Deanna's Testimony

I was raised in a non-Christian home, however my mother made sure my sister, brother and I took a bus to church during various times throughout my childhood. While in Junior High School, I got involved in a youth group at an Evangelic Friends Church in Newport, Rhode Island.

One Sunday morning, during an alter call I felt the Holy Spirit convicting me of my sins, telling me that I was a sinner and on my way to hell. At that point I went forward and accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.

It wasn't easy living the Christian life as a teenager in a home where there were no fellow believers. I backslid during my high school years, and continued on that path when I went into the United States Air Force. I wasn't growing in my spiritual walk or serving the Lord in any capacity. Looking back, however, I realize that God was with me and guiding me.

It wasn't until I was about 20 years old that I got back into church and rededicated my life to the Lord. I have been faithfully serving Him in a local church ever since.

One of my favorite verses is Hebrews 13:5b "For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee". I truly believe the Lord was with me and taking care of me during my late teen years even though I was not following Him. I praise God that He is patient and loving.

Mark's Testimony

I was raised in a non-Christian home, even though my Mom sometimes talked about God and Jesus. I remember a few times throughout my childhood where I would go to church with some neighborhood kids, but it was a very short-term experience.

After I graduated high school, I enlisted in the United States Air Force, where my first duty assignment was in Anchorage, Alaska. God was looking out for me, because he put into my life a beautiful young lady with whom I would fall in love with and marry.

Deanna was a Christian, although not faithfully attending church or even reading her Bible. Shortly after we married, the military moved us to Denver, Colorado where Deanna found a good church with plenty of young adults our age. God worked on Deanna to continue to lift me in prayer, and soon I was reading and searching the scriptures for some answers.

Eventually, I started attending church. I liked the people that were there, as I could tell that they were happy and had something that I didn't have. At the beginning of a Missions Conference in May of 1984, I realized that I was a sinner and there was no way for me to get to Heaven without a Savior, and that Savior had to be Jesus Christ. As I walked up to the front of the church when the Pastor announced the altar call, it was as if I was walking in slow motion. I remember talking to one of the deacons about my decision, but I was talking so fast that all he could do was nod his head in agreement.

When the song had ended, I turned to face the congregation when the Pastor announced that I had accepted Jesus as my Savior. It became apparent that Deanna had a lot of prayer warriors' praying with her, because a lot of people were crying tears of joy on hearing the good news. Life has not been easy since then, as I have had many trials and tribulations, but Deanna and I have grown in the Lord and we continue to praise, worship and serve Him to this day.