He did that about three to four weeks before the July baptism service. Even though I was still scared, I felt this pull to be baptized. And I know that the Lord loves me and knows me, because this was a HUGE outdoor service where SO many people were getting baptized, that only a select few volunteers had to read their testimonies out loud. I was able to be baptized with minimal public speaking, and it was still in front of my church, my friends, and my family. Andrew and I were SO BLESSED at our loved ones that turned up to support us. We had my sister and Travis (her husband) be the ones to baptize up, and we are so grateful they cut their trip to San Antonio short to be there to share this day with us. I just realized we didn't really pose for any pictures with them (that I have on my camera, I think my sister may have got one), but we got some of the baptism itself.
I LOOOOOOOOVE Daniel's face in this picture below (looks JUST like Robert!):
It was just such a wonderful day, lots of love for the Lord and support of every one of the 55 people getting baptized for standing up and declaring their love for Jesus. Thank you so much, Andrea and Travis, for being the ones to stand there with us during this. We look to you two as a great example of two people that love the Lord and do all things for Him, and we just love you guys so much!!
The day was so wonderful, there was definitely divine intervention in the form of cloud coverage and a breeze, it was actually a BEAUTIFUL day to be outside in the Texas summer: that NEVER happens! There was Michael Bleecker and the rest of the Village Church band out there playing our favorite songs to give thanks and praise to our Savior!
At the end of the day, as we were leaving, we got to see a man surprise his girlfriend with an engagement!!! So sweet, and I just LOVE to see two people in love have these moments...reminds me of when I got engaged, and I know that you feel like the luckiest girl in the world in that moment. I teared up!
Thank you to our home group, my family, and my friend Sara for coming out to cheer Andrew and I on, it meant SO much to us!
Since we didn't get to stand up and share our testimonies at the service, we wanted to share them on here. They are extremely personal accounts of our life before and after being saved, but this experience is about sharing those things, so...here it goes.
Jamie's Testimony:
Growing up I never went to church, outside of an occasional Christmas Eve service. It wasn’t something we talked about in my family, either. At least not until the day my older sister joined a Young Life group and came home talking about the Lord. It seemed like at least once a week there were knock-down, drag-out fights about my sister’s beliefs, lasting until the early hours of the morning, with lots of crying and yelling. This was my first real introduction to anything to do with the Lord. It appeared that believing in God meant you got yelled at, it would’ve been so easy for the Enemy to turn my head from all of it forever.
But that isn’t what happened.
The Enemy did succeed in making me judge my sister, for awhile, as my whole family was doing. She was “crazy”, “out of her mind”, “in a cult”. Everything nasty we could think of: we said it to her, and behind her back. My three brothers and I were younger than my sister, and like any other children were prone to “believing” what our parents believed. To this day I am amazed and inspired by my sister for never wavering in her love for the Lord, for continuing to believe and try to tell us about Him.
And then one day my sister bought me my first Bible. I never really sat down to read it for any length of time, but there was a section at the back that told what verses to read if you needed reassurance of God’s love, or you were feeling angry, etc. I often found myself turning to this section, not really understanding why. Not knowing the Lord was wooing me to Him.
I also prayed a lot, even from a young age, although I didn’t know that is what I was doing for a long time. I was picked on a lot in elementary school, and just always had trouble fitting in. I had about as negative a view of myself as a kid could have, and I was just so sad and lonely. I would lie in bed at night, crying, and talking quietly to myself about how I wished things would get better in my life. I waited until the nighttime to do this so that no one would hear me crying or hear me wishing things would change.
I remember going to see The Passion of the Christ by myself when it was released in theaters several years ago. While keeping in mind that Hollywood has a flair for the dramatic, I still was mesmerized and spiritually moved by what I saw. I had known that Jesus was crucified for our sins, but seeing an interpretation of those events made such an impact on me. I felt things changing in my heart, and not long afterwards I was saved.
The Lord has done a lot of work in my life these last few years. He brought my husband into my life, a man who was at the same point in his life spiritually as I was. We have been able to grow in our faith together, which I am so thankful for. We began going to The Village about a year after being married, and we just have found such a wonderful church-home here. We got involved with a home group, who have been so wonderful at providing gospel-centered community for us to be a part of.
