By God’s grace, I was born in a Christian home and grew up attending a Bible Church. When I was about 4 or 5 years old in Children’s Church, the Lord convicted me of my sin (disobeying my mom and stealing a cookie!) and my need for Christ Jesus’ sacrifice to pay for all my sins. Even now I remember being overwhelmed with God’s love for me and the joy at knowing I was His daughter and would go to heaven when I died.
God immediately placed a desire in my heart to share Christ with others. On the way home from church that Sunday, I was witnessing to my little sister. She didn’t trust in Christ as her Savior at that time – she was frightened of “going up high to heaven” – but I thank God that she did accept the Gospel later on!
My church had a strong missions emphasis, and I grew up meeting many missionaries and hearing stories from the mission field. One story in particular impacted my decision to become a missionary. It was about a boy who lived in fear of the evil spirits and witchdoctors, until one day a missionary told him about Jesus Christ. The boy trusted in Christ’s death and resurrection, and despite succeeding trials, he found freedom from his fears and abundant life. I remember thinking, “Wow! I want to be like that missionary and take the good news to people who don’t know Jesus!” And so I grew up planning on a career in missions.