| Testimony |
| Kim Johnson Testimony |
| From the day I was born, I knew that the Lord has been with me. It started when I was a small child; my parents would make me pray before dinner and when I went to bed at night. When I was 5, I started going to Sunday school and really started to learn more about Jesus, his life and things in the Bible. Most of my childhood I didn't really form a tight relationship with Jesus, but when I entered into the 8th grade the Lord really touched my life and has been sticking with me ever since. I would like to share with you my journey of faith ... On June 12, 1992, my best friend was killed in an accident. I was in the 8th grade and alone since my friend was killed and I felt I had nowhere to turn. The year went on and I had problems with my step mom and friends at school. Every little thing that could go wrong did go wrong. That next summer I went to a church camp called Winmor. I had never gone to a camp before but I just really felt the Lord calling me to go. That week was the most powerful week in my life. I asked Jesus into my heart, and asked him to take my pain and sin away. Within minutes I felt his presence with me and it's just something that is so hard to describe. I left camp that week a changed and new Christian. Time went on and I entered High School which ended up to be the hardest four years in my life. During those four years I was up and down fighting with God. Satan was also there every step!!! I was tempted all the time with different guys, alcohol and the friends that I chose to hang around with. My junior year was the hardest just because I was going through so many different emotions. First I lost my boyfriend who I had been dating for two years, my friends turned on me, I was struggling with what to do after I got out of High School, and my life at home just seemed to be getting worse. It got to the point where I just didn't want to stay on earth anymore, so I attempted suicide. That was one of the hardest things that I ever had to go through and I thank God that I didn't die that night. After that I just said, "Jesus I need you more than ever and I pray that you would pull me through." I felt like I was on a mountain top experience with God and I didn't think anything could bring me back down. I wish it was that easy, but it's not with Satan around. I made it through HS and went on with my life. Then about a year and a half ago I met this guy whom I thought the world of and I would give him anything. My time, thoughts, energy, etc. God slowly disappeared in my life once again. As time went on we dated and had a great time. One night out of the blue he left me. I was heartbroken and didn't know where to turn. After that night I made a big change in my life as I prayed, cried and talked with my Pastor. After listening to myself talk and think about all these different things that were going on in my life I noticed so much about God. I noticed that in all my good times in life I was close to Jesus and all my troubled times I was the farthest away from him. I know that in each step he was there, but I wasn't serving him in all things like I should have been. I took hold of that and made a life change. I now take each day one day at a time to serve Jesus and to be an example to everyone around me. I feel so much more whole, full of life and it's just a joy to live for Jesus. I'm very involved in my church, leading different youth groups of all ages and just taking time out to pray. My relationship with the Lord is growing and it's great to say that I'm a Christian!!! As you read this testimony I want you to know that I left out some stuff, but know that no matter where you are in life Jesus is with you each step of the way. It doesn't matter whether you're on a mountain top experience or way below the valley. Always remember you are his precious child and he loves you so much!!!! He died for you and doesn't want anything back. Your sister in Christ Kim Johnson |
| Emma Van Ommeren Testimony |
All of my life, I have attended church on a regular Sunday basis with my family. My mom
has always been the "hard core Christian" as my dad called it. She led my brothers and
sister to the same beliefs as she had, but growing up I had my own beliefs.
I always thought too hard about things. My mom would tell me that I needed to stop
thinking so much and just have faith in the things around me. I always lived my life as a
sheltered kid, never having anything bad happen to me; I lived a perfect life.
In the middle of my fifth grade year, one of my really good friends committed suicide. I
never expected it, and having to take care of her best friend that whole week was like
living in hell the whole time.
I remember the second night she stayed with us, that the cops were over to our house and
I guess she had done something really bad; I still don't know what. I remember listening to
her friend scream out the girl's name who killed herself as if she were there. Within two
weeks, things started to settle down for me, I got back on track with life.
