Anointed Youth ~ Youth of the Month

AY YOTM for November, 2007 - Gamuchirai

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0600

I have grown up in a Christian background all my life and I am grateful to the Lord that He prepared my way from the beginning. However, it was more just like a formal attending of church and singing without meaning, back in the day, but it was my the time that I started my high school at Eaglesvale in Zimbabwe,2006, that I tasted that the Lord is good.Still,though, I had a propensity to live without meaning and tried to win my way to Christ by myself, really struggling and wondering why God wasn't hearing me. But, I now thank Him for he has revealed to me that His Kingdom is found within us.Previosly, I'd expect a light to come shining before me each time I worshipped.The devil has tried to arouse doubt, but I stand with boldness because through Jesus, my labour is not in vain(1 Corinthians 15:58). The Lord opened my eyes to John 14 and assured me in verse 2 that I am now of His Kingdom beyond all doubt as He says "...I am going to prepare a place for you. If this were not so, I would tell you plainly." It is those who are willing to believe and seek His Kingdom sincerely that find Him truly. I have learnt that when worshipping God, all the evidence of His presence is in our hearts and not through a shining light before us or hearing a loud voice speaking to us physically.

AY YOTM for October, 2007 - Marie

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0500

On Wednesday, September 14, 2005 (5:03 p.m.) my older sister was taking me to volleyball practice, when approximately 2 miles away from the school, we both made a bad choice. It was stupid, and it about cost us our lives. We decided to play a \"game\", but it went terribly wrong, and the car ended up spinning out of control. When we hit the embankment of the ditch, the car flipped once, then twice, in a soy bean field. Fortunately, we both had out seatbelts on. When the roof of the car smashed in, being as tall as I am, I hit my head. When we flipped, the driver side was shoved in, and my sister\'s hip was badly bruised. When the car stopped, my sister\'s eyes had been open the whole time, and the first thought that went through her head, was Oh My God, my sister is dead. She didn\'t look over at me because her greatest fear is dead people, and she thought I was dead. But then I moved, and opened my eyes. She looked over at me then, and asked me if I was ok. I didn\'t answer her because I was still in shock. I look in the backseat, at the broken glass everywhere, at the dirt everywhere, and then I just looked straight ahead. This has to be a dream I thought, a nightmare. She asked me again, are you ok? I looked at her, then my hands went to my face and I feel something hard, so I pick it, and it was a piece of glass in my cheek. I look at it, and blood is all over my hands, and I realized this isn\'t a dream. I start to cry uncontrollably, and I say that I\'m fine. A guy that we knew from church pulled over and called 911, and my sister, who had just gotten her cell phone 4 days before, made her first call to mom to say that we were in an accident. My sister didn\'t want me to tell mom the real reason we had wrecked, but after 4 months, I cracked, I couldn\'t hide it anymore. After the accident, I kept asking myself, why am I still alive. I should have died that night. There\'s no way I should have walked away from that with nothing more than a headache and a scratch. No way. So then I thought deeper, and I felt that God was the only reason I didn\'t die. He was watching over us that day. For 7 months I tried to figure out why. Why did God let us live through that. I didn\'t deserve to. On Good Friday, April 14, 2006 it was raining when my sister, dad, and I went in town. We were eating at Subway, and I was in the side of the booth facing the window, when suddenly it just stopped raining, the sun came through, and a gorgeous rainbow appeared. That moment just tugged at my heart. That night, I talked to God and repent, I also told Him I wanted to be baptized. I thought it would be cool to get baptized on Easter which was April 16, but that was too soon, and we couldn\'t get the arrangements made. So I waited until my birthday to get baptized. In reality I became a Christian on 4-14-06, but was baptized on my birthday. It was the greatest feeling in the world. I thank God for that dry September evening, because without it, I might still be wandering around this world lost without Him.