He has brought my family together more than it ever has been. My parents have been attending church and seeking the Lord, which ten years ago would’ve seemed impossible to believe. Even my younger brothers, who are teenagers, are showing an interest in the Lord. I have brought them with me to The Village and been so encouraged that they seem curious. I pray everyday that seeds have been planted that will bloom for them someday.
Another wonderful thing He has done in my life was bringing me back to my grandmother, uncle and aunt. Differences in our family kept me from having a relationship with them outside of obligatory holidays for so many years. Towards the end of last year, my husband and I went to visit with them, my first time in years and years and years to see them on a non-holiday. What I saw there was not resentment or anger at me for not reaching out to them. Rather, a forgiveness and love and their open arms and hearts. I found out my grandmother was a really, really special lady. And that my aunt and uncle were anxious to be part of our lives. And they all had this amazing FAITH and love for Jesus. My grandmother died about a month later, but I did not grieve for too long. After all, this woman had a love for Jesus that I hadn’t ever seen before in anyone I have known. She gave me spiritual advice that I remember anytime I struggle. She couldn’t get to her Savior fast enough, and I sat there in awe the last time I saw her lucid. She wanted to be Home so badly, how could I sit there and wish she was still there for me to get to know more? I am so thankful the Lord brought us all back together before calling her Home.
My husband and I are trying to have a child. It’s been nearly two years and after countless doctors visits we are facing that this is going to be an extremely difficult thing to do. There have been many days when I prayed and prayed to the Lord for patience and understanding, and have felt heartbroken at the pain of watching so many, many women in my life be blessed by children in the last year alone. “Why not me?” I have asked countless times. Proving that He does indeed work in mysterious ways, the Lord spoke to my heart through a song called “Blessings” by Laura Story at my niece’s recital on a recent Saturday morning. I was overcome with tears right there in the auditorium, and I knew everything was going to be alright. I don’t know if we will ever get the children we so desperately want, but I do know that it will be alright, because Jesus is my savior. He is all I need and I don’t need to worry about the “why” aspect of it. I have kept hearing people tell me to give that burden to Jesus, and I actually sat down months ago and mentally gathered everything and imagined handing it to Jesus. No big surprise, that didn’t work. I was trying so hard to be able to say I’d given that burden to Him that I wasn’t even really trying to actually do it. He took the burden at that recital, though, and I have been better able to focus on Him and on my faith since then.
I was baptized at age 15, when my little brothers were young and it was decided we would all get baptized. I was not saved at that time, and the second we joined The Village my husband and I felt the call to be baptized. I am so thankful to the Lord, I can’t even put my joy and love for Him into words that measure up to how I feel. I am thankful He heard the cry for help from a little girl and brought me to Him, and for the people He has given me as I go through this life: my parents and my brothers. My sister, who the Lord first used to plant the seed in me so many years ago and stands up here today with me. My beautiful grandmother and my aunt and uncle. My amazing home group: it was His will for us to be in fellowship with this group and I give thanks and praise to the Lord every single day for them. And for my husband, who I have watched grow into a stronger spiritual leader in our home more everyday, who helps hold me accountable, and encourages me and my faith on a daily basis.
Andrew's Testimony:
Like many others, my story will start out the same with my faith in the Lord. I was originally baptized at birth through sprinkling as I was raised in the Catholic Church. My parents seemed to be very devout in their faith with the Lord; however, not having been engaged in the church the way that they were as children led me to a great lack of knowledge in the word of God. I was active in the church as an altar boy and multiple youth groups throughout the years. Even though I was physically involved, I was absent in the heart. I had no relationship with the Lord and was just going through the motions of showing up feeling that I was doing my part to gain God’s grace. How wrong was I? I cannot even remember a time when I would pick up the Bible and read any passage or scripture other than the lessons that were read during the Sunday sermon. This continued until I was about 16 years old and my personal devotion to any affiliation with the church began to dwindle. I had other personal agendas that were greater and I felt to be more worthy of my time. I did not look back and began to see my life spiral out of control over the years to come.
