is Really The True God?”

On March 12, 1991, I moved here when I was 14 about to turn 15, in Jacksonville, Florida. It was a really big challenge because you’re coming from a different world, entering another different world where English was not my first language.

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“Make Your Own Choices”

I started to get older in age, I started to ask even more questions.

“Do we still have to continue with the religion?” And then my parents said, “As we [get] older, we can make our own choices.” As I got older, I started to question learning in a different world for me. There’s so many different religions out there. Just by learning from everyone, I would ask their opinion. “Well, what do you do at your church?” And there [were] so many different answers, so I got a little puzzled [and] a little confused. It seemed like they didn’t know what was the right thing for themselves as well. So, I just continued to just learn more and just proceed.

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“I’d Like to Go to A Church Where I Can Learn”

I was invited by my husband’s sister. We were invited by Southpoint here in Jacksonville. We attended several Sundays. I asked myself, “There’s something that I’m looking for, I’m looking for something that serves purpose.” We would go [on] Sundays, even though they read from the Bible, I felt like, I’m going to church but I’m serving no purpose. I’d like to go to a church where I can learn Bible lessons myself.

I never knew who God was just coming from Hinduism. I knew that there were so many different gods, I didn’t know: How do we pray to God? What does God want us to know? What should we know?

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“So Many Questions”

It was April 16th that I met my husband. Our first date was at the movies. We started to get to know each other more and we decided that, you know, we would like to get married one day and have a family. So, after a year we got engaged. The church that we got married [in], Lakewood Presbyterian Church. When we got married there, we got involved with the church there. I actually got baptized at [the] Lakewood Presbyterian Church. After it was complete, I asked my husband, I said, “Are we supposed to feel anything?” I was looking for something but it was not there.

I had so many questions in my head and one of my questions was [about] offering. They would start at one end and then you would have to pass the bucket to the next person beside you. And I was a little curious. ‘What really happens to your offering?’. I was really confused. I got frustrated. And so I kind of gave up for a little while. I asked myself, “Well, these questions are not being answered so what am I supposed to do? What is the next thing that I should do?”

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“What Happens After You Die?”

After my dad had passed away, my brothers and my sister, we all sat in their home. And I asked my brother, Anthony, He is, at the time, a member of the Church Of Christ. We had a three-hour conversation. We also talked about what happens to you after you die. And so by the conversation, just listening, it intrigued my mind.

At the time, with my dad’s passing. I felt so empty. You know, there [were] so many questions and “Where do I go from here? What is it going to take to help me find my way and to have comfort?” So, I asked my brother and his wife. I said, “Well, can I go back to church with you?” And he said, ”Sure.” and I said “Okay, well the next time you have a Bible lesson, I will go with you.” Anthony is the one that introduced me to the Church Of Christ.

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“Where I Belong”

I remember when I asked my brother to go to church with him to a Bible lesson. I remember the exact minister that preached the Bible lesson. He also was here to pray for my dad as well when he was in the hospital. And I remembered when I sat down and I heard Lesson Two. “Who Is The True God?” When I heard the lesson, after I heard the complete lesson, my heart felt at ease. When [the minister] mentioned who is the true God [who] is the Father in Heaven, I told myself, “Wow, this is just beyond everything.” I told myself, “Well, why did I not hear this before?” I felt as if I was robbed. I said, “Why did I not know these things before?” There was only one true God in heaven. There is no other God than Him.

After I heard Lesson Two, I already knew that I wanted to sign up and listen to the twenty-eight lessons. I felt at the moment [that] I wanted to be part of the Church. This is where I belong.

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Mala Hatman
A member of the Church Of Christ

When I heard offering, the lesson for offering, what really happens to your offering—it just brought tears to my eyes because I found out that your offering is used in different ways. And hearing that the offering is used for [houses] of worship, I told myself, “Well, there’s nothing more beautiful than just hearing that”, I felt secured. I felt satisfied. I felt like all the questions that I [had] in my head, they were being answered. The questions that I [had], there were answered every time. Not just [through the] Bible lessons but attending the worship service.

I even went home and I told my husband, “I found a new Church and I’m really happy with it.” I said, “Would you like to [come]?”, he was hesitant about it. “You know if you want to come, you’re welcome to. But if not, that’s your choice but I’m going to join the Church whether you like it or not.”

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“The Best Thing That’s Ever Happened To Me”

As I was going through the Bible lessons, I remember coming home and my mom and my sister said, “Well, we noticed a change in you.” And I said, “Well, you should come to Church with me, this is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I’m really happy.” I introduced the [Church Of Christ] to him, my husband. He thought, “It’s just a Filipino church.” I said, “I’m not Fillipino but I’m joining the Church.” The Church is for all, God wants everyone to join the Church. And he went and did his own research while I shared the website. And at the time, he wasn’t sure, but I said “We’ll, just still try it. We will share something that is so great. It will help our relationship.” And we did. We had lessons online. We would talk to the minister and I said, “You see, When there’s a will, there’s a way.” God will find a way for us to hear everything that we need to know.

After he finished his lessons, I just thought that was the happiest thing ever. We went to Orlando for his baptism and I asked him and said “Don’t do it because of me or anyone. Do it for yourself and do it for God.” And he said, “Yes, this is what [I] wanted.”

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Mala And Her Husband Weyman Were Baptized in The True Church Of Christ

Mala Hatman
A member of the Church Of Christ

Every time I hear a Bible lesson or a worship service, you know, it’s like God truly is standing in front of you and He’s telling you what you’re supposed to do. You know, God has truly blessed me with the understanding and now that I’ve heard the truth, it’s what gets me through every day. Maybe if there’s a tough day in life—which there [are], and there [are] going to be. This is something that you have to hold on to. Something to inspire you. Something to move you.

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This Precious Gift

God has given me this precious gift that I can never find anywhere else. This is once in a lifetime. It’s something that I will take and treasure until the day I’m with God.

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Stories Of Faith

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I Longed For A Relationship with God

“It’s all about me” is written in bold pink letters on Mariela’s shirt as she smiles for the camera.

But after the picture is taken, that smile quickly fades because smiling, or the feeling of happiness, was such a foreign concept to her.

*Young Mariela in her pajamas standing on a couch*

“I would say my childhood was a little bit more different [from] the kids that I grew up with. I grew up in a less fortunate environment…there [was] a lot of violence and just like…no one was really safe. A lot of shootings. And so for that reason, I was not allowed to be out with all my other friends. So it was really like, I would say lonely.”

For as long as I can remember I was always bullied. So that didn’t really help with just my self-esteem, with my mental health and just making friends in general.”

