I've always been a Christian, grown up in a christian home, and heard the salvation story so many times it was to me like a new house, at first it's a wonderful blessing, but soon it's just where I live, it's still there but it doesn't mean as much.  I enjoyed going to church, I liked to sing the songs and to read the bible stories.  At the age of 9 in my home church in Little Rock, I decided to be baptized.  My mom was okay with that and I went to the classes with some of my friends.  I really had an earnest desire to follow Jesus, but then I didn't understand a lot of things.  I knew my bible stories and such better than most of the children, and I was probably a little better behaved than some of them, but I didn't quite realize then that those things weren't what were going to save me.  I wanted to do the right thing, and I'm really glad I did get baptized then because I think it anchored me in the faith more than if I had just ignored the call.  So I got baptized on a communion sabbath and I was very excited to be able to finally eat those little crackers, and drink the little glass of grape juice.  I knew that this was more than just normal food, and I was very reverent.  A while after I didn't really understand the power that was in Jesus to overcome my sins, nor did I realize much of my own sins to even ask for the power to overcome.  But God is good, and He knew exactly what I needed then.  

Soon after my baptism (maybe a year at most) September 11th took place and I remember that I drew a picture of the things that happened I was still young and while I didn't understand much of what happened I knew it was something big.  A month or so after we  moved to my home state of Oregon to escape the hot whether.  I didn't like the move, I missed my friends, but God was watching out for me.  I had already seen him demonstrate his power when a couple tornadoes came very close to us but didn't harm us, and now I got to see him work again.  It amazes me that to get where I am now, God had to do so much more than it would taken him to protect me form a natural disaster, the miracle of my life is the biggest one I've witnessed yet.  

I had the joy of living in a fit wheel with the other 3 members of my family, right across the pig pen at my uncles house for a year (you get used to the smell after a while, and we got to stay for free, I love relatives).  I went to public school for a year and had only 2 friends and I didn't really enjoy it too much there.  Then The next year we found a place we could stay in a mobile home and work on the property to afford the rent and I and my sister attended Central Valley Christian School.  I think at this time my mom and dad were both working (or possibly just mom).  We stayed there for 2 years.  

Then one day the floor of the mobile home got a big hole in it because of a weak spot.  We put down some boards and treed to live there for longer, but there was mold out in the room that was added and my mom got pneumonia one time and had to go the hospital (possibly from that).  We soon put an add in the paper "Christian family looking for a house" (it said more than that) soon we get a call and it's in salem where my mom works so that's good news.  Even though I fought the move God was leading.  

The whole time I was living there I had been struggling.  I would have summer off and I'd start to get closer to God, and then School would start again and my not very Christian friends would be there again and I would go with what they did instead of what I knew God wanted me to do.  I knew I should break the ties, but I couldn't bring my self to do it, but praise the Lord even amiss all my cries for attention He didn't give up on me.  I started to get into rock music, secretly, without my parents knowing, and it began to take up much of my time; I didn't spend that time with God.  Then one of my friends suggested that I listen to K-love, a christian music station.  I started to listen more to them and God used the chance, my life started to change for the better.  

We moved and the new church we started to attend was more set on reaching out to others than I was used to.  My youth pastor who was a graduate from a place called mission college of Evangelism helped me to see more of what the story I'd heard so many times was really about.  I got a deeper look at the gospel and started to see how much I was loved.  My mind started to feed more and more on scripture, and as I did I found myself growing closer to God.  I felt the need to be rebaptized, but was too scared to talk to anyone, so praise the Lord my mom wasn't.  I was rebaptized in November 20th 2004 at the age of 14 when nearly my whole class from school was doing a performance for church.  I was now doing more things like helping pick people up to bring them to the bible prophecy seminar meetings, making friends with them, going with my youth pastor as he went out and shared the word, and greeting church visitors. About a month later my youth pastor left to go to California

After my baptism and my youth pastors' departure Satan started to hit me hard with the thoughts that I wasn't worth Jesus' death, I was a big failure, I could never be saved, God could never love me.  I started to feel discouraged and I never was sure if I was really saved.  One moment I'd be sure and the next I'd be worried again. 

One day I got a call from my youth pastor and he invited me to go to this program called Youth for Jesus.  When he told me I'd need $500 I thought I'd never make it, but God gave me the courage to stand up front in church on sabbath and ask, and as he promised, I received.  Soon I had enough and about that time I also got my acceptance letter.  I couldn't wait.  Before I knew it the time came and I moved to Mission College of Evangelism in Gaston Oregon for the 5 week program.  I had the honor of doing bible studies, calling to invite people, going into the neighborhood around Portland to invite people and share the good news, and God blessed.  I learned more there that helped me and most of it had to come straight from God because no one ever said it verbally.  

And now I'm here sharing the love of God, Abiding in his grace, and knowing that He is able to keep that which I've committed unto him.  I trust him to bring me into all truth and I know from all the things that have happened in the past that certainly loves me if he's willing to put all these people in my path to help me learn to rely on him and only his grace to save me.  I can't wait to see Jesus coming back in the clouds when I can finally see the one who's done so much for me, and worship him in person.  All who love our savior say AMEN.  May God bless your day and help you to never loose sight that he is big enough to take care of all your problems.