The Weekend I Said Yes to God

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unspash.com.

Finally, I'm back to blogging after a long break. I'm back, and boy, oh boy. God is good, is he not? God has richly blessed me, and I thank him. I have decided to share what happened over this miraculous weekend, followed by my testimony (for those who couldn't make it).

The Miraculous Weekend - Day 1 (Saturday Night)

It all started off with the last supper, or as it seemed, where Ben Clapton and his family and fiancé, Stephen and I, plus the family (Mum, Dad and Nanna and the little ones), the Corps Officers and Margaret Wilson turned up at the 'Good Fortune Chinese Restaurant' not knowing what to expect. We had a lovely all-you-can-eat banquet with a variety of foods. We were definitely full after that, and we shared in some fellowship, sharing stories and such at the table while eating.

Following this, we went to the hall. Prior to the service, the Captains and we enrollees prayed in the office about the decision we were to make. The night kicked of with the worship team, whom had got a new drummer due to Ben, Stephen and I being allowed to relax and enjoy the evening. We had a responsive prayer, then signed the covenant between God and us. Not the Articles of War (that was on Sunday). All three of us signed our covenant and were happy with the decision we had made. The night was a great success, and I want to sincerely thank the officers, as I truly loved the night.

Only God knew what was in store next...

The Miraculous Weekend - Day 2 (Sunday Morning)

It started with Stephen and me at open air as usual, in normal Junior Soldier Uniform (same as Senior Soldier except no epaulettes. We then met before the service and prayed for our decision as we signed the Corps copy of our Articles of War. BAMMM, the service began with the Band playing a march before the meeting. About three-quarters of the way through the march, Stephen and I (after the prayer in the office) went up to the platform and joined the band in the finishing of the march.

The service began with a tune from the band followed by the worship team. We were having a great time. I still can't get over how amazing Saturday night was. Then came enrolment, and we still weren't wearing epaulettes as my family requested, so we decided to wait until the service. That way, we are officially senior soldiers in the service and not beforehand. We had our parents (or, in Ben's case, loved one) come up and put the epaulettes on us. After that, we signed our covenant, which is made between us, God, and the Salvation Army.

As the last in line, so to speak, I was asked to give my testimony first (see below). As nervous as anything, because public speaking is one of my hates, I gave my testimony. A fair amount of people commented on how well it was, and loads of people congratulated me on becoming a Senior Soldier. I gave my testimony, followed by Ben, and lastly Stephen. We did it, and we made it through what was the most nerve-wracking part of the service.

I thank God for my amazing life, and pray he will use me as a vessel for His will.

Amen.

My Testimony:

When I was first asked to give my testimony, it honestly made me think a lot about what God has done in my life... Isn't it funny that every day we are blessed, and we do not realise it; then when you get asked to testify about what God has done in your life, you actually realise the amazing things he has done.

For those that don't know me, I am going to quickly tell you a little bit about me. I am 17 years old, and was born with Hirschsprung's disease, which affected my entire large intestine. I have been told by my Mum and Dad that I was in and out of hospital for 9 months before being diagnosed. The surgeon told my parents, "There is an operation that we can do; it might fix young Andrew, then again it might not." They were basically told that if I did not have the surgery to remove the diseased bowel, I would die; if I did have the surgery, there was no certainty that it would fix anything and that, as I was so undernourished through failure to thrive, I could die on the operating table.

My parents were faced with a choice: don't have the surgery and have me die, or have the surgery where I could die anyway. My parents prayed for me; many of you here prayed for me (Floreat), and there was even a prayer chain overseas. They believed that God was in control and that he would be with me through this. They spent ages up in the hospital with me. My mum was with me almost 24/7 except for times where a nurse of someone would come and say "Bronwen, Andrew will be fine, you need some rest, come with me and get a coffee". I know this situation must have been hard for my parents, and I am thankful for God's hand in this situation. Who would have guessed that the little Biafrin back then would become the Person standing before you today... Only God, I guess!

All through primary school I was teased for being 'a nerd' and a 'computer geek'. This really let me down. However, I put my trust in the Lord, and he helped me through it. Then, coming into middle school- Years 7, 8, and 9 of high school the teasing continued, but along with 'nerd ' and 'computer geek' came 'fatso' and other words that would tear me down. I admit some of it did and it continued until I became mates with some great Christian guys in the school music program, who even today I am still great mates with. I tell you now, the moment I became mates with one of them who was very popular in school, more than 90% of the abusive comments stopped. God was actually able to begin the 'restoration' process in me because of the fact I was able to be defended from Satan by allowing God to work in my life.

But when I started Senior School (Years 10, 11 and 12), in Year 10 I met a guy I thought was my mate. Mum and Dad were very concerned as they could see a change in me that I refused to see. Along came the "I don't care" attitude and the large bills, with dollars worth of phone calls, SMSs, and other stuff that I didn't care about. I was once again broken and needed the Lord. I called upon him during 'Marching as to War' and 'Insane 2009 ', and I said those well-known words: 'All that I am, All I can be, All that I have, All that is me, Accept and use Lord as you would choose Lord, right now today'. I asked God to help me through these struggles, and I committed to putting God before myself. God was going to lead my life.

The Lord has certainly been great. I am a DJ for various online radio stations and am well known online for my Christian behaviour. I look back at those people who used to bully me with their teasing and, in a way, laugh at them. I currently have a good job in IT working for the government and earning a good wage, while the same cannot be said for many of them.

I can stand today and say God is doing amazing things in my life, and I pray that through my ministry of DJing, webmastering, and web hosting, he can intervene in people's lives and that the Glory of God will shine in my workplace at Landgate and wherever I go. I am not saying that I am perfect by any stretch of the imagination but I am an ongoing project that God is continually working on. Sometimes I need to be reminded that I'm good enough 'cause God don't make no junk!!!