She was shy, and more withdrawn than others. And while most kids her age were busy with memorizing the multiplication table or learning to do laundry while washing the dishes, Mariela was dealing with bigger problems.

“…he was always over and stuff like that. And he would obviously take that opportunity to…to do his thing to me, which obviously affected me because I was younger than 10 and I didn’t know what was happening. So I was exposed really early to just like…all these sexual things. And just, really, from there, it went really downhill with life for me.

I was actually molested as a kid.”

Feelings of Worthlessness

At the time, she didn’t know those private moments behind closed doors were a bad thing. All she knew was that whatever was happening to her felt wrong. She felt useless, unwanted, and unloved.

*Mariela as a young girl holding a birthday cake*

She never told anyone.

After taking sex education in high school, she realized she was sexually abused. And she was showing all the signs.

Studies reveal that people who have experienced sexual abuse usually develop low self-esteem and feelings of worthlessness. They grow up not being able to trust anyone and can become suicidal.

“I’ve been diagnosed with depression, and frankly I’m not surprised because of everything I’ve been through, and I actually [did] self harm for a really long time.”

With the blades from pencil sharpeners, Mariela would frequently cut through her skin as a way of releasing the pain that she kept inside.

She blamed herself for everything and hated who she was.

“Six, seven years after it happened, I opened up, actually, to my dad’s girlfriend, because I was doing therapy, and I was doing a psychological assessment…

And then I think in that moment, I started crying. And she came around from the table, and she just hugged me, which I never had...and from there, I told my dad and then I told my mom and then we kind of just like, slowly dealt with it.”

Warmth in Her Heart

She didn’t have a lot of friends in high school; she was mostly a loner. She found herself feeling uneasy in a crowd or even talking to a few people.

But she did hold on to a small circle of friends and hung out with them when she could. She thought it was strange that her friend’s schedule consisted of school, homework, and going to worship service all the time.

“So I asked him about it, and he was like, ‘Oh, I’m a member of the Iglesia Ni Cristo or the Church Of Christ.’ And I was just like, ‘The Church Of Christ? Okay, that’s, that’s cool.’

I was just like, ‘Can I come to your Church?’”

She attended a worship service, and she felt a warmth in her heart. She was impressed with the choir members and the hymn singing because it wasn’t something she was used to. She remembered hearing live bands play at the Pentecostal church she went to as a child.

Mariela kept attending the worship services. She got to know the people. She felt safe, and she started to believe the teachings taught in the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ).

“One thing that really made me feel like I was in the true Church, that convinced me that the Church Of Christ was the true Church, was the Bible. Anywhere [in the Bible] that talks about prophecies [concerning the Church] they [the ministers of the Church Of Christ] teach us was always fulfilled in the Church. And it was always in the Bible. So it was honestly like, I wasn’t being lied to. They didn’t make it up. They didn’t just say it without any proof or any evidence of it happening.”

That Relationship with God

The worship service lessons in the Church Of Christ started to fill her heart with confidence, and the friends she made, true Christians, made her feel like she belonged. She found a reason and a purpose to exist. The closer she grew to having a relationship with God, the less she felt like cutting herself. And she knew she wanted to keep learning, but her mother was against it.

So instead of diving right in, Mariela took her time and waited until she was 18. And her first decision as an adult was to sign up as a doctrinal instructee to become a member of the Church Of Christ.

*Mariela holding a birthday cake with message that reads: “From INCenterstage Fam*

“Being a member of the Church…it just really gave me that satisfaction where it was like, I am getting that relationship with God. What I’ve always wanted was a relationship with God that was secure, a family that loved me and that I loved, and just happiness in general. And those are the three things that I really, really wanted in life, and no matter what I did, it was really hard to get. But being a member, and actually being baptized and actually being an active member, I got all three [of those] things. Me sitting here today, I’m telling you, it will give you that happiness, that secure feeling that you’ve always been looking for. That…just love, not only from the members, but it’s especially from God.

Being a member [of the Iglesia ni Cristo or Church Of Christ] really saved my life. Being a member gave me that hope and just love that I always needed to continue on.

My story of faith is how I want the world to really see how the Church Of Christ changes your life for the good.”

Today, Mariela is happy. She can genuinely smile and laugh. And to her, that’s a huge milestone because it fuels her confidence and lets her know that she is loved. She is worthy.

And while her past might be a blur, she’s realizing that her life is just starting now and there is an awesome future ahead of her, now that she’s developed a relationship with God.

I Prayed for God to Guide Me to His Truth

Sandy was a firm believer in the truth of the Bible. She dedicated her life to finding that one true Church that she knew was out there. So she prayed for God to guide her to His one true Church.

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I Prayed for God to Guide Me to His Truth

Sandy E’Addy: They [were] calling a priest in the church ‘Father’, and I did know, in the Bible, that you’re not supposed to call any man father…

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Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.

[Matthew 23:9 New King James Version]

Sandy (cont.) : …but your Father in heaven. That, alone, [prompted] me, you know, to really investigate the church. I went to the Baptist church and the Holiness church…

I wasn’t going to stop searching. I wasn’t going to stop having the faith that God will show me [His truth], and He did. And nobody can take it away from me.

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STORIES of FAITH

[Show open]

Sandy: I’m Sandy E’Addy. I was born in Allen, New York, and I was raised in Manhattan. All together, my mother had 13 children. And I was the middle one. My grandmother, she taught us her best way of being a true Catholic. We (weren’t) allowed to come into (the) church unless we bowed down and made the sign of the cross. We always had to pray a different prayer like the Hail Mary. I believed there was a God, and there is a God. Being a Catholic, as I became knowledgeable and (began) praying more, I didn’t believe in the church. No, not the Catholic church.

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“I Started Reading The Bible”

Sandy: When I was older, a teenager, I started reading the Bible and praying a lot. They [were] calling a priest in the church father, and I did know, in the bible, that you’re not supposed to call any man father but your Father in heaven.

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Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.

[Matthew 23:9 NKJV]

Sandy: That, alone, [prompted] me, you know, to really investigate the church. [There were] a lot of things going on in there, and all the Catholic churches I went to, they just [were] not what is supposed to be in the Holy Bible. If they are teaching us, they should teach everything exactly from the Holy Bible and nothing else.

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“I Was Searching”

Sandy: My whole life just wrapped up into finding that true church. That was my all, and all that I was searching for. Because I went through so many churches, and found them to be untrue as far as the Holy Bible is concerned.

I went to the Holiness church. I went to the Baptist church. That was definitely not it. In the Baptist church, they read something from the Bible, but it’s so short lived, and then they start (saying), “Oh my wife did this. This one did that.” What does that have anything to (do with) spreading the word of God? You’re talking about your personal life. If you were a real minister, you would be preaching directly from the word of God, not adding your words to it. God said don’t add to nor subtract.

