Our God is A Strong God

My name is Jonathan Collins; I am 17 years old and attend Thunderbird Adventist Academy. First I would like to say thank you to the Quiet Hour. My family isn't the richest family; we have some money, but anything to help out with trips like these and school have always helped. When God impressed me to go, I made this deal with Him that He'd pay for it with hardly any money out of my pocket. So I'd like to thank the Quiet Hour for the biggest chunk of the bill. I'm a firm believer that God could just give me the money but he uses events like these to bless the givers, so I know the people at the Quiet Hour are blessed. Next to thank is Jenny, she came through in an unexpected way. I came home during the first home leave after being impressed to go. I went to church like normal, but I sat in a different section than normal. After church, Jenny came up to me and we started talking about school, higher education, and other things. Eventually, I got to mention this trip, and I told her I was looking for about 10 to 20 sponsors to split the cost as to make it easier. She told me she'd make it easier on me and give me the money that I thought it would be. (However, it did turn out to be a little more, and God impressed my parents to cover it). Thank you Mrs. Glassford for this opportunity and all the help you have provided.

To anybody who is worried about paying for it, don't! If God has it planned out for you to go, you'll go, and He'll pay for it through organizations like the Quiet Hour or humble Church folk. And you'll gain a blessing from it. God pointed out some things in my life that he wanted to see fixed, and I ended in tears (by the way real men cry) because I realized what it would take for me to go there. One night, as I was giving an appeal, He just spoke to me and gave me at least part of the answer. There was a few crucial pieces of the puzzle that God wanted to fill in my Christian walk, and now I got a few more pieces. A trip like this changes people, and I know nobody likes change, but you can't fight change. You can't stop it. So you might as well start to change for the better.

One of the really funny things that happened during the meetings: I think it was on the topic on the state of the dead. Halfway through the sermon, I got the hiccups. No amount of water or whatever I could do on stage would make them stop. Its funny how God lets Satan work; he lets him do what he wants but only to the point where it won't affect His ability to work in peoples' lives. Don't be discouraged by things that come your way; God's got everything under control. "Don't worry, be happy," for our God is a strong God.