One part of the REAPSouth ministry is offering Free English Classes to any and all people interested in learning English. During the class they are taught a bit of English and then we use the Bible to teach the second part. It is a really neat ministry that allows the people to learn English for free, and at the same time learn about God! Many of the people who come to the classes become translators for REAPSouth. I have attended 4 classes so far and I just wanted to share a little from this evening's class.
It was a small group of regulars tonight so we began by reading Acts 21:1-22, Paul’s testimony. After digging into the verse and elaborating on a few things, Mike, the leader, had asked Andrea to share her testimony, so she wrote it out on a sheet of paper and Michael made copies of it for everyone to read and follow along as she shared it. Afterwards we decided to open it up for anyone else who wanted to share. Michael shared, I shared, and Antonio shared, there were two that chose not to. After some more discussion a young lady, that I had seen there before, always with a big smile on her face, piped in gently:
“I would like to share my testimony too. I feel like I should. But it is difficult for me to share. I feel embarrassed because when I hear people share their testimony it always seems so easy for them, but it was not easy for me. It was a battle.”
“Both of my parents believe that there is a God but go no further than that. When I was a young girl my parents fought all of the time. My father had problems with alcohol; he was an alcoholic and so was my mother. They would fight and yell and yell and yell at each other every night. I would cry and cry in my room so hard that my neighbor would come to my room and get me and take me to his house so I wouldn’t have to hear my parents; so I couldn’t see them fighting. It always made me so sad, but I would also wonder why they stayed together. I had a bad childhood.”
“But I was also a very angry person. I used to yell at people and treat them badly. I didn’t know why. And I felt bad; I wondered, ‘Why do I treat people like this?’”
“I started coming to REAPSouth English classes/Bible studies; I don’t know why. If anyone tried to tell me something about the Bible or about God I would say ‘Oh I don’t believe that.’ You couldn’t make me believe anything about God.”
“But I was a very dependant person. I had a boyfriend and whenever I wasn’t with him or my parents I felt very very lonely. I could not be alone and I became depressed. I went to see a therapist and I took medicine for my depression, but I still felt a hole that I cannot explain.”
“I still kept going to REAPSouth classes and I felt like I needed to pray but I did everything in my power not to. Whenever I felt like I needed to pray, ‘Oh I’ll watch tv instead,’ or something like that. So many times I felt that way and I would never give in.”
“Still my depression continued until I was to the point that I was a mess; I could do nothing, I could not watch tv, I could not go to class, I could not eat, without feeling this emptiness, I could do nothing…but pray.”
“It is amazing how much I have changed because of Jesus. I have peace, even when people are fighting. I have happiness all the time. And I appreciate life.”
“I was a mess. And I am a mess without Jesus. I still cannot believe He loves me!”
(This is from memory, but it truly is almost word for word…her testimony really meant a lot to me, which is why I felt compelled to share it with you all, I pray this touches your hearts too.)
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