Catching Up, Or Checking In?

So many things have happened in the last year or so since I have blogged on here. But, I wanted to share with you what God is doing in our lives here in Calgary.

Two Sundays ago, I became a member of Trinity Baptist Church here in Calgary.

Last Sunday I was baptized!

Here is the short testimony I shared prior to being baptized.
'I became a Christian a few years ago, in my mid-twenties.

I had been toying with the idea of Christianity and what being a Christian meant for a long time before making the decision to follow Christ. Once I made the active choice to give my life to Christ, nothing has been the same since, thankfully!

Thankfully in Ponoka, my old church and my mentor, Lynda found me. She helped me along, encouraged me, loved on me and helped me to keep my eyes focused on Christ. There was also an army of other Christians who still walk closely with God and remain shining examples for me and many others.

I studied and prayed and stayed in that early stage for a while until I felt I needed more, so I asked God to allow me to go deeper with Him, in fact I asked him if I could go deeper than over my head, what an amazing and scary concept that was!

Well, over my head we went! He sent me to a YWAM discipleship training school in Winnipeg, and to
Uganda for two months of outreach. I’d like to say more but I am limited in my words, let’s just say that it was the worst, best, most enriching and fulfilling 7 months of my life, so full of challenge, love, and growth and lasting friends.

Returning home I felt lost, about where I should go and what I should do next. I put an application in for nursing school (leagues after the deadline passed), and actually got in! God was at work again!

During my final year of nursing school I had to decide where I wanted to go for my final placement. I don’t know about you, but who really knows that before even finishing? Anyways, at that time I wanted another BIG adventure like my time in Winnipeg and Uganda, so I thought, Hey! Calgary has some really big and amazing hospitals, I’ll go there! Little did I know God was prodding me here for a greater purpose.

I moved here in October of last year, and I was so lonely. I have had periods of loneliness before but this one was a particularly tough one. I started in a big hospital, in a field where I was, and am, particularly challenged, and living with a lovely and loving family who spoke only a little bit of English. I needed to rely on God heavily in this short low time.

On a whim, I signed up for online dating and had no luck with it, then on the last 2 days of my membership, this man emailed me looking to go for coffee. I really had no aspirations that it would work out, but I thought I may as well go seeing as I had nothing to lose.

That was the moment God brought me to meet my husband. It did take me a couple of dates to decide it was OK to like him and in fact, during our courtship I prayed that if Matt wasn’t going to be something special that God should take him away because I had felt so much heartbreak before.

Well, as you can see, God didn’t take him away, he truly is someone special, and being married to him has been the most extraordinary enterprise. I am overjoyed to have him here with me today standing beside me as my amazing, loving, and devoted husband.

With much prayer and thought I am pleased to become a member of this church body together with Matt.

We not only feel supported here, but challenged, loved, and pursued.

1 Corinthians 12:13 “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles,
whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.”'