Oh, the offerings, they came around 3, 4 times. They don’t do it one time. The pastor had the most expensive car. He was taking care of himself. He wasn’t doing what he was supposed to do, but then again, how could he do what he was supposed to do? You can’t preach unless you’re sent.

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“And how shall they preach unless they are sent?…”

[Romans 10:15 New King James Version]

But the Catholic church was the main problem (for) me when I became aware. I did go back to speak to the priest, and I asked him, “Why do you allow the brethren in the church to call you father, when God said, call no man ‘Father’ but your Father in heaven.” I said, “I have my Bible with me, you could read it yourself.”

And he said, “Get out. Just leave.”

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Finding The True Church

Sandy: One day, my husband and I [were] riding our bicycles, and a U.S. government car was coming the wrong way. It hit my bike. I went up in the air, and I came down on the hood of the car and rolled in the street. I was taken to Long Beach hospital, and they did x-rays and everything, and they said there was nothing broken.

They told me that I [could] pick two doctors. I looked up and down and there (were) about 6 to 8 doctors or so, and I picked Dr. Alfredo Daos and Dr. Lito Ramos. When I went to see them, I think I saw some God’s Message [magazines] in the office. I [told] them about [how] I went to every church there was, and I could not find the truth. They [told] me about the Church Of Christ, so I was very curious and wanted to know about the Church Of Christ.

Then they asked me [if] I would like to come to any of the Bible studies or anything like that. I said, “Yes! I definitely would. I would love to come.” So he brought me to the Church, and I was looking for those crosses, because I just wanted to see. There was not any cross, and every word that they preached, was directly from the word of God.

I would pray, I would cry out to our Almighty God and Lord Jesus, “I know there is the true church out there. Please let me be able to find that true church.” And that is exactly what He did.

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“No Doubt, Nowhere”

Sandy: When I first found out about the true Church Of Christ, and [brought] my family, you know, they [didn’t] give me a hard time about it. One time, they did say something like, “You’re going to another church.” I said, “Yes. But this is the true church. Just come. Just come and listen and just be patient, and you’ll all see.” And that’s exactly how it went down. Everything was on the up and up, and truth was being presented to my family and myself.

When they opened up the Bible, and [were] teaching and preaching everything from the Bible and not making up their own words, that was my light. I know that Jesus said, “…upon this rock, I will build my Church.” He didn’t say churches, so I know it was one church, and then when they read the prophecy from the Holy Bible, straight [from] there, then I knew that the Church Of Christ is the true Church without any kind of doubt. And the truth is the only thing that is going to set us free.

The thoughts that I had, [are] the same thoughts I will always have—that the Church Of Christ is the true Church. I’ve been a member of the Church Of Christ since April 28, 1979.

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Sandy E’Addy

Joined the Church Of Christ in 1979

Sandy: So, it’s been a bit over 40 years. I wasn’t going to stop searching. I wasn’t going to stop praying. I wasn’t going to stop believing. I wasn’t going to stop having the faith that God will show me, and He did. And nobody can take it away from me. They can take a lot of things from me in my life, but they cannot take the truth from me.

Regardless of what came in my life, the different trials, the different tribulations, the illnesses, everything, He has truly blessed me and my family.

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No Place On Earth

I wouldn’t want to live without being in the true Church Of Christ, and I mean that from my heart. God knows I speak the truth. Where can I go? Where can I take my family? There is no place on this earth. The world, it’s in bad shape. [There’s] so much sinning and different things that [are] going on in this world. That’s the reason why we need to be in the true Church Of Christ. We need to renew our lives. We need to pray harder. We need to be true followers of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Because we are living in the last days. These are perilous times, and they’re not going to get any better.

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“My Joy”

Sandy: Being in the Church Of Christ, that’s my joy. That’s my main love. It’s a blessed privilege to be able to sing from our hearts, minds and souls to our Father in heaven and His son Jesus Christ.

Interviewer: How long have you been in the choir now?

Sandy: It’s a bit over a decade, say 11 years.

Interviewer: And what do you love about being in the choir?

Sandy: Singing praises to our Almighty God, and His beloved son Jesus Christ. I want to do it until the end, the very end, because serving God and His beloved Son Jesus Christ, is my life. Without being able to do that, I don’t have any life.

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“God Is My All In All”

Sandy: I want to sing praises. I want to let my heart and soul be in sync to our Heavenly Father and His beloved son Jesus Christ. I want to continue to be [in] the choir. Even though I can barely, hardly walk sometimes, God gives me the strength to be able to get [to] the choir loft to praise and sing to Him and His son. And I feel so rejuvenated and refreshed.

Being in the Church Of Christ, being in the true Church Of Christ is just…that’s what I’m most thankful for, and may I take that with me to my grave. I could never thank Him enough for [me] being in the true Church Of Christ. God is awesome. God is my all in all.

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STORIES of FAITH

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The Bible Made Me Question My Former Religion

Krista with family in front of Golden Gate Bridge

Krista Taduran is one of four children, and grew up in a tight knit family.

“Our whole family would always hold prayer every night and we would all attend the church together.

We were raised as Catholics, she [Mom] told me that Catholicism did not make sense to her. So that’s what led her to taking all of us as a family to go to the Methodist [Church] as it made more sense to her in a way.

My knowledge of God was there was three in one. The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit”

Krista thought everyone had the same beliefs, until she met Anrae.

Friends with different religious beliefs

“We were sophomores in high school, and I met him in French class. I did the sign of the cross and the first thing that he told me was ‘I don’t believe in that,’ of course, [for] me, I was very shocked. I was appalled.”

When Anrae revealed he didn’t believe in the Catholic practice of making the sign of the cross and the Trinity, Krista became curious. So when he invited her to a worship service in the Church Of Christ, she eagerly agreed.

“I attended that Bible study, I came ready with my little notebook, with my little pen and as well as with my Bible, I made sure that I listened to every single word that that pastor or [the] minister was going to say that day.

The first lesson that I heard was [about] the eating of blood, and how that was not allowed. [That was] my favorite dish.”

She was shocked, but she was more surprised by what she observed.

If you’re seeking biblical truth, ask the Bible for answers

“The Church Of Christ, what they do is they go through the Bible, [reading] every single verse that’s related to [the] question that you just had⁠—into an answer. And I was amazed, I was there. I was so shocked. The next Bible study that I went to answered more about the Trinity.

The minister told me there was no way that there could be three gods in one. He read to me John 17:1 and 3. He pointed out that Jesus looked up and called out ‘Father.’ The minister then proceeded to tell me, “Jesus was not looking at [in] a mirror. If Jesus was also the Father, then wouldn’t He have not called out at all? He wouldn’t have asked for help or cry out in prayer if He Himself were the all-powerful God.

