This is the story of my life. There are many events that have shaped my faith and beliefs and some of them are highlighted in this testimony. I plan to include more details soon so check back.

I grew up in a Christian family, and was involved in Sunday School from an early age. I was confirmed at Sabylund Lutheran Church in eighth grade. Throughout my Junior High and High School years, I was involved in several activities through my church.

These activities included Confirmation, which consisted of two hours of classes every other week for my seventh and eighth grade year. I was confirmed on May 24th, 1998. Here is a picture of my confirmation. I also was part of a youth group including our church and another church that met twice a month. It was at one of these meetings when I first remember asking Christ into my life. We went to Dawson McAllister Youth Conferences held at the Target Center in Minneapolis each of these year. This was a great opportunity to meet many other Christians and to learn a lot.

While in high school I went on two mission trips. There were youth from about seven different churches that participated in these trips and about forty total each time. After my freshman year I went to West Virginia. We helped paint houses and it provided an opportunity to meet other involved Christians. The following summer, we went to Alabama. On this trip we spent half of the time painting houses and the other days helping with a vacation bible school. These trips helped me build my faith in God.

I assisted with our church’s Vacation Bible School each summer. After my junior year I was a teacher for the fifth grade class. This was my first time teaching others and it offered me another opportunity to learn more about walking with God. The students in my class could be quite a lot to handle at times but they were all really good. I had helped with their class in prior years and being a small community I knew most of them prior to having them in my class. If I am at home this summer, I definitely want to help with this event. That is one of the things that I really missed when I had to work this past summer.

This fall, I started college at Milwaukee School of Engineering. This was a huge change in my life. I was raised on a dairy farm in a small town. My graduating class had forty students and I knew everyone. I had always stayed away from all the drinking that went on. I told myself that I would never do that sort of thing. Little did I know that it would all change in the coming months.

When I started going to school in Milwaukee, I didn’t know anyone. I wanted to fit in desperately and was willing to do just about anything. Most of the guys on my floor were always partying and I joined them. This went on for the first month I was here.

At the beginning of October, there was an event that made changed my life forever. Some of the guys and I were drinking in one of their rooms and we got in trouble by public safety. This was probably the best thing that ever happened to me even though it seemed terrible at the time. I had to talk to the director of housing and even though we didn’t get in trouble it made my aware of what I was doing. I looked at my life and saw that I was doing the things that I said I would never do. This was God giving me an opportunity to seek him again and to change from my sinful ways.

After this is when I begin to get involved in InterVarsity. I met other Christians on campus and saw that there were others that did not compromise their faith. I also begin to get more involved with my relationship with God. I believe that I have grown more in this area in the past six months than ever before.

I am now active both at church and in several InterVarsity activities. I take part in IV League, Oasis, Outloud, and daily prayer meetings. These activities are helping me grow in my relationship with God. I am learning new things every day that God wants me to do in my life. I attended fall conference and afterwards a friend and I began a Group Investigating God (GIG). This has been an awesome way to share my faith with others and to lead them to a relationship with God.

Today when I look at some of the guys that I was partying with, I think to myself, that’s where I would be if it were not for the grace of God. I know that alone I could not have gotten through this experience. It is important for me to know that God cares enough about me to provide an opportunity to get out of that lifestyle.

Here are a few e-mails that I have received that are very touching.

And we said O.K.

New School Prayer

The Secret

God's Wings

My Friend

Bible Tag

When I Whine

Feel free to contact me about my story.