By the beginning of sixth grade, my brother attempted suicide. That's when I decided God
was no longer on my side, if there was such a thing. I didn't understand how he could try to
take away all of the people I love from me. I spent that year hanging with the wrong crowd,
trying out drugs and alcohol and things 12 year olds shouldn't do.
Soon my friends left me and my parents didn't trust me. I wasn't allowed to hang out with
the rest of the friends I had, or stay home alone. With all my problems I started talking to a
psychologist. By June of the summer, going into seventh grade, I started taking medication
for my depression. About two weeks after I started the meds, I decided there was nothing
left for me, that God totally left me in the shadow, and would not come back to get me, so I
too tried to commit suicide. Thankfully, I told a friend who drove me to a hospital.
The rest of that summer, I gave my time to my family trying to make up all my mistakes,
although I still stayed mad at God. In the beginning of seventh grade, things just went
crazy for me. Friends kept taking advantage of me, my dad and I did not get along at all. It
seemed as though everything just left me to die there, and things never really seemed to
get better after that.
Because of all my problems, I took up cutting myself. It became a regular habit leaving sick
scars all over my arm. Luckily, Elli took it in her hands to tell a teacher at our school who
contacted my parents about this. My faith in God was completely lost.
My best friend, Elli, was starting to get confused as to why I would still go to church and to
discipleship, but then not give a thought about God at all, so I decided to go on the mission
trip down to Tennessee.
On the way down my instructor, Steve, asked what I expected from the trip and I just said,
"Whatever happens, happens," when really the only reason I went was to get out of Lake
Mills.
Once we got there, and got settled in, George the missions coordinator took us to a little
place called "WWJD." The people there were amazing. They weren't afraid to be
themselves, they weren't afraid to say that they were Christians. At one point I started
crying and a lady came up to me and said things that totally changed my point of view on
life.
I won't get into the rest of the story, but the fact is, because of that lady, I am now a strong
believer in Christ. I could see Him through her, she was definitely an angel of some sort. I
feel God sent her down to have someone else besides Himself tell me that He truly is there
for me wherever I go. Now, I can feel him everywhere.
Just remember,God is always there for you.
Blessings in Christ,
Emma Ommeren
has always been the "hard core Christian" as my dad called it. She led my brothers and
sister to the same beliefs as she had, but growing up I had my own beliefs.
I always thought too hard about things. My mom would tell me that I needed to stop
thinking so much and just have faith in the things around me. I always lived my life as a
sheltered kid, never having anything bad happen to me; I lived a perfect life.
In the middle of my fifth grade year, one of my really good friends committed suicide. I
never expected it, and having to take care of her best friend that whole week was like
living in hell the whole time.
I remember the second night she stayed with us, that the cops were over to our house and
I guess she had done something really bad; I still don't know what. I remember listening to
her friend scream out the girl's name who killed herself as if she were there. Within two
weeks, things started to settle down for me, I got back on track with life.
By the beginning of sixth grade, my brother attempted suicide. That's when I decided God
was no longer on my side, if there was such a thing. I didn't understand how he could try to
take away all of the people I love from me. I spent that year hanging with the wrong crowd,
trying out drugs and alcohol and things 12 year olds shouldn't do.
Soon my friends left me and my parents didn't trust me. I wasn't allowed to hang out with
the rest of the friends I had, or stay home alone. With all my problems I started talking to a
psychologist. By June of the summer, going into seventh grade, I started taking medication
for my depression. About two weeks after I started the meds, I decided there was nothing
left for me, that God totally left me in the shadow, and would not come back to get me, so I
too tried to commit suicide. Thankfully, I told a friend who drove me to a hospital.
The rest of that summer, I gave my time to my family trying to make up all my mistakes,
although I still stayed mad at God. In the beginning of seventh grade, things just went
crazy for me. Friends kept taking advantage of me, my dad and I did not get along at all. It
seemed as though everything just left me to die there, and things never really seemed to
get better after that.
Because of all my problems, I took up cutting myself. It became a regular habit leaving sick
scars all over my arm. Luckily, Elli took it in her hands to tell a teacher at our school who
contacted my parents about this. My faith in God was completely lost.
