Testimony...

I had to write my testimony for Work Crew so I thought I might as well post it on here...

I was raised in a very Christian, southern family in Florence, South Carolina. I went to church every Sunday and every Wednesday and I was in all of the church plays as a kid and sang in the children’s choir. I basically lived at my church. One summer, I went to my friend’s church for Vacation Bible School. During the week, I felt like God was moving in my life. Sure, I might have only been 10 years old but, I felt something. I felt like there was something there that I had never felt before. So that day, I accepted God into my life and became a Christian. A few Sundays later, I stood in front of my church family and proclaimed my faith. I was baptized a few Sundays after that and finalized my faith. Ever since, I have had struggles and triumphs while being a Christian. When I was younger, being a Christian just meant that I went to church every Sunday and wore cool t-shirts. As I grew older, things became more evident that I needed to be living out a Christ-like life. I needed to act more like the Father that I claimed to follow. I went to a great church with an amazing youth group that tested me daily to be more like my Savior. I grew immensely in my faith over the years that I lived in South Carolina. Just as I was getting a fire for God that I had never seen before, I got the news that I would be moving to Waynesboro, Virginia. I was torn to pieces by the news. How could I leave the place I grew up? How could I leave my friends and family and the best church ever? I asked God these questions at least 100 times a day. I moved around a lot when I was younger but this had been the hardest move of my life. I got to Waynesboro and slowly started making friends but things still weren’t the same. I went to First Baptist Church of Waynesboro, a church with a significantly smaller youth group. I struggled to get anything out of the sermons and I struggled to keep my faith as strong as it had been. A girl I was dating at the time told me about Young Life and how awesome and fun it was. I had been to a few Clubs when I lived in Florence so I thought it would be a good place to find friends and, hopefully, grow some more in my faith. So I went to Club and Campaigners regularly and things were slowly starting to look better for me. My faith was pretty lukewarm at this point. I was still mad at God for pulling me away from Florence but, I was starting to realize what was in store for me in Waynesboro. I knew that He brought me here to spread my faith and bring what I had learned in Florence to my friends and church in Waynesboro. Over the next two years, I had a few ups and downs with my faith because of death, break ups, and other problems that arose. Recently, I had a very rough break up with my girlfriend that I had been dating for a year. I was mad at God for taking her away from me but, I still found myself going to Him for everything. I would ask Him to bring her back to me but I would also thank Him for that day’s advances in me and my ex-girlfriend’s relationship. I tried to find some good in the break up. I spent more time with my other friends and tried to strengthen those relationships. I have also tried to strengthen my relationship with God. I’m trying to make my relationship with God the most important thing in my life. It’s tough but, I know He needs to be first priority.

Carter L.