Jesus was also here on this earth. Flesh and bones. The Almighty God is not made of flesh and bones, but is a spirit.”

Finding Strength During Group Prayers

Everything made sense to her so she wanted to learn more about the teachings of the Church Of Christ, but her parents made her feel guilty about being interested in another religion. They were supposed to be Methodists.

So Krista stopped going to the Bible studies for a while.

She was devastated and felt alone.

But she kept researching.

“I decided to hop onto incmedia.org. That’s where I saw everything. I was introduced to Stories of Faith, the different types of activities that were happening [in] the Church at that time. They’re all posted there. The testimonies from brethren and their conversion stories were what moved me. It made me realize that if they could do it, so can I.”

Inspired by the content on incmedia.org, Krista decided to attend more Bible studies with Anrae.

She became friends with the members of the Church Of Christ and found strength during their group prayers.

“All my friends, all of my first INC friends or Church Of Christ friends that I’ve ever met, were all through social media. And I remember, a couple months before my baptism, we would hold devotional prayer every single night and they would pray for me. They would ask God that, ‘if it is not against Your holy will may You please help her be baptized.’ And we would do that for maybe three consecutive months, every single night at 9pm.”

Those prayers gave her more confidence in her decision and after learning how to pray the right way, Krista started praying for her parents to agree with her decision to become a member of the Church Of Christ.

“Slowly they realized that this Church is safe and that I am in good hands.”

And the day she prayed for finally came.

“My baptism occurred on October 22 2016.

“I remembered waking up at 5 am in the morning, I drove to Montclair here in the Orange County District, with [two of my] best friends. They came to support me. And I remembered asking my mom to come to my baptism. She did. My mom went, and my little sisters [also] came.”

Krista appreciated the support she received during the biggest day of her life, but she knows what her biggest blessing is.

Ready to face life with God

“At one point in my life, I literally was alone, because everything was very one sided. And no one was there to support me, but myself. [However I feel] like the love of God is so powerful, and it makes you whole. Being in the Church [Of Christ], it has taught me that there will always be temptations and persecutions in life that may bring you down, but God will never put you through what you can’t handle.”

I Once Had No Direction in Life

Growing up without a dad, Jonathan felt hopeless and had no sense of direction. But after turning to God, he receives guidance and a sense of self-worth.

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Jonathan Nguyen: At the age of seven, my dad left. Growing-up, I was dark, I was bitter. I was angry and I was hopeless. How can someone, you know, just leave their child? I was more—I felt unwanted. I didn’t have any guidance.

I never could understand the idea of a God. There was a moment where I was like, “Do I just let everything go?” You know, do I…what’s worth…

[Deep exhale]

Life wasn’t worth living anymore.

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Stories of Faith

My name is Jonathan Nguyen. I was born in San Jose, California but I was raised in Sacramento, California.

I kind of grew up alone, even though I had three siblings. We’re all seven years apart so I always felt like the only child sometimes. And then at the age of seven, I was even more alone because my dad left. So it was just my mom and I in Sacramento together and my siblings were all gone.

Growing-up without a dad, in the beginning I was confused. I was more—I felt unwanted. The lack of a father—a father figure—really affected me. So at times I would just run away, and I ran away from a lot of problems.

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“I Needed Something More”

When I was growing-up with my mom, we weren’t really religious. We were religious when we wanted to be religious. My mom was Buddhist, so we would go to the temple. People would be there and pray. But I was always confused.

Growing [up] Vietnamese-American we celebrated, we celebrated Chinese New Years or Lunar New Years so we would go to the temple. You know, growing-up without a father figure, growing-up with religion or a God—I didn’t have any guidance. I lived it one day at a time. And I was just looking out—I let my emotions rule my decisions. I let, you know, how I felt and how I did things that made me feel good. And so whatever decisions, [whomever] I hung out with it was based [on] emotions, and not teachings, not guidance, not wisdom from anybody. But it was when I never found happiness hanging out with friends that did, you know, did questionable things. And something was always missing.

I always had a friend that was some kind of—had some kind of Christianity belief. Whether it was Protestant, whether it was Catholic. And at times to please that friend I would go with them to a worship service, to a gathering but I never took—I never could understand the idea of a God. Or I never really embraced it and it was—something was always missing. It was a—I felt this void in my heart that I was like, “I needed something more.” And I’m just not truly happy. And there was a moment where I was like, “Do I just let everything go?”

Life wasn’t worth living anymore. And it wasn’t until I met someone that introduced me to the Church Of Christ.

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“I Started Attending Bible Studies”

I don’t want to say that there was no God but I definitely saw there was just, you know, [I was] agnostic, not atheist and so I started attending worship service—the teachings were nice. And at first, it was this big house of worship in San Jose, California. And for years I would drive past it and I just didn’t think about it. Even my mom—when I was growing-up, or right before I was born, my mom had a restaurant right next to it. At the plaza right next to the San Jose house of worship my mom had a restaurant.

There was this time I was playing volleyball, I’m a big volleyball—I love volleyball. And during a—while I was going to college I was in this volleyball class and I was playing but there [were] these four (two male, two female), and they came up to me and they’re like, “Hey, you attend the Church Of Christ, right? You attend—” Then they’re like, “You should play in this tournament we have. We have this volleyball tournament, you know, it’s just good friendly, brotherhood competition.”

And that opened my eyes. And I was like, “Wow, I want to play, many I want to play.” So I started attending Bible studies.

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“It Just Opened Up My Eyes”

At the same time I was going to school and I was going through the Bible studies and during my history class, there were talking about the Catholic inquisition. And at the same time I was learning about that in the Bible studies and it just connected. It was just this, it was this parallel. It was these two, you know, how do you say—it just opened my eyes and I was like, “Wow, this is the Bible, it’s—there’s something to it.

[The Bible] prophesied about things that happened and things that would happen, I mean. And I just kept going and I wanted more. I was thirsting for it. I just wanted to learn more. And it was amazing. Everytime like, I would just around afterwards, I would ask the minister questions, he would answer it from the Bible. But it just felt good to have—to be taught truth.

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“I Was Able To See The Bigger Picture”

There was a specific lesson, it just clicked, it just—it’s the lightbulb in my head just, it just turned on and everything else just started to make sense. All the Bible studies started to make sense, everything just came together and it was about all the prophecies of World War I and World War II. And not just, not just the—about the start of the war, different diseases or famine. The instruments of war. The time period in between World War I and World War II. It just blew my mind and that lesson, there was another lesson that we learned about the true meaning behind 666. And me thirsting for knowledge, thirsting for truth, it was just amazing to hear. I invited my brother to that lesson. So once I learned those lessons everything else just had—it was credible. So I never questioned it because it just came from the Bible. I was like, “This is true. So there’s no—I’m not going to question God’s words, that’s wisdom right there.”