My best friend, Elli, was starting to get confused as to why I would still go to church and to
discipleship, but then not give a thought about God at all, so I decided to go on the mission
trip down to Tennessee.
On the way down my instructor, Steve, asked what I expected from the trip and I just said,
"Whatever happens, happens," when really the only reason I went was to get out of Lake
Mills.
Once we got there, and got settled in, George the missions coordinator took us to a little
place called "WWJD." The people there were amazing. They weren't afraid to be
themselves, they weren't afraid to say that they were Christians. At one point I started
crying and a lady came up to me and said things that totally changed my point of view on
life.
I won't get into the rest of the story, but the fact is, because of that lady, I am now a strong
believer in Christ. I could see Him through her, she was definitely an angel of some sort. I
feel God sent her down to have someone else besides Himself tell me that He truly is there
for me wherever I go. Now, I can feel him everywhere.
Just remember,God is always there for you.
Blessings in Christ,
Emma Ommeren
| Elle Austin Testimony |
Ever since I can remember, I've been going to church.
When I was younger, I absolutely hated it. I never really understood anything that was
going on; even going up for the children's lesson sometimes confused me. The Sunday
morning routine wasn't hard to get used to: get up, put on some nice clothes, go to church
at 8:00, Sunday School at 9:15. I never really understood anything, the only thing I could
think about while I was at church was how bad I wanted to go home.
Well, that was a good three years ago now, and looking back on it, I laugh at the irony:
church is now one of my favorite places to be.
I think it all clicked when I was in 6th grade. Sitting in church (bored as usual), I heard
about a mission trip my youth leaders were planning. My friends had told me they planned
on going, so I brought it up with my parents. They said it was fine for me to go, so I signed
up. After all the meetings and things were over with, it was getting down to crunch time; it
was finally almost time to leave!
I woke up at 5:30 am, grabbed my bags, and sprinted out the door to the car. When we
arrived at church, we said a prayer, and all piled into the fifteen-seater van. The minute the
door was shut, my stomach sank: "What am I doing here?" I said to myself. I thought I was
crazy! A fifteen hour drive from Lake Mills, Wisconsin, to Tellico Plains, Tennessee in a full
van of fifteen passengers, I didn't think I could handle it.
As it turns out, it wasn't that bad at all! I had a great time on the trip, and I met God a few
times along the way. Coming back, I still didn't understand many things, but I realized it was
time to learn.
Discipleship class started the year afterwards, which answered a lot of questions for me.
We journeyed through the Bible and experienced the life of Christ through games and
retreats to Mount Morris Camp and Conference Center, the same place where I also
attended church camp every single summer since I was old enough to go.
This summer, it will be my 9th year going. At these retreats we heard faith stories from our
counselors and prayed and sang songs and grew closer to each other and to the Savior
Jesus Christ.
My 8th grade year, I returned to discipleship as the elder. There was a new class of
disciples below my grade, and I loved the feeling of superiority I was experiencing. My best
friend that year, Emma, who was diagnosed with depression, was in that grade, and I
would get to hang out with her every Wednesday, and we got to have great times together
on the retreats as well!
At our second of the two retreats for the year, yet another mission trip was announced to
Tellico Plains, Tennessee, and that meant that I got to see George and experience God
again!
By this time, I had grown significantly in my faith, and was excited to go back to Tennessee
with my newly-established faith in God. The night we arrived, we went to WWJD, a worship
center for anyone who wished to attend which was open on Saturday nights.
This time around, we actually got to experience the service. The band playing and the
people testifying definitely brought God into the room, and the feeling was so great that I
had to cry. When someone saw me cry, they would start to cry, and the chain reaction had
begun. We were all brought into the center of the big room and prayed together in groups.
Some men would put their hands on my head and pray for me, calling me an "Angel of
God", and yet they hardly knew my name. It was the greatest experience of my life, and I
will never, ever forget it.
