Testimonies From Our Church Family
Michaela Ghent
October, 2013
This past spring I went on a spring break mission’s trip to San Francisco. We partnered with a ministry group called Youth With A Mission. (YWAM)On this trip, I began to learn to truly walk by faith. We went on a prayer walk, which is when we ask God to give us a vision, and hopefully we will be able to have a miraculous encounter with someone in need. We were paired off into twos. My partner and I decided to follow the walking man symbol at the cross walks. At the end of the day, we found out that we had been at every place we needed to be at just the right time. This is faith being led by the Spirit.
Once again I find myself following the walking man A.K.A. the Holy Spirit. God has called me to a new adventure. He is leading me back to the place where He started a passion deep within my heart. I saw His beauty in a broken world, and a place that needs His redeeming love desperately. I am going back to San Francisco and be involved with Youth With A Mission. YWAM has a Discipleship Training School (DTS). I plan on attending this school and becoming discipled in the mission field of bringing hope and justice to the poverty stricken of San Francisco. This training is for six months. Three months are spent in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco and the other three months will be spent overseas in Italy.
This Discipleship Training School will start in January of 2014 and in order for me to be able to attend, I need to raise funds. This school costs about $6,500 and I need to raise this amount by January. My goal in attending DTS is so that I can fall deeper into the heart of God and be able to help those trapped in human trafficking to find freedom and redeeming love in Christ. I left my heart in San Francisco and would love to go back. I know God has greater plans for me than I could ever imagine, and if He wants me in San Francisco, He w3ill provide for me like He always has. Sometimes we have to step out in faith. This is my prayer that you would step out in faith and trust that God will provide.
I ask for yur prayers and encouragement as I begin this adventure, and I ask that you prayerfully consider financially supporting me in my faith journey.
Hebrews 11:1 now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
Anonymous Teenager
March 2010
Who knew that a highlighter, Romans chapter 8, and Smile FM could change a life?
February 25, 2010 at 11:45pm is the exact moment it happened. I was sitting in my bed reading the rest of Romans chapter 8, which was our ‘homework’ from youth group, and the whole time i was thinking read this then sleep! But I was abruptly stopped in my tracks and tears instantaneously streamed down my face. My heart had been pounding but now was steadily beating its regular pattern. Right then all that I had prayed for, all that I was going through, was lifted away, prayers answered .
A song I wanted to hear, because it is like spiritual balm to my soul, suddenly started playing on the radio. The song was “Can’t get away” by Rush of Fools. It talks about how we can’t run away from God’s love for us. Hands lifted high, words and tears flowing out loud, alas I cry Abba father Amen. Just as quickly, “that what faith can do” by Kutless filled the radio. I guess now I should tell you those words spoken by Paul, but I warn you it will leave you speechless.
Romans 8:35-39
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril or sword? As it is written: “for your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter” yet in all these things we are MORE than conquerors through him who loved us.
***Here comes the tear jerker***
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor ANY OTHER CREATED thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Jesus Christ our Lord!”
Sunday March 1, I told Mr. Dietrick my idea for fund raising, holding the “Edgetts Olympics”. Got all the ideas and let the church know that day, started shopping and REALLY planning Friday the 5th, worked all weekend with 4 1/2 hours of sleep to get ready for Sunday the 7th, finished touch ups and pulled it off with success!!! That was my inspiration from Paul.
… Now THAT’S what faith can do!
My God Wink Moment
by Becky Miller, December 2009
I have been reading a book about God winks – moments when something happens to let you know that God is there and He is thinking about and taking care of you. I had a great God wink in November 2007. When we moved to Edgetts in 2002, we knew that we were where God wanted us. Part of that was a different job for me. We were sure that God would open the doors and I would find a teaching position. But that didn’t happen.
For three years I left my family early Monday morning and drove to Whittemore to teach. I would stay with my dad in West Branch Monday and Tuesday, come home Wednesday after school, head back Thursday, and finally home on Friday. Finally in August of 2005 after lots of tears and prayers, I resigned that position and stepped out in faith that God would take care of us and became a substitute teacher – a huge drop in pay and limited insurance provided by the church.
Sure enough, later that year God opened the door for a long term subbing position with the definite possibility of a job the next fall. I was confident that it was God’s plan! Unfortunately due to times getting tough for schools, that job was absorbed with present staff. Back I went to subbing for the next year and trusting the Lord.
