Kristine Taylor began her testimony saying how her Dad had warned her to pray every day leading up to her baptism as the devil was going to try and stop her, and how glad she was she took his advice as it turned out to be a very stressful week!
She was baptised with her mother at the Dandenong Filipino church in March and shared this story.
Kristine grew up in a Christian family but, due to some difficult things she had to deal with, she became blinded by sadness and anger, weakening the relationship she had had with God. This anger made it hard to rely on God for help with her life. Calling herself Christian, she felt she didn’t really believe it and was living a lie. She moved to Australia with her family, and they found a new church but her relationship with God was distant, her knowledge of the Lord, low. She noticed she did not really know the Bible well, and it was a very confusing time for her, especially as she was not sure she even believed in God.
The worship style of her new church was different, louder and not as peaceful as she was used to, but she eventually got used to it. However she still felt distant from God.
“In 2019, when my Dad was looking for a church here in Melbourne that he could go to, he met Pr Zezreel. Mum was at work on Saturdays, and I began to notice that he would go out every Saturday morning.” And then her mum started telling her about the Seventh-day Adventist church and that she should ‘come and check it out!’
Kristine was not interested in attending, but eventually she gave in and went with her family, although she did not engage. Until, that is, there was a family camp! That camp was a turning point for Kristine and she decided to really give this new church a go.
During lockdown last year, the Dandenong Filipino church members started meeting regularly for family worship and she soon saw that after each lesson, she had learnt something new.
“I noticed that my knowledge of the Lord increased. And I was so grateful to actually learn more about the Bible. Every time I would hear a story, I was like ‘Oh Wow! I didn’t know this before.’” These nightly sessions in turn, strengthened her relationship with God.
Kristine found 2020 very hard but felt that the church people really supported her. Her relationship with God grew and she is very thankful.