A few months after we returned from Tennessee, my confirmation day had finally arrived:
the day I had been waiting for since I began Discipleship class. I was so happy that I finally
got to show my church how committed I was to serving the Lord.
The people I've met along my faith journey have been so amazing, so amazing that only
God would be able to send them to me. Being friends with my pastor Betsy has contributed
so much to my faith; learning from the experiences of Emma has shown me that working
hard to reach your goal will be worth it in the end, because today, for the first time, she has
finally felt happiness, true happiness; meeting older Christians after starting high school
has shown me that you can never be too young to commit your life to Christ.
Since then I've become a Sunday School teacher, an FCA (Fellowship of Christian
Athletes) member, Discipleship mentor for a girl named Denay (who is beginning to show
the same signs I did when I began my faith journey), and now have been named one of the
top five youth leaders of the Lake Mills Moravian Church, a great honor for me. Because of
being a leader, I have been asked to join the other four great youth leaders of my church to
go to Minnesota for a week during the Summer to a leadership workshop, which I am so
excited for!
Along the way, many troubles have hit my life, whether it be losing friends, pastors
announcing their departure from our church, sickness, injury, or temporary depression. But,
through the goodness of the Lord I have been able to pull through and stay strong.
So many people have helped me pull through and become the "hard-core Christian" (as my
friends would call me) I am today. I'd just like to mention a few names:
Thank you to:
Besty, my pastor: for teaching me and guiding me along my faith journey. Although you'll be
leaving our church, I know you will still support me, and I know I can come to you with
anything.
My family: you have been there for me, even when we don't agree on most things.
My friends, old and young: girls named Alyssa and Jodie have always been there for me
through thick and thin, and I've been able to rely on them with everything; Emma, for
showing me good times throughout the years and letting me into your life and be able to
help you along the way.
My FCA leader: Mr. Bourassa, and members: Mark, Lindsey, Lizzie, Caty, Janna, Andy,
Chelsea, Samantha: being able to talk about Christianity with my peers and teachers has
helped me grow in my faith in ways I can't explain, and each and every one of you
deserves to be thanked for all that you've done for me.
George, AYM leader: for making mission trips possible for everyone who desires enough to
get out into the world and serve their Lord, and for making a lasting impression on me.
And finally, my mentor Karen: because she has been there for me through everything, and
is like a second mother to me.
To all readers, young and old: May the Lord bless you and keep you, may the Lord shine
His face on you and be gracious onto you, may the Lord lift up His countenace upon you
and give you peace. What a great and awesome Father we serve. Amen!
Elle Austin
When I was younger, I absolutely hated it. I never really understood anything that was
going on; even going up for the children's lesson sometimes confused me. The Sunday
morning routine wasn't hard to get used to: get up, put on some nice clothes, go to church
at 8:00, Sunday School at 9:15. I never really understood anything, the only thing I could
think about while I was at church was how bad I wanted to go home.
Well, that was a good three years ago now, and looking back on it, I laugh at the irony:
church is now one of my favorite places to be.
I think it all clicked when I was in 6th grade. Sitting in church (bored as usual), I heard
about a mission trip my youth leaders were planning. My friends had told me they planned
on going, so I brought it up with my parents. They said it was fine for me to go, so I signed
up. After all the meetings and things were over with, it was getting down to crunch time; it
was finally almost time to leave!
I woke up at 5:30 am, grabbed my bags, and sprinted out the door to the car. When we
arrived at church, we said a prayer, and all piled into the fifteen-seater van. The minute the
door was shut, my stomach sank: "What am I doing here?" I said to myself. I thought I was
crazy! A fifteen hour drive from Lake Mills, Wisconsin, to Tellico Plains, Tennessee in a full
van of fifteen passengers, I didn't think I could handle it.
As it turns out, it wasn't that bad at all! I had a great time on the trip, and I met God a few
times along the way. Coming back, I still didn't understand many things, but I realized it was
time to learn.
Discipleship class started the year afterwards, which answered a lot of questions for me.
