Leo

在我八歲時從香港移民到美國。小時候，我的父母並非基督徒，因此我很少接觸基督教。然而，在香港就讀基督教學校的時候，我已經認識了神，只是當時因為年紀尚幼，對此並沒有深入了解。移民到美國後，我逐漸減少了與與神有關的接觸，因為美國的學校不會宣揚任何宗教。隨著接觸減少，我對神的感知也逐漸疏遠。許多事情我覺得可以靠自己完成，例如學習人生道理、判斷是非，以及做人處事，所有這些都給了我一種靠自己的感覺。當時我也不知道這些是從何處學來的，因為並非全部都是從父母身上學到的。父母可以教導和引導我，但大部分都是慢慢從生活中吸收的。

直到我遇見了我的太太Cecilia，她是位虔誠的基督徒，每週都會參加教會聚會。因此，我開始向她詢問教會活動的情況，希望更深入地了解。一開始，她每個月帶我去教會一次，但後來我們的出席次數越來越頻繁。我們結婚後也開始參加夫婦團契。這段時間，我開始更深入地理解和了解神的道理。在團契中，由於我是一個理性思考的人，我提出了許多問題，而牧師花了很多時間來解答我的疑問。

直到2020年，在Zoom上參加團契的時候，我決志信主。那一瞬間，我感到神與我的思想很一致。我開始領悟到，其實從小到大，神一直在引領著我，只是當時並不自知，因為沒有人曾經向我解釋過。這次體悟促使我決志信主。當時我還未準備好接受洗禮，直到牧師在Arise Church開設了洗禮班。在洗禮班上，我學到了很多，也對是否需要完全理解和認識神的道理才能接受洗禮有所疑問。牧師解釋道，只需要一心一意地相信神的救贖就可以，之後可以在教會持續學習。於是我決定接受洗禮。在信主之前，我做了許多決定，但不知為何會如此做。然而信主後，我感受到神在背後支持著我，幫助我確信當時所做的決定是正確的。

Esme

I grew up in a Christian household, so being Christian was all I ever knew. I went to church every Sunday and even went to a Christian school. Because I’ve been going to church my whole life, I always considered it as a “class” more than a time for me to grow closer to God. I’ve been told about God’s amazing love for us and his mighty powers more times than I can count. It was something I always knew but didn’t know if it was true. I basically grew up listening to Bible stories. I learned of how God created the world, and how he freed His people by parting the Red Sea. Again, I knew these stories well but was skeptical about their truthfulness. Because of my Christian background, I always called myself a Christian. It didn’t exactly affect the way I acted or lived my life; it was just a title. I didn’t even fully understand what being Christian meant.

It wasn’t until halfway through 6th grade that started seeing God in my life. This was a bit after I joined the youth worship team. Someone asked me “What is worship to you?”, and “Why do you go to church?”. This really got me questioning myself. Was I going to church to hang out with friends? Or was I going because I genuinely wanted to grow closer to and learn more about God? Of course, I wanted to believe that my reason for going was the latter. But I could feel that that wasn’t the truth.

During that time, I was going through a hard phase in my life. I felt as if I could lean to no one, and that no one cared. It really confused me why these bad things were happening to me if God was real, and I was Christian. Not knowing what to do, I turned to God and asked Him for help. Every time I felt down, I prayed to Him. I could feel His presence there with me and it comforted me knowing I wasn’t alone. As I prayed, I slowly saw things in my life fall back into place. That was a major moment in my faith walk where I truly felt God working in my life.

It wasn’t until then that I realized that my reason for joining the worship and going to church, was to hang out with friends. I never understood what worship really meant until then. The purpose is to glorify God not to keep up with our social lives. Following, I started worshipping truly to praise God. Sometimes I forget and stray from that, but I try to remind myself.

I can now truly see how powerful God really is and how big of an impact He can put on my life. I understand what it really means to be a Christian. It’s not just some title, but it has a much deeper meaning. Being a Christian should affect my everyday life and actions. I should show God through my actions by being patient and gentle. Although I struggle with that, I know that He will help me through that. I now know that my lows in life are all part of a bigger plan He has for me. And if I continue to follow Him, great things will come my way.