Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
How did a Christian Charity restore my faith?
Has it made a difference to my life?
Can faith make a difference to your life?
I have heard quite a few testimonies about Christian journeys now and every one is different. There are those who saw the blinding light and were converted immediately. Then there are those whose journeys have been slow and steady. Some have known The Lord all their lives. It matters not which category anybody falls into as God loves us all and rejoices at all those who find him through Jesus Christ, no matter where they are at in their lives.
My Christian journey started more or less at the beginning of my life, faltered badly and then in recent years has come back onto the straight and narrow, with the help, in no small terms, from a Christian charity.
As a boy I looked upto my grandmother who was devoutly Christian. She would never allow herself to miss a Sunday Holy Communion Service and even when on holiday she had to find a church to practice her faith. She was a gentle lady, somebody I truly admired and was deeply upset if I ever offended her. Because of her I attended confirmation classes at our local Church of England church and became an alter boy. However, I had one other deep passion at the time; football. At the age of 14 I felt the need to make the decision on how to spend my Sundays. Going to church or playing football. Unfortunately football won.
From then on I strayed waywardly off the Christian path. Although I believe I was still moralistic and had a good sense of what was right or wrong, I found myself denying both Jesus and God. At one point during my first marriage I even refused to be a God Parent to one of my nephews as I considered that was being hypocritical.
My first marriage ended and I met my current wife and her 16 month old son - now my stepson- and life certainly changed from there. They say "life begins at 40", well at just one year short of that my life was certainly about to change in an entirely different direction. Tonya was taking Dale once a month to the family service at St. Mildreds Church in Tenterden and invited me to join her. I went and caught the bug. It didn't take long before I wanted more and was soon making sure I attended Holy Communion every Sunday. Noting my new found enthusiasm, the church invited me to be a Chalice Assistant and then to perform bible readings.
Looking back on it now though, I can see that, at that point my Christian journey had only just gotten into first gear. The year 2009 was the point when I started to move through the gears. Both St. Mildreds Church and The Zion Baptist Church in Tenterden had become involved with a Christian charity called Cry in the Dark http://www.cryinthedark.org/. I was invited to go to Romania and help with the building of an extension to an orphanage in Comanesti. It is said that "You won't change Romania, Romania will change you" and when you see the incredible work that Cry in the Dark do for young people with life limiting illnesses and disabilities in Romania it is bound to bring out the compassion in the most hard hearted of people.
To see what this Christian charity had achieved in the 10 years that they had been going was unbelievably miraculous. I kept asking myself,
"How do you create a charity like this?"
"How do you even know where to begin?"
I put these questions to the charity. There answer,
"We didn't know where to start. We just prayed to God and he gave us the answers"
Absolutely amazing. This is real "Faith in God" and it is being put into action. It became obvious at that point that I didn't really understand what true faith meant. I worried about the bills and my family and yet this seems small fry in comparison to the concerns that Cry in the Dark had. Yet God could see them through all the difficult times, finding the straight path to bring their vision into reality. Casa Lumina, the orphanage in Comanesti, was completed in under two years, taking 24 young people from the terrible conditions of a state run orphanage to a home with much love and care, providing them a home for life. A second project, Casa Albert, has recently opened as a day care centre, providing respite care for children with life limiting illnesses from around the impoverished areas around the city of Bacau. It also acts as an outreach centre, from where medical staff go out to these same children, applying much needed medical care in their homes.
Having seen Gods work in action I have become desperate to find out more about God and Jesus and how to be the best Christian I can possibly be. I attended an Alpha Course and a bible study group and am constantly immersing myself in Christian books to understand the Christian faith, my faith, as much as I can.
It doesn't have to take a Christian charity to enlighten somebody about the works of God. As I said at the beginning, everbody has a different story to tell. My life has much more meaning now, is richer and fuller because of finding God through Jesus Christ, and everybody can have the same if they so choose.
How fantastic is that?
Terry Norrington
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