Dear brothers and sisters, my name is Esther. I am so grateful to share how I accepted God as my savior with you all today.

I grew up in a Christian family. I have been going to worship every Sunday since I was a child. I have already heard of many Bible stories and recited many Bible verses in Sunday school. I also joined the church choir. I thought I had already become a Christian; I just haven’t gotten baptized because I was not 18 years old yet. That’s what I thought when I was a child.

In sixth grade, my best friend asked me why I chose Esther as my English name. I told her proudly that I am a Christian. My father got this name from the Bible. She asked me again why I needed to go to church every Sunday, which wastes my weekends and keeps me from going out to play. I told her that it’s because my parents asked me to go to church with them, so I obeyed. She laughed at me and said I never voice my own opinions. I only follow my parents’ directions. At that time, I began to wonder whether God is real or not. I went to church diligently, but my academics didn’t quite measure up. I always prayed with my dad, but my performance in the swimming team didn’t improve. I did not tell my parents what I was thinking of, especially my Dad since he is the one who always reminds my sister and me to pray and read the Bible every day. I was afraid that I would disappoint him. I hid everything in my heart. When I started middle school, my grades slipped even further because I couldn’t keep up with my classes. I also received bullying from people on my school hockey team. The situation was made worse by my going through puberty at this time.

Whenever my father told me to pray, I felt annoyed because my life didn’t improve after I prayed. I started forgetting to pray and read the Bible. My relationship with God strayed even further. I even started to doubt the very existence of God.

At that time, I had an opportunity to join a four-day worship and praise training camp with my dad. We needed to go to church every day at seven o’clock in the morning, where we prayed and worshiped for the entire day until eleven o’clock at night. It was exhausting. I felt like I was wasting my vacation in this pointless and tiring camp. On the last day of the training camp, the missionary shared with us why Jesus was willing to die for us. He suffered all the humiliations and whippings without complaint. He was even denied by Peter three separate times. For what reason was Jesus willing to save sinners like us?. At that question, I started to shed tears for no reason. I was familiar with that Bible verses because I learned it before in the church when I was a child. I could even recite it. This time, however, I was not just understanding the verse as a Sunday school story, but felt that God was talking to me. At that moment, I could feel the surrounding become very quiet. All the frustrations disappeared from my heart. It might bizarre to say, but I could feel God holding me and saying that He is staying beside me. It was the first time I know for certain that God is real. It was also the first time I took the initiative to pray out loud. I opened my voice to God, “Lord! Please forgive me. I am a weak sinner. Please remove all unbelieves and doubts in my heart. Open my heart and become the savior of my life.” Maybe you ask why a child who grew up in a Christian family couldn’t accept Jesus Christ until they turned 15. I also thought I was a Christian when I was young. However, it wasn’t until I grew up that I realized I had treated the Bible as nothing more than a story. I used to pray because my father asked me to. Now I accept Jesus Christ by myself.

If you asked me if there were any big changes in my life after I finally put my faith in God, I will tell you, no. My grades are as bad as before. There are still people on the school team who hate me and with whom I could not get along with. Unlike before, however, I will pray and find God because I know that only God can help me. He will never give up on me.

To close, here is my favorite verse, Psalm 23, “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he led me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” This Bible verse was shared to me by my father. I don’t think he remembers when. This verse gave me much strength when I was weak. It comforted me when I was facing obstacles. I am grateful that God chose me as His daughter. I am also thankful that I can testify in front of you all that Jesus Christ has become the savior of my life. May God bless you, thank you.