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.”