AY YOTM for April, 2007 - Dustin

Mon, 02 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Amen, I praise God for who he is in my life and who he allows me to be through him. I thank God for where he has brought me from. I have not always been as firm in my faith as I am now. There was a point in my life when I talked one thing but lived another. There were times when I didn't know whether I was coming or going. Thanks be to God for reaching down and saving a sinner like me. I am glad that God delivered me from half stepping and most of all he delivered me from self. God allowed me to see that it was not about me but about him. He showed me that I could not just talk holy but I had to live Holy. For if I learn how to live holy he promised me eternal life. God has been very good to me. He delivered me from cursing and back bitting, he delivered me from two stepping and being angry all the time. God has delivered me from depression and smoking. He has delivered me from my enemies and now I try everyday to walk upright. I am determined to run for Jesus. The way may get hard and the hours may be long, but I heard that the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life. I would rather work for God and live eternal than sin and go to hell. I am now 16 and have answered my call to the ministry. Pray for me that I may be all that God allows me to be.n n May God richly bless you and yours.n n Abide in God, as he abides in you.

AY YOTM for February, 2007 - Courtney

Sun, 04 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0600

I was brought up in an awesome, Christian home. I have the most amazing parents, who constantly taught me about Jesus, and still do to this day. Ever since I was born I have gone to church with my family. When I was 6 years old I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I'll never forget that day... I was sitting at the kitchen table coloring and hopped right up and went and told my mom I wanted to accept Christ. I was so eager to call my dad at work and tell him all about it. Almost 5 years ago when I was 12 I had one of the most amazing encounters with Christ. That night was incredible, I had been saved for 6 years, but that night I had a head-on-colision with Jesus Christ. After that night I TRULY knew how awesome He was/is. That next year when I turned 13 God revealed to me the calling he has for my life. It continues to get better day by day. He constantly reveals new and amazing things to me. I was able to share Jesus Christ in Walt Disney World this past summer and it was incredible. While I was there I was able to share my faith with a group of Mormons. I invited them to a concert we were hosting, and that night when the invitation was given they raised their hands to accept Christ... I've never been so over-joyed before in my life. It was amazing. He's constantly doing something incredible in my life, and I praise Him for it.

AY YOTM for February, 2007 - Regina

Sun, 04 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0600

When I was not ever 2 days old I stopped breathing and was having seziures. The hospital that I was born at did not have the advanced equpiment that I needed so they had to rush me quickly to another hospital that did have this equipment. I was in the hospital until I was a week old. In my early development I was like any other child. By age 5 when I was suppoused to start kindgergarden I was selective mute and not potty trained yet so I went to a special education pre-school 3 days a week and a regular nusrey school 2 times a week. I was dignosed with developmental delays and selective mute and speech/language imparment. During the age of 5 I was hospitlized for something different and I was dignosed with other things and the doctors thout that I would never amount to anything but my family had faith in God. During my stay in the hopsital I asked Jesus into my heart because the doctors scared me so much with those words "she is not going to amount to anything" that I thought I was going to die!n As I progresed in school I was in special education classes for the most part of the day and was finally potty trained by age 8. As I enterird an upper elementry school when I was arond 9 or 10 I was "mute" until the end of the 4th grade year and would not talk to any body. I was also dignosed with bad asthma during this time and I still have it today. 5th grade year I was in special ed still for everything besides PE and Soscal Studys and I did horrible in soscal studys. By 6th grade I had finally acomplished something. I joined the 6th grade school choir. I actually had to be forced by my special education teacher and she told me I could just mouth the words, but with the help of my speical ed teacher, choir teacher, peers, family, and God I actually sang!n I entererd 7th grade at a middle school and choir was the only class I took out of the special ed setting. I had adapted PE. I loved my choir teacher so much that despite me haveing asthma and despite me haveing learning and physical disorders that I sang my heart out....same thing for 8th grade. I accomplished something in 8th grade. At the end of the year we have an awards asemably where we get different kinds of awards and each year an 8th grade boy and girl are chosen for a Dougless Turpin Citizenship award. This award is awarded to an 8th grade boy and girl who had a great 7th and 8th grade year and never ever got into trouble in school and just had love for learning and love for everybody in the school. This award is remembering Dougless Turpin who died of cancer in the middel of his 8th grade year. I WAS THE 8TH GRADE GIRL! I finally had acomplished something after the doctors told my parents I never whould! n I enetered 9th grade still with the same disorders but this time with Other Health Imparment. Since pre-school I had been reciving OT, PT and Speech but the PT dropped me out of PT because it was not helping and I graduated from OT! Speech I still went to. Anyway, I was in special ed all day again besides for PE and Health and Choir. Once again, I love my choir teacher so much I sang my heart out and this was the same choir teacher because the middle and highschool are combined and we all have the same choir teacher. I am now in 10th grade and takeing world civ 1 out in the regular class and I am making A's B's C'S. Occaslany I make D's and F's and still again I am working really hard in choir and every day since 7th grade I have been hugging my choir teacher every day. My school principal adores me and I think thats wonderfull. He even told me that I was one of the BEST students in the whole school and we talk to each other alot. I have came so far since I was born but i still am in special education and have several disorders and asthma. If I were to go back to the hospital to visit in when I was 5 I bet that they will be shocked and just praise God. I have accomplished sooooo many things in life since I was first born. The doctors NEVER expected anything out of me, but look at me today! I did ammont to something! n God made me speical for a reason and he wanted me to amount to something and slowly but surely I am. This is my testomonie. I poured my heart out on this and I am sure you enjoyed it. I know its sad, but its also happy at the same time. May God Bless You forever. n