We journeyed through the Bible and experienced the life of Christ through games and
retreats to Mount Morris Camp and Conference Center, the same place where I also
attended church camp every single summer since I was old enough to go.
This summer, it will be my 9th year going. At these retreats we heard faith stories from our
counselors and prayed and sang songs and grew closer to each other and to the Savior
Jesus Christ.
My 8th grade year, I returned to discipleship as the elder. There was a new class of
disciples below my grade, and I loved the feeling of superiority I was experiencing. My best
friend that year, Emma, who was diagnosed with depression, was in that grade, and I
would get to hang out with her every Wednesday, and we got to have great times together
on the retreats as well!
At our second of the two retreats for the year, yet another mission trip was announced to
Tellico Plains, Tennessee, and that meant that I got to see George and experience God
again!
By this time, I had grown significantly in my faith, and was excited to go back to Tennessee
with my newly-established faith in God. The night we arrived, we went to WWJD, a worship
center for anyone who wished to attend which was open on Saturday nights.
This time around, we actually got to experience the service. The band playing and the
people testifying definitely brought God into the room, and the feeling was so great that I
had to cry. When someone saw me cry, they would start to cry, and the chain reaction had
begun. We were all brought into the center of the big room and prayed together in groups.
Some men would put their hands on my head and pray for me, calling me an "Angel of
God", and yet they hardly knew my name. It was the greatest experience of my life, and I
will never, ever forget it.
A few months after we returned from Tennessee, my confirmation day had finally arrived:
the day I had been waiting for since I began Discipleship class. I was so happy that I finally
got to show my church how committed I was to serving the Lord.
The people I've met along my faith journey have been so amazing, so amazing that only
God would be able to send them to me. Being friends with my pastor Betsy has contributed
so much to my faith; learning from the experiences of Emma has shown me that working
hard to reach your goal will be worth it in the end, because today, for the first time, she has
finally felt happiness, true happiness; meeting older Christians after starting high school
has shown me that you can never be too young to commit your life to Christ.
Since then I've become a Sunday School teacher, an FCA (Fellowship of Christian
Athletes) member, Discipleship mentor for a girl named Denay (who is beginning to show
the same signs I did when I began my faith journey), and now have been named one of the
top five youth leaders of the Lake Mills Moravian Church, a great honor for me. Because of
being a leader, I have been asked to join the other four great youth leaders of my church to
go to Minnesota for a week during the Summer to a leadership workshop, which I am so
excited for!
Along the way, many troubles have hit my life, whether it be losing friends, pastors
announcing their departure from our church, sickness, injury, or temporary depression. But,
through the goodness of the Lord I have been able to pull through and stay strong.
So many people have helped me pull through and become the "hard-core Christian" (as my
friends would call me) I am today. I'd just like to mention a few names:
Thank you to:
Besty, my pastor: for teaching me and guiding me along my faith journey. Although you'll be
leaving our church, I know you will still support me, and I know I can come to you with
anything.
My family: you have been there for me, even when we don't agree on most things.
My friends, old and young: girls named Alyssa and Jodie have always been there for me
through thick and thin, and I've been able to rely on them with everything; Emma, for
showing me good times throughout the years and letting me into your life and be able to
help you along the way.
My FCA leader: Mr. Bourassa, and members: Mark, Lindsey, Lizzie, Caty, Janna, Andy,
Chelsea, Samantha: being able to talk about Christianity with my peers and teachers has
helped me grow in my faith in ways I can't explain, and each and every one of you
deserves to be thanked for all that you've done for me.
George, AYM leader: for making mission trips possible for everyone who desires enough to
get out into the world and serve their Lord, and for making a lasting impression on me.
And finally, my mentor Karen: because she has been there for me through everything, and
is like a second mother to me.
To all readers, young and old: May the Lord bless you and keep you, may the Lord shine
His face on you and be gracious onto you, may the Lord lift up His countenace upon you
and give you peace. What a great and awesome Father we serve. Amen!