It just made me believe in the Bible even more. You know, when I was going through the Bible studies I didn’t have any moment of resistance. I think coming from a non-religious upbringing, it allowed my mind to be open, fresh for ideas that just made sense. It was logical. So when I was going through the Bible studies, everything just made sense and it connected. Like one lesson after another, after another. And so it was—I never had any doubt. You know, I never had questioned any of the teachings because they all logically made sense. Everything just came together and I finally, I finally got to see the bigger picture.

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“I Cleaned Up”

After joining the Church Of Christ, I just—I cleaned up; I didn’t hang out with the same friends anymore because they didn’t help my faith grow. Anybody that didn’t help my faith grow I just—sad to say but I had to cut them off. And I wanted to become a better person and I loved the person I was and I wanted to become better, especially in my faith.

Growing-up I was dark, I was bitter, I was angry and I was hopeless. You know, now I just have peace. Peace in my heart, peace in my mind. And that everything will be alright. And that our problems [are]—they’re not really that bad. They’re not that big.

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“The Church Of Christ Gave Me Guidance”

You know, after I joined the Church Of Christ and I had more guidance and I had a vision of where I wanted to go—of what I wanted and life ahead of me—I was going towards salvation, of course, working towards salvation, working towards eternal life. Because you know, God saved me. So I wanted to focus my life on Him. And my services to Him.

When I joined the Church [Of Christ] I never knew how to pray. Whether it was just praying to something, to the universe or praying to you know helping in the—praying in the Buddhist prayers. You know, joining the Church [Of Christ] it really helped me learn how to talk to God and ask [Him] for my needs. To open my heart to Him. You know, I’m thankful that the minister really taught me how to pray from my heart and not mere—and not just pray from my brain. Just, you know, let my heart speak and God will listen. It just felt good to—it felt good to tell Him about my day. And how happy I was.

Growing-up without a father and now having children of my own I… I’m grateful that I have God in my life. I’m grateful that I have the Church Of Christ in my life because it helped appreciate what I have and I just want to be the best father for them. I want to be there for them. They’re my blessing from God [that] I wanted but never prayed for. And He gave it to me. I’m just, I’m just grateful.

I’m glad that I’m in the Church Of Christ because it gives me guidance [on] how to be a parent, and how to raise them the right way. And then I know that I’ll do my best so that they can always be under God’s protection and love.

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“God is Wonderful”

If I never joined the Church [Of Christ] I think when times got tough, I wouldn’t know what to do and I would [have] quit. Like what I’ve done most of my life and I would’ve failed my family. I wouldn’t have endured the troubles and I would [have] just quit. But I’m thankful because I know that there’s no quitting. Especially with family, you push through it. It’s just an opportunity to turn to God. It’s just that knowing that everything will be okay. And that God is there to protect you, and that you’ll become stronger out of this and anything that happens in our lives, good or bad, we’re just thankful for it, you know, my family and I. And we just use that opportunity to thank God. And that when—either I’m gone or we’re separated [from our kids] when [our kids] grow older that they will love God more than me. And that they’ll always pray to Him. I can’t just—there’s just, words can’t explain just how much I love, you know, [I] love God and I’m just thankful.

I love… I love sharing my faith and I find it so important to share my faith because I want more people to experience God, to experience what I experienced. And to have God in their life and to protect them. And just the peace and happiness it brings when you finally serve God the right way. I want more people to really experience that because He’s the only one that can save us. God is always there. God is my protector. God is amazing, God is just wonderful, kind. He’s my Father. He’s the one that guides me. You don’t have to worry about anything because you know God has your back.

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Forgiving My Alcoholic Father

Growing-up with an alcoholic dad, Jessica needed to find a way to let go of her anger and resentment to avoid the same troubled path her dad took.

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I got woke up in the middle of the night by my brother and I knew that something wasn’t right. All I said was, “Dad?”, and my brother said, “Yes.” I just started crying, I just knew he didn’t make it, he had passed. I was in a lot of disbelief, a lot of denial, a lot of anger. Anger was the biggest thing that went through me for a really long time. I had had such a wall built around my heart, I didn’t want to let anybody in again. Especially not God.

[Show open]

My name is Jessica, I’m 25 years old. I was born in Nashville, Tennessee, and I moved to Maui in 2006.

My childhood was… it was good. I had a great mom who did everything she possibly could being a single mom raising two girls. She was… I never went without anything. My father, on the other hand, he was a great dad, as well, but he struggled with alcohol addiction and mental health issues. And so my life was very unstable. He was there for three months, not there for three months, so it was really hard as a young child to watch your dad go out and be drunk on the street. Today is actually his ten year death anniversary so I’m really emotional.

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He Chose Alcohol Over Me

My relationship with my dad, we were really tight. I loved him. My mom always said that he spoiled me. If I didn’t want to do the dishes I would just say, “But daddy, please!” and he would do it for me. But there was also a lot of heartache in that relationship, a lot of feelings of abandonment.

I never understood why he chose alcohol over me. And I still struggle with that to this day. I felt like I wasn’t perfect enough because he was still going out on the streets and drinking. If I was perfect enough, or better, that would be his driving force to overcome his addiction. It took me a really long time to, you know, learn that even though he was, he did have this addiction, that nothing I did would’ve fixed that. But he needed to be the one willing to make the change. I still struggle to this day with wanting to feel perfect or to feel like I’m the best…because of that.

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A Lot of Anger

My brother, he’s a police officer. He came over one night, and I got [woken] up in the middle of the night by my brother and I knew that something wasn’t right. All I said was, “Dad?”, and my brother said, “Yes.” I just started crying, I just knew he didn’t make it, he had passed. I was in a lot of disbelief, a lot of denial, a lot of anger. Anger was the biggest thing that went through me for a really long time.

My family and I, it was rough. My sister and I, we did a lot of things that we really shouldn’t have done, we rebelled. It strained the relationship with my mother, I had a lot of resentment towards her just because I could never understand why she married my father. Just a lot of anger. I took it out on her, I took it out on my sister. I took it out on everyone around me.

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Is God Real?

My mom was Christian, so we did go to church. But when my father passed away that’s when I turned my back on everything. But I just had so much hate, I felt so empty. I was searching for where I belonged, where I felt whole again. The last church that I went to is The Salvation Army and I felt like I didn’t belong there. There was definitely something missing, I felt empty.