AY YOTM for January, 2007 - Hannah

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0600

I was born and raised in a Christian home, I want to a Christian school up to 8th grade, and always went to church. I was saved in the 3rd grade after my teacher taught on salvation, she asked us if any of us would like to recieve that gift of salvation and that day I did accept Jesus in to my heart. Because I had been raised in a Christian enviornment I never really got the chance to step out of my comfort zone for Jesus. Going into high school my parents and I decided that I should go to a public school, and for the first year it was very scary and hard to share my faith with my friends. That summer I was invited to go on a missions trip to an Indian Reservation in Minnesota, it was there that I began to have a passion for the lost. I came home ready to tell people about Jesus. Although at times it was still hard I began to love living for Jesus and telling my friends about him. During the summer after my Senior year I went on a life changing trip to India. A team of 15 other teens and 5 adults went to New Delhi and ran a Summer Bible Camp for 200 children, while there God laid on my heart a love and passion for the people of India. This past summer I returned again with the team and we ran another camp but this time for 400 children and 375 children came to know Christ that week, and again God pulled my heart back to India. Now in November I will be leaving my home to go and live in India start my training to become a missionary. God has blessed me so richly and I want to be able to give back to him. Isaiah 68 says "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for me?' and I said 'Here am I SEND ME!'

AY YOTM for June, 2006 - Amanda

Tue, 06 Jun 2006 00:00:00 -0500

I was raised in a Buddhist home. As I grew up, I knew there was someone always watching over me and keeping me safe. I had surgery when I was 3 and had become deaf, but then was able to hear again with hearing aids. I did not realize it again that someone was watching over me until I entered 5th grade going to Christian Chapel Christian school, a year after my grandma died of a stroke. When I almost drowned 2 years ago in my neighbor�s pool, God somehow helped my dad to sense that I was in the pool trying to pull myself up. Thank God for His mercy. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions�it is by grace you have been saved. Ephesians 24-5 I was saved the third week of school talking to one of my classmates. She shared what God had been doing in her life and how she was saved. After she shared with me, she introduced me to Christ. I realized that I was a sinner, sinning against my parents, my friends, and God. I realized that my sin was displeasing to God, and only Jesus could save me. Later that same year in 5th grade, I confessed that Jesus was my Lord and Savior when i was talking to a church counselor about some of my problems. Now I always try to confess my sins to Him and repent. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 58 I started going to church regularly when I entered 7th grade by going with one of my neighbors I have known since I was a little baby. After two years of going to that church, I realized that I was not drawing closer to God, but actually being driven away from Him. So, I decided to find another church. That is when God led me to FCBC Walnut. The Lord has been teaching me many different things at this church, and I have grown in Christ. I am thankful for this church. I have been going through some difficult times, but God shows me how to deal with these difficulties. He has provided me some good friends at this church who accept me the way that I am. I have begun to realize that God had plans for me (For I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen." Jeremiah 2911-12). I am thankful to Him. Now I want to publicly testify what God has already done in me. I could not save myself, and He saved me through Jesus Christ's death and resurrection. I had no hope, and He keeps filling me with hope. I did not have many friends, but He has given me good friends who love me and accept me. I hope and pray that I can please Him the rest of my life.