At this time, being separated from attending church and starting to not live a Godly life, I still called myself a Christian as I believed in God. Even though I believed in God, I did nothing to affirm my faith or relationship with Him. I felt that no matter how much I did and how bad I was that God would forgive my sins as long as I asked for forgiveness. I hid behind the loop holes and read between the lines on what it meant being a true Christian. I manipulated the Word to make it work with what I was doing to justify my actions. So, from there began my right to live as I wanted and to make sure that I held no desire from reach.
I engaged in inappropriate relationships with women. I lost myself in drugs and alcohol. I stole from employers, stole from friends, stole from neighbors and stole from family. No regard from right or wrong, I felt I was entitled to anything I wanted. I was trapped in lie after lie trying to weave my web of deceit. I always had lots of people around me and honestly felt that they wanted to be my friend or part of my life. At that time, that was what I led myself to believe. They were just pulling me deeper and deeper into sin and driving me further away from God. As if all that was not enough, I then became wrapped up in needing more to fill my hollow shell of a life with false happiness. I wanted and coveted the need for more money feeling this would allow for me to do anything I desired because that was what made me feel unstoppable. I started to dabble in the sale of illegal drugs. Never once did I think about the road this would lead me to, but I just thought of the immediate return and satisfaction it was giving me at the time. I had total disregard for the consequences and never feared for my safety. This changed very soon after. A certain turn of events in which I was no longer in control of led me to fear for my life and I knew that I needed to turn to God for help.
This was the first time I remember that I looked to God and prayed to Him for forgiveness since I was a young child. It almost seems now as if I was selfishly asking for God’s grace only to ensure I would be saved. However, after what I had been through, I realized things had to change. I began to start looking for forgiveness and a way to live a better life. I began to attend multiple churches trying to find when I fit in. However, I realized it was not about the church, it was about my relationship with God. I began to seek Him out in prayer, but not knowing how, I became frustrated with my faith. I was trying to do what I felt was right, but I never once gave my heart completely to God. I ended up at a Christian church one day with a great friend and immediately felt heard. My heart was looking for more. I realized through this journey of finding God that I was really looking to find myself and realization of forgiveness in my heart.
I have always crippled my affection and glory for the Lord through fear. Fear of judgment and alienation from family and friends. However, in doing so, I have enabled sin to grow as I have been unable to trust wholly in the truth of my salvation. This is exactly what our enemies want from us to try to pull us further from the Lord and His true salvation. I now know and live by the fact that there alone is no judgment or salvation that is greater than what the Lord has already provided for me. He sacrificed His life for me and in His love for me; I will too bask in all of His glory. I no longer fear to shout out that I LOVE JESUS because He has never stopped loving me.
My journey has not been easy and I know that all things will never always be perfect, and neither will I. I still had struggled with doubts and feelings of self worth. Not only was I lost, I could not find my way. My longing to be a great husband, a father and provider were still missing in my life. I constantly asked for that missing piece and I feared that I would never be able to share this with someone else. My own self doubt and fears left me feeling alone. But I was never really alone. All I had to do was let go, believe and trust that God has planned great things for me.
All these doubts soon changed as I was fortunate to have found my wife, Jamie. She was my saving grace as she helped me to strengthen my relationship with the Lord in ways that I never imagined. She has helped me in pronouncing my faith and in becoming the spiritual leader of our household. We are still struggling with our desires to become the parents that we long to be together. It has been nearly two years of constant attempts, numerous doctor visits, everyday praying and constant struggles. Since attending The Village from November of last year and joining a home group, we have been blessed with our affections in the Lord. We now have a solid foundation of faith to build our future and relationship together. I know that things will still continue to test our faith and pull at our relationship with the Lord. However, I now feel that with my spiritual transparency and a strong family of faithful brothers and sisters to encourage both of us in times of need, it will help me rejoice fully in God. I know that my faith in God will lead us on our righteous path and He is glorious.
It is such a blessing to share my journey together with my wife as we both affirm our faith in God today by being baptized together. I look forward to how the Lord will continue to work through both of us and use us to shepherd His word and give glory by showing His grace.
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