Elle Austin
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I had waited the whole week for this moment...
We were going white water rafting!
My name is Susan Palmer and I was on a youth trip to Tennessee with my youth group
from Deltona Alliance Church in Florida. It had been a perfect week of sunshine, working
on houses, and bonding with the group. I was having the time of my life.
We woke up on Saturday morning and the weather was terrible. There were tornado
watches and it was very cloudy. We decided we could finish the river before the storm hit.
Everyone got suited up and we started. I would never have been able to be prepared for
what was going to happen that day.
The water was freezing. I was shivering at first, but once my adrenaline started flowing I
stopped. My raft consisted of a trainer, a youth leader, Mr. Huber, and four other youth.
We had a young inexperienced group.
As we made our way down the river we were running into every rock we could and even
got stuck on one for a couple of minutes, but we were all having a blast. As we got farther
along the river the weather got worse and worse. At the end of the river there is a small
drop and the raft has to go down it a certain way or else everyone would fall out. As we got
closer and closer our raft started to turn and we started to go down backwards.
Mr. Huber saw what was happening and decided since he was a big contributor to the
weight in the raft he would jump out. When he did, because I only weighed 98 lbs, I was
flung to the other side out of the raft and my knee came down right on a rock. Finally, our
boat reached the side of the river and we started to unload. I couldn't move. My entire leg
was numb.
Everyone came running towards me. By that time my body temperature had dropped and I
was going into shock. My youth pastor, Rob, carried me to the front of the bus. I sat there
with the bone in my knee popping out, with a shock blanket on me because I couldn't stop
shaking and all the people I love circling around me. Everyone on the bus circled around
and prayed for me.
I was taken to the hospital and about two hours later I left with x-rays showing no damage
to my knee besides a bruise. Everyone was shocked. Even though I was limited to what I
could do the rest of the trip and still have pain once in a while, I learned a life lesson that I
will never forget... Never doubt the power of God! Through him, all things are possible!
Your sister in Christ,
Susan Palmer
We were going white water rafting!
My name is Susan Palmer and I was on a youth trip to Tennessee with my youth group
from Deltona Alliance Church in Florida. It had been a perfect week of sunshine, working
on houses, and bonding with the group. I was having the time of my life.
We woke up on Saturday morning and the weather was terrible. There were tornado
watches and it was very cloudy. We decided we could finish the river before the storm hit.
Everyone got suited up and we started. I would never have been able to be prepared for
what was going to happen that day.
The water was freezing. I was shivering at first, but once my adrenaline started flowing I
stopped. My raft consisted of a trainer, a youth leader, Mr. Huber, and four other youth.
We had a young inexperienced group.
As we made our way down the river we were running into every rock we could and even
got stuck on one for a couple of minutes, but we were all having a blast. As we got farther
along the river the weather got worse and worse. At the end of the river there is a small
drop and the raft has to go down it a certain way or else everyone would fall out. As we got
closer and closer our raft started to turn and we started to go down backwards.
Mr. Huber saw what was happening and decided since he was a big contributor to the
weight in the raft he would jump out. When he did, because I only weighed 98 lbs, I was
flung to the other side out of the raft and my knee came down right on a rock. Finally, our
boat reached the side of the river and we started to unload. I couldn't move. My entire leg
was numb.
Everyone came running towards me. By that time my body temperature had dropped and I
was going into shock. My youth pastor, Rob, carried me to the front of the bus. I sat there
with the bone in my knee popping out, with a shock blanket on me because I couldn't stop
shaking and all the people I love circling around me. Everyone on the bus circled around
and prayed for me.
I was taken to the hospital and about two hours later I left with x-rays showing no damage
to my knee besides a bruise. Everyone was shocked. Even though I was limited to what I
could do the rest of the trip and still have pain once in a while, I learned a life lesson that I
will never forget... Never doubt the power of God! Through him, all things are possible!
Your sister in Christ,
Susan Palmer
| Susan Palmer Testimony |
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