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I've Learned So Much!
March 27 2008 / ShareHim in Dominican Republic A, Mar. 14 - Mar. 29 '08 #254by Karen Escobar
Personal Testimony of Karen Escobar.
My name is Karen, and I am a sophomore at Thunderbird Adventist Academy and I am 16 years old. I am a Mexican/Salvadorian, and I have a huge family. Most of my family is Adventist, but there are a few that aren’t. I believe that my family has a major influence in my life and that they are partly the reason for how I am today. I was raised an Adventist in California, so I grew up in the church. When my parents divorced, we moved to Arizona and started a new life.
We drifted away from the church a number of times but somehow always found our way back. My mom has always put us in a Christian school, so that was a big part of my beliefs, but I had never actually believed it for myself. I believed it because that’s how I was taught. We drifted so far away that we stayed away from the church until a few weeks before I went on this trip.
When I heard about the trip, I did not want to go, and my mind was made up about that. A few weeks later, there was a meeting for the trip that I didn’t know about at the time. I walked into a classroom and saw that two of my friends and Karen Glassford were in there. I sat with my friends and listened, and by the end of the meeting, God told me to go on the trip. Since that moment everything worked out perfectly, and I was able to come here and preach. I thought that it would be a nice experience, but I liked the fact that I would be on a tropical island even more!
When that first night to preach came, I freaked out. I realized that this was serious and that I was doing the work of God, and I didn’t think I would do it justice. I did the first sermon, and I felt relieved that it was over, and for a while I felt like a hypocrite because I felt that what I was preaching about things that I didn’t believe, So, why should anyone else? The nights went on, and soon I felt God in me changing my life. Slowly but surely, I was preaching because I believed it and not just because I was taught it. Soon I was preaching to myself and learning more and my faith was increasing. On this trip so far, I realized the true power of prayer. When something at my site went wrong, I completely trusted God that it was His will and that it was for a reason. I have been getting so close to God. I have never been happier; I wouldn’t mind preaching every night!
I love being here, I love the people, and I love God more and more each day. No matter what has happened here, I know God is taking care of me. I have had some crazy things happen that the devil did to try to stop my meetings and I was scared at first, but now I realize that God is much more powerful than him and I can trust Him with anything and everything.
We drifted away from the church a number of times but somehow always found our way back. My mom has always put us in a Christian school, so that was a big part of my beliefs, but I had never actually believed it for myself. I believed it because that’s how I was taught. We drifted so far away that we stayed away from the church until a few weeks before I went on this trip.
When I heard about the trip, I did not want to go, and my mind was made up about that. A few weeks later, there was a meeting for the trip that I didn’t know about at the time. I walked into a classroom and saw that two of my friends and Karen Glassford were in there. I sat with my friends and listened, and by the end of the meeting, God told me to go on the trip. Since that moment everything worked out perfectly, and I was able to come here and preach. I thought that it would be a nice experience, but I liked the fact that I would be on a tropical island even more!
When that first night to preach came, I freaked out. I realized that this was serious and that I was doing the work of God, and I didn’t think I would do it justice. I did the first sermon, and I felt relieved that it was over, and for a while I felt like a hypocrite because I felt that what I was preaching about things that I didn’t believe, So, why should anyone else? The nights went on, and soon I felt God in me changing my life. Slowly but surely, I was preaching because I believed it and not just because I was taught it. Soon I was preaching to myself and learning more and my faith was increasing. On this trip so far, I realized the true power of prayer. When something at my site went wrong, I completely trusted God that it was His will and that it was for a reason. I have been getting so close to God. I have never been happier; I wouldn’t mind preaching every night!
I love being here, I love the people, and I love God more and more each day. No matter what has happened here, I know God is taking care of me. I have had some crazy things happen that the devil did to try to stop my meetings and I was scared at first, but now I realize that God is much more powerful than him and I can trust Him with anything and everything.