Again the Lord opened a position that promised to turn into something more permanent in the fall. But come fall it was filled internally again. By this time I had felt that God was leading me to return to college and finish a Learning Disability endorsement that would enable me to teach special ed. I was at the point where I would be setting up my student teaching assignment. This came to a crisis point when SVSU told me that I would have to drive every day to Houghton Lake or Farwell (about an hour away) to do my student teaching with no pay for a 13 week assignment. We were barely making it on sub pay. To think of that for a whole semester was way beyond me. I was really praying for a pillar of cloud to lead me.
One day in mid November of 2007, as I was subbing in Luther, the principal and superintendent, Mr. Ganger, asked me if I had applied for any of the posted jobs for a preschool grant that would be starting midyear. I had seen the postings in the paper, but did not have the required education for any of the listed positions. I put the papers aside.
On Wednesday of that week, I was subbing for 7th grade social studies in Big Rapids. In the middle of my third time watching Johnny Tremain, my cell phone rang. It was Barb Parmenter, the principal at Leroy Elementary. I called her back at lunch. She asked if there was any way I could interview for one of the positions later that afternoon. She assured me that I had the qualifications needed for the Family Coach position. I assured her that I would be there before 5! I finished my day so excited that I kept wiping the tears through 3 more class periods of the movie. I raced home, printed out a current resume, called a few prayer warriors, and got there before 5.
Cindy O’Brien and Barb interviewed me for about 15 minutes and I was so unprepared for the interview that I didn’t even really know what I was applying for. Barb looked at me and said they were prepared to offer me the job right then. I was so flabbergasted that I just sat there. She asked if I needed to go home and talk to Dan about my decision. I thought to myself – Lady, you don’t even know that you have a pillar of cloud sitting on your head! I told them I was prepared to accept it right then!
On the day that I was going to sign the papers that would give me an awesome job for the next 2 ½ years, God winked at me. From the time that I was a teenager, my life verse has been Isaiah 40:31 – “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint.” That day as I backed out of the garage I saw something I had never seen before or since. There in the tree in the front yard sat a big, beautiful eagle! I ran in the house to get a camera, but it flew away before I could get the camera turned on. Still I knew that God had said to me, loudly and clearly, “I have not forgotten you! You can trust me. Here is your eagle to prove that I am in this.”
My Testimony by Eunice “Angie” Ghent
When I look back on my life, I see that God had a hand in all the events of my life. I was born in Bradford, Yorkshire, England and during World War II, I attended St. Stephens Church of England boarding school. All through the bombing of London, He was there. I memorized scripture and learned about a God who was to be feared. When we entered God’s house we never spoke to anyone. We knelt and prayed to God. I was told that whenever I did something bad, God didn’t love me and He wouldn’t let me go to heaven if I didn’t confess my sins and ask Him to forgive them. Every day I listed all I did to disobey God’s law, and I spent hours on my knees.
It wasn’t until I came to America with my parents as a young teenager that I learned about God’s love. I was invited to a tent revival and was amazed at the noise and laughter coming from inside. How could anyone show reverence to God in this situation? I wondered. The music was loud, and the songs strange to me. I felt uncomfortable and couldn’t wait until it was over.
The youth pastor stood at the pulpit and the congregation became quiet. He told about God’s love for everyone. How He sent His son, Jesus, to earth to save people from their sins. He said Jesus wants to be our friend and Saviour. Then he ended by asking us to close our eyes and tell Jesus we were sorry for our sins, ask Him to forgive us and invite Him to come into our life.
When we had finished praying, He invited us to come forward and testify of what had just happened. I had no doubt about the change in my life. I knew I wanted to live for Him no matter what.
Looking back, it is clear God had a hand in all the events of my life. All through the bombing of London, He was there. As I left friends and homeland, He was with me; struggling as a young wife and mother, He provided solutions to problems. Since that time I have been living for Jesus and He has never failed me.
I have written a faith based autobiography of my life. It leads through trials of leaving friends and familiar places when her family immigrates to America. It describes the struggles as the wife of an Air Force sergeant, and mother of five young children. It continues to relate how the family copes with tragedy when their rented house is destroyed by fire and their two youngest children are taken.
My book can be ordered through the church for $12.00 and $5.00 will be donated to the youth group.