As I got older I started questioning things. I started to question if God was real, who He was, why He brought me here. I had had such a wall built around my heart. I didn’t want to let anybody in again. Especially not God.

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A Dark Spot in My Life

I found myself seeking because I felt like there was a piece of me missing, that I wasn’t complete, that there was a dark spot in my life. And so I was seeking for that, I was seeking for the place that would fill.

After my father passed away I really went through a period of soul searching, trying to find out who I was, how I belonged in this world. I never felt like I had a place where I belonged, or a place where I was loved or wanted… until I found the Church [Of Christ].

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I Was Curious

In 2015 I was introduced to the Church Of Christ. I met Anna and she invited me to a Bible study. And I was curious and wanted to know more. And I did look online and went to the website (incmedia), I did watch a couple evangelical missions that were posted, and I really liked how everything that the minister was speaking about was straight from the Bible. I was like, “wow! That’s kind of cool!” And so I decided to give it a shot and go.

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Biblically-Based

I think the first lesson that I had went to was about the Church Of Christ being the true Church from God, and then I was like, “Well how was that? Why is that?” And he read the Bible and he would say the way to be saved is to enter through Christ, and to enter through Christ you enter through His flock or His fold, and that’s the Church. And I was just like, “Wow! That really makes sense!” Everything was just so in order, and I was like anything I was questioning was just immediately answered, and I had no—I mean, how could you have a doubt about what was being said?

It was different for me that day because the lesson was so biblically-based, and it was just different for me because I had never been to a church where as soon as I walk in everybody is coming up to me, asking me what my name is, telling me that they’re so thankful that I’m here, that, you know, they hope to see me again. And I just felt so loved.

At that time I had really been struggling with my identity and who I was, my identity in Christ. And where I belonged, I had a lot…a sense of not belonging anywhere, not fitting in. I felt this could be where I’m supposed to be.

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The Healing

After my father died and when I was 18, I started working at a place that everybody was partiers, and I, unfortunately, went out with them. And I would drink, myself, and one time I did get behind the [wheel] after I had drank a little bit. And it made me realize that I’m going on the same path as my dad, and I don’t want to do that. You know, my dad was killed by a drunk driver while he was drunk, and here I am, I’m just continuing this destructive cycle that my dad started.

And that really hit home to me, when the minister read in the Bible that we’re not supposed to drink or do drugs.

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“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,…drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

[Galatians 5:19-21 New King James Version]

I felt ashamed and guilty. I think for the Church, what made me know that this is where I’m meant to be was all of the lessons, cumulatively. They all were in line with each other, they were all based on the Bible. I did start to feel the healing. It’s been a long process but I can thankfully say as of today that I’ve forgiven everybody that I had held resentment towards. It was a long road. A long long painful road to forgiveness.

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What Led Me to Forgiveness

I think the hardest to forgive was my father, and the man, you know, that hit him. We saw him maybe 5 years after my dad died, eating in a restaurant. I just ran out crying, I just couldn’t even see him. I hated him. He had been drinking at the baseball field, there were three other cars in the accident and they were all able to avoid my dad, he was the only one. I mean my dad had his fault in the accident, as well. But yea, it was hard to forgive him.

What led me to forgiveness was when I started to learn how to pray in the Church [Of Christ]. And I would just pray to God, “Please take this burden. I’m ready to give it to You. I’m ready to let go. I’m ready to feel whole again, feel complete. The only way to do that is to give my burden, my feeling of resentment and pain to You.” And I just felt like after I prayed that He answered, and He put the grace and forgiveness in my heart.

Praying gave me a sense of knowing that someone was there for me, that I was always surrounded by the Holy Spirit, that God was always with me, and that I never had to worry because He was right there, by my side. He was my Father. In the Church Of Christ I felt my prayers are being answered.

Learning how to pray changed my life. It really changed my life.

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I Found My Wholeness

The Church Of Christ offered a place that I could come to no matter what was going on in my life. I could come there and it offered me a place to talk to God, to get closer to God, to listen to His messages. And it offered a place where I could find who I was, who I was in God. And it offered me a place where I could find my healing.

For me entering the Church meant that I found my healing, I found myself, I found my wholeness. I want everybody to know that, you know, if they’re searching for themselves, or they’re searching for their identity that it can be found through Christ, and through the Church. Through the Church Of Christ.

What I know now is: I know myself. I know who I am, I know why I was created. I know that there’s something better out there and I wish I would have known that when I was younger. And I wish that I would have known so that I could have had this feeling for a lot longer.

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Prayer of Forgiveness

My favorite answered prayer is the prayer of forgiveness—when I asked God to help me forgive. He helped me to forgive my mom, my dad…forgive myself, forgive the man who killed my dad. Without faith I wouldn’t have forgiven, I wouldn’t have met peace.

God is my rescuer. God is my healer. God is love. God is my strength.

To know that I’m not alone, it’s the greatest feeling. It’s something I’ve searched for my whole life. I felt like I finally found that missing piece that I was searching for for so long.

It’s important for me to make it to heaven because I want to meet God, who created me. I want to worship Him, I want to just love Him, just thank Him for everything that He’s done for me.

How My Life Changed When I Found God

Wanting to change his life for the better, a young man accepts an invitation from the Church Of Christ and discovers how his life can be with God in it.

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My name is Michael Russel, I’m from Gaithersburg, Marland, USA. Growing up I never had a father-figure in my life—outside my uncle and my grandfather. And my mom—she did her best that she could for us but it was still kind of taxing on her raising four kids by herself. It became pretty stressful for her and she fell kind of hard on alcohol. It made things unstable but I didn’t really know how to help her.

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Stories of Faith

I was a really hyperactive kid. I was diagnosed with ADHD so I was always jumping around, fidgeting, messing with something, making noise. Because of that I kind of got picked on a lot and so I used to get in lots and lots of fights.

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“Things Got Hectic”

It was hard for me to make friends so I ended up leaning on my twin sister. We shared everything and because of my disposition of being kind of hyperactive, I was kind of annoying to other people. So the only way I could make friends was through her friends.

Once high school came around, that’s when things kind of got—things got really hectic in our lives. I started skipping school and trying to get away from everyone that was like always making fun of me or I would end up skipping school with a few kids from a couple of [my] classes and they always went to parties in the middle of the day. They kind of made me—they kind of distracted me a lot from my life and so I fell pretty hard into that kind of scene.

Trying to be accepted by a group of people that seemed like they were having a lot of fun, I tried really hard to get their approval, you know? Just trying to be accepted by others when you don’t like your own life. It was really stressful on everything, including my mom. So much to the point that she ended up kicking me out of the house when I was 17. So I ended up falling back on those people that I always partied with all the time for help and shelter.

