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  I was around 6 years old my mother abandoned me and my sisters.  My childhood was filled with lots of sadness and grief from our mother's abandonment. and As I entered my teenage years, I started experimenting with drugs, alcohol, promiscuity, and around the age of 12 I became addiction to cigarettes. Unfortunately, this wasn’t just a phase, these experiments would turn into addictions that would last into my late 20’s. I was riddled with anxiety, and suicidal depression that hunted me ever since my mom left us. It was as if a dark cloud of depression had been following me ever since that moment I woke up one day to find her gone when I was around 6 years old.   While I was working for a pest control company doing home inspections I received a service call to inspect noises in an elderly ladies home. When I arrived at this lady’s home, her name was “Joy”  One striking moment in my first meeting Joy was as I entered her home she began to guide me to the bedroom where she was hearing noises, when we rounded the corner, I was struck by an image of Jesus. There was a painting on the wall of her hallway of a man with a scruffy beard, who stared me right through my soul. I remarked to Joy “who is that, he looks familiar!” And her response was “well honey, that’s Jesus!” It was as if the Holy Spirit was allowing me to recognize Jesus for the first time ever.  Joy invited me to a Baptist church which I was vaguely familiar with this type of church growing up.  After a few visits to the Baptist church with Joy, at the end of one of the services the pastor asked the congregation if anyone wanted to accept and follow Jesus. Joy looked over at me and asked if I was ready.  The Holy Spirit moved in me and allowed me to see my state of need for Jesus. I went down to the front of the aisle and excepted the call to Christ. Shortly after that I was baptized and I clearly remember coming up from the water a changed person. 

Hi, I'm Serenity Harper. I'm 23 years old. I was born in Detroit, Michigan, and raised in a Christian family. I had gone astray for a while. Yet, I knew of God. I rededicated my life to Him and began developing my own relationship with Him.

 I am twenty-four years old. I got saved at three years old, but I think my relationship with God became personal at 16 when I had an encounter with God at the altar at a youth convention.

 Hello! My name is Melissa Shannon. Here is my testimony. I was raised Catholic but stopped attending church once I finished my confirmation in 8th grade. I never learned about having a

relationship with my Heavenly Father. In high school, I started making worldly choices. I became a teenage mom at 17 and had to grow up quickly raising a newborn son while coping with being in an abusive relationship. I found myself emotionally broken, abused and used mostly by the tumultuous relationship I was in, so I broke the engagement and continued in my worldly ways for a few more years. It was then I met Derrick from Miami off a online chatline. We talked for about a year before I went and met up with him face to face. Our intention for a weekend visit turned into him staying and I ended up pregnant and HIV positive. I was scared not knowing if Derrick gave it to me or if I got it from worldly living. Having an abortion seemed to be logical at the time, but as I got ready for the procedure, something inside me persuaded me to get dressed fast and run out of the clinic. By the grace of God, I gave birth to a beautiful, healthy HIV negative daughter in February 2004. Derrick and I stayed involved. Throughout his life, he attended church, so we drove back and forth to Miami a few times to attend his church back home. After some time, I got tired of the 3-hour drive back and forth and wanted to find a church where we lived. A gentleman named Joe at my job would always come into work so happy singing worship songs and invited me tohis church. The church was in an old movie theater that I used to go to while I was in world. I’d drive there, but then leave a couple of times until finally I went in to attend. My thoughts were “that church is gonna catch fire if I’m in it or I am going to hell.” So, Father’s Day June 20, 2004, I attend Faith Fellowship World Outreach Ministries now known as The Center. Pastor John had an altar call for healing at the end of the service. Derrick suggested for me to go up. I said “no, I am not going, how much money are they going to want? I don’t know these people and it’s my first time coming up for prayer.” Well, I ended up going up at the very end. Pastor John started praying then speaking to me. I now know it was the Holy Spirit that told him that I hadn’t said the prayer of salvation to accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. He asked me if I wanted to pray the prayer and to repeat the after him, so I did. He started saying the incurable disease I’d been diagnosis with from the doctors is like leprosy in the biblical time and to believe and receive that I am healed by the shed Blood of Jesus on the cross. That Blood is to be used for this generation. He kept praying over me, but when he said that the Blood is to be used for this generation and that I was healed, I felt something within taking place. A shaking while receiving all that he is saying. I guess I was in shock, like “how does this man know what is going in my life and how does he know I was diagnosed with an incurable disease?” I now know it was the discerning of the Holy Spirit that gave him that word for me. So, from that day on, I’ve been on fire for God! My desire is to learn more about this faith walk with my Creator. I became a member of that local church, attending Bible studies, and serving in the church. This walk of faith hasn’t been easy. I’ve fallen a couple of times, walked away from church for a time. I got horrifically sick and almost die d while facing a lot of difficult times. God never left me, and I’m back stronger, serving Him, fulfilling my purpose. Currently, I just successfully finished my first year of bible college walking out my destiny. Amen

 The Lord used a Christian radio station to minister to my spirit when I was in a very deep depression over the loss of my grandfather to dementia and my uncle to Covid. The devil had me convinced that this world would be better off without me too and that all my problems would disappear if I’d just end my life. It was an idea I entertained as I had been out of work and was on the verge of losing everything I owned as well. Because of the songs I heard on Christian radio I began listening to nothing but Christian music and began seeking out sermons on YouTube. I found every message to be uplifting, on-point for my life, and quite contrary to what the enemy had been telling me. The Lord was using these messages and songs to minister to my spirit and to encourage me not to give up. Within just a few short months my life had completely turned around and I was enrolling in Bible College in another state. The Lord provided me a beautiful new home and the means to move out of state. No matter what “issue” the devil tried to suggest, The Lord had an answer for it (although it was not always immediately apparent to me) so by Faith I enrolled in school, was accepted, and made the move to Texas. A year later I am halfway through my two-year college program, serving the Lord and He is daily proving His faithfulness to me and is growing me into the person He has called me to be. He is showing me every day how He can turn what the enemy meant for evil into a positive story that I can use to encourage others like me out there. To God be the glory!