Divine Testimonies

God has fulfilled his promise to me yet again! Since leaving my old Parish Church back in London, I did not go back to church for quite some time. My mother suggested going to a Roman Catholic Church soon after I left my old Parish Church. I enjoyed the services and felt very spiritual, but when I wanted to be a member of that church, I had to fill out a form and turn it in to the priest. 

I headed to the clergy room, and the priest gave me the form to fill out. I made a mistake, apologised for the error, and said that I needed another one. He got very angry all of a sudden and grabbed the form from my hands, tore it up and threw the pieces of paper all over the floor. He then grabbed a new copy and slammed it on the table and said, “Here fill it out again!” 

I was very shocked and embarrassed and decided that I would not go back again after the way he reacted. From this moment onwards, I did not want to step foot in a church again, or that is what I thought. 

Since moving to Edinburgh, I attended Sunday Mass at one of Edinburgh’s popular cathedrals. Every so often on Sunday, I would attend the Sunday morning service. It was not perfect because it was quite difficult to know everyone on a personal level

that went to that church. Even the ministers were very reluctant to get to know you or remember you by name. After a while, I decided I did not want to go anymore. My pastor and her family urged me to go back or find a church, regardless if it was a Cathedral, Baptist or Parish church. My Pastor would often tell me, “You are going to worship your GOD!” The following year, I did come across St. Andrew's and St. George's West Church, also in the city centre. 

I stumbled across it by searching for churches nearby on the internet. As I was browsing through their home page, I thought to myself: “This might be the church I have been looking for!” However, I did not make any effort to go and see for myself what the church was like, so I decided just to continue not going to church at all. 

I was just telling myself to wait again for God to lead me to the right church. As the months went by, my parents came up to visit me as they often do. My mother and I were going to go to