But it’s hard doing your own thing without a support system behind you because my dad wasn’t there and my mom had kicked me out, and my friends were all in and out of bad things so they didn’t really have any foundation. [When] I turned 18 I was able to apply for my first apartment. But even then I was trying to reach out and—reach out to the hands of my friends that were always partying. We would always game together and then they would invite some of their friends along. Two of the guys that came over, they happened to be known drug dealers—and needless to say, we got evicted from there because some of the badder folk, they were still doing drugs and everything. Breaking in and out of the apartment and still trying to have parties and stuff and it became very noisy and even though I was trying to settle things down, they just wouldn’t listen. Eventually, we had all gotten kicked out of [the apartment] and the police had came several times to noise complaints.

And so from that point, I started seeing all the people that refused to change because honestly it kind of disgusted me. So I ended up pulling me and then two of my other friends out of that situation because it just became really bad and I saw them get really delved into it. From that point we—our group started creating an inner circle where we’re like no one else but the people we can really trust now because things [were] getting really crazy with the people we’re hanging around.

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“A Safe Place”

One of my friends that [is] in our inner circle, he was going through his college—he was finishing up his NCLEX for nursing, in his finals in class and one of his close classmates actually happened to be a member of the Church [Of Christ]. And so when we all went out for dinner after the [college] finals she ended up inviting me and a couple of the guys to a couple worship services. Of course, we said no at first. I mean, in the back of my mind I was kind of interested. She ended up inviting me to a couple Unity Games and activities. And then just seeing how involved everybody was with the Church and how close knit everyone was I basically fell in love with it right away because—to have a place where you’re just automatically accepted and everyone’s super friendly and there’s really no like… direct judgement on you. If felt good to finally be in a safe place, you know?

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“Learning to Be A Christian”

I started out [as a] Baptist when I was [really] young. My godmother had us baptized as Baptists and then I went to Jehovah’s Witness, and my grandfather was a big Witness. I delved into [Catholicism] for a little bit because of a few friends but I never got baptized or stuck [with it] because—I don’t know, it was a lot of…a lot of things that felt wrong over there.

So when I came to this Church, my first thought was “I’m not sure how it’s going to be.” Because I never really heard anything [about] it. So that first worship service I remember, was in Gaithersburg and we sat there and listened, and the way they were preaching was very, very sincere and everything—[the minister] mentioned several times they were taking [the answers] right out of the Bible and nothing was from his own opinion. Even though the minister had asked questions to the congregation, I’m looking around waiting for people to answer back or someone that will give their opinion and the minister [says] “No wait, we’ll ask the Bible for the answer.” Sure enough he found a scripture—a passage that would directly answer the question that was there.

[Afterwards] the minister answered all of my questions there that I thought about. Even as I started coming up with more questions I asked, I asked him after the fact and he was able to answer them for me even the ones he wasn’t directly able to answer at that moment. Because in the past churches I’ve been to, they—[would always say] “Oh, don’t try to confuse things brother, just listen and enjoy the service.” Or “Just believe, just believe what you don’t see” kind of deal. People want answers to the things that are confusing them, and if you don’t answer them it’s just going to cause more issues. But for the fact that [in the Church Of Christ] these answers came right out of the Bible and not out of someone’s own opinion or life story was really impressive for me because I didn’t—I had never really read the Bible myself and I didn’t know it was that really direct with everything.

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“Learning to Be A Christian”

After that [worship] service it really impressed me and I felt like I was welcome. Even with the brethren, they were very welcoming to me. With the minister, the teachings and the brethren alone, definitely secured [my decision] to continue coming back for more. And just learning to be a proper Christian definitely helped me to round out my life as well.

The blessings that I’ve received are numerous. Too numerous to count because everything throughout my life has been like an up and down roller coaster. But just learning… learning to listen to the teachings of God, and learning about peace and guarding your heart definitely helped me to calm myself down.

Since I became more and more active in the Church, I started seeing more and more opportunities—just doors opening up on their own. I consider this a blessing from God because where I would normally be distracted and not really absorbing all of the information—because when I was younger I had ADHD and everything—[God] has really found a way to keep me stable and steady so that I can be able to take in everything that I’m taught. Learning to sit still and listen to the minister teach helped me to definitely ground myself and keep myself stable so that I can focus on what I need to be doing.

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“The Cup Runneth Over”

I had to get my GED and I went through my certification programs and I was able to get that and secure a pretty sweet job that takes care of me.

As far as family goes, unfortunately, my mom was taken from us but only like—just according to His plan—as soon as my mom was taken, the following year our dad finally stepped back into our life. As soon as one door closed the other one opened back up and now I have met my father and he looks like me only older and a little bit bigger, and no hair. But he’s a really good guy actually. It was just a lot of misunderstanding throughout childhood. So now I’m blessed to have him in my life as well and then his whole extended family. Plus my sisters all have kids and stuff too.

Needless to say, I joined the Church [Of Christ] and I’ve been a member since—and I think that was 2011. In April, I was baptized. Being part of the Kadiwa [youth group of unmarried brethren ages 18 and up] organization taught me that there’s more to life than just parties and having drunken revelry, and drunken fun here and there. Actually, there’s a lot of great people out there. Especially people that are grounded in their lives and have [a] good sense of direction. That gave me the realization that I don’t need to always be around certain people to have fun but there’s this whole group of people that know how to have fun and good clean fun too. Which is great because being part of that [bad] lifestyle for so long you get fed up with it and when you want something that’s more, I guess more reserved, more relaxed than something like a wild party all the time, the blessings just keep coming forth just like bigger and better family now.

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“Be Open Minded”

Be open minded and put yourself forward to try new things because if you’re so willing to try something that will—that’s temporary or that will pass away shortly—because I’ve tried the things that the world has to offer and they don’t ever last, they’re gone within the night. And so why continue to waste your time on these things? You should keep an open mind and definitely listen out for something that’s greater because the gift that God has to bring lasts forever and the feeling He gives you—you may take a pill that gives you euphoria for a couple [of] hours but the feelings that—the euphoria that faith and God brings to you is always. It’s like never-ending like—”the cup runneth over”, for real.

Why I Walked Away From My Catholic Beliefs

Caisy was confused about her Catholic faith. So she accepted her friend’s invitation to learn about the biblical truths taught in the Church Of Christ.

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Caisy Lynn Lomongo: Growing up, the sign of the cross was very important. If you felt scared or if you’re entering a church, you would do the sign of the cross. I never really understood what it meant, but because I grew up learning it, it was just something that I was used to…and after hearing that lesson it made me really realize why I was doing that. Like, “Why did I follow doing the sign of the cross?” And that really opened my eyes. And after that Bible study, I had to walk out because I felt really emotional.

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Stories of Faith

Caisy: My name is Caisy Lynn Lomongo. I’m 25 years old, and I was born on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.

I grew up, it was just me and my mom. I did have a stepfather at the time. We didn’t really have a stable home. I feel like I moved homes, maybe ten times or more. And that made me realize that we’re not living comfortably. My mom never drove so we’d always catch the bus. And sometimes it would rain. And I remember one time on my birthday, we were just waiting for the bus and it really made me sad because I would see other kids with their parents, driving. And I didn’t really want that life for my future, and I wanted to do better.

I went to Sacred Heart Catholic Church. I went with my mom when she was off Sundays, and it was something we would just do every Sunday.

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My Questions About God

Caisy: Growing up my understanding of God was that He had a Son, who was Jesus, and He was sent down. And He would be crucified for our sins. And that was what I learned in Sunday School. And I had to memorize all my prayers.

In Sunday School I asked about the Iglesia Ni Cristo because we were talking about different religions. And I would always pass it every time I go to Waipahu. And my teacher at Sunday School, he was like, “Oh we don’t talk about that religion.” Internally I wondered, “Why doesn’t he talk about that Church?”

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Meeting the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ)

Caisy: I actually got invited from my best friend, Gregory Yee. And he was actually going through Bible study. And at the time, I was actually going through a lot of depression. And he had mentioned that maybe that going to a Bible study would help me clear my mind. What really made me want to go was because my best friend Greg is not really religious at all. He explained to me his experience and how he felt, and I thought that maybe I should just give it a try.

At first I was very hesitant. Because, like anyone, I googled the Church, and I wanted to know more about it just by googling. All that I read was that the brothers and sisters sit on separate sides, and that they were not allowed to eat pig’s blood, which is like a delicacy in the Philippines.

When I first entered there was a minister on a podium. And during that Bible study, it really opened my eyes. The sign of the cross was very important. It was something that you do everywhere. If you felt scared, or if you’re entering a church, or if you’re entering any place that’s Catholic, you would do the sign of the cross. To me, I never really understood what it meant. But because I grew up learning it, it was just something that I was used to.

And to me, after hearing that lesson, it made me really realize like, why I was doing that. Like “Why did I follow, doing the sign of the cross?” And that really opened my eyes. And after that Bible study, I had to walk out because I felt really emotional.

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Talking To God

Caisy: My first experience in the worship service was very different. I sat on the women’s side. And I noticed that people were praying. And at first I didn’t know, that’s what we’re supposed to do. So I just sat there, and I looked around. And I noticed people had their eyes closed, they were bowing their heads. And hearing the choir was so beautiful.

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“In my duty then I shall continue, though I suffer through so many hardships…”

Caisy: And just hearing the hymns that they were singing about. It was very touching.

During that time when I was praying, I felt like I was just talking to God. And I was praying and telling Him why I’m thankful to be here, what I’m doing here, and what I’d like to learn.

I think at the time while I was attending worship service, I was attending the Iglesia Ni Cristo on the weekdays, and on Sundays I still would attend my Catholic church at Sacred Heart. It was very confusing for me at the time, because I felt like I was cheating on my other church. And at the same time, I wasn’t telling anybody what I was doing. I was just figuring it out on my own.

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I Wanted To Stop Being Confused

Caisy: A big moment for me, was actually around Christmas time where we attend a Midnight Mass. I was still attending the Iglesia Ni Cristo worship services, and I remember hearing during the weekday worship service about Christmas, and why they don’t celebrate Christmas. And I think that was really impactful for me, because I understood the Bible, like, even in Sunday School, we would read from the Bible, but we would never really understand what is in the Bible, what it’s telling us. And I decided not to attend the Midnight Mass. And I told my mom that I was attending Bible studies, and attending a different Church. And she never really understood what that meant for me. She just saw me changing my life and I told my mom and I felt like I was trying to please her—but I wasn’t doing things for myself, and that really put a strain on our relationship.

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Understanding My Faith

Caisy: When you become a Bible student it’s usually a six month process. But for me, it took three years. The reason why it took me three years was I was struggling internally with who I was, with who my friends were, with my mom. And I really had to figure out who I was and what I wanted to do.

I would still be confused, but I would still do things like party, go out with friends, we would drink but at the same time on Sundays I would still attend service. And I would always pray and ask God, “Why am I still doing this?”

Becoming a member in the Church saved my life because I made that firm decision to stop partying, stop drinking, stop being around bad influences in my life. Stop being like everyone else. And I felt like Church was the only thing that was being a main stability in my life.

Even though I went through so many things in the three years that I was struggling, I always go back to that first Bible lesson that I was taken to. The way it made me feel as if there was something guiding me, and that I had to keep going. I always returned back to that first lesson about the sign of the cross. Because how strong that feeling was, it’s something I could never forget. Nothing has ever made me feel that strong, or that feeling of the Holy Spirit.

That was that moment when it clicked. And the moment when the minister says, “There’s not three gods, there’s only one God, and that Jesus isn’t a god. That’s a son. He’s a human being. And that God is…He’s a spirit. And we can feel Him.

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Getting Kicked out of the House

Caisy: The day I told my mom that I was baptized was very difficult because it caused a lot of anger. A lot, she felt betrayed. And that was the time I was actually kicked out of my house.

When my mom told me that I had to move out and I had to leave, and that I’m not the daughter that she raised, that really hurt. I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t know where to go. I was so shocked. That morning I left, I had to move out. And I attended worship service, and I prayed to God, “What should I do? Should I leave? Should I just take this as a sign of You telling me to do?”

Coincidentally, my friend had told me that she had a room available, and she was renting it out. I think because of the way things just lined up perfectly, I took that as a sign and I moved out of my house.

My answered prayer was that moment where I was asking God to guide me when I was kicked out from my house. When my friend texted me about having a room available I immediately believed that was God showing me that sign.

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Now I Understand Who I Am

I feel like being a member of the Church Of Christ has really changed my life because I understand who I am. Back then, I was very active, doing the right things in the Catholic church. But now I feel like I’m doing the right things in the true Church. And I found my true purpose. And that’s really what was important to me deep down inside, was just finding my purpose, and what I am doing with my life. And I found clarity in the Church Of Christ.

My relationship with my mom is really great right now. She understands that I go to a different Church [from her], I follow a different religion [from her]. She is accepting of who I am, and what I believe in.
I feel that people should give the Church Of Christ a chance because people don’t understand what they’re looking for until they’ve found it. And I feel that if people give the Church a chance, that they are able to find their true purpose. And to me, God is the everlasting love that I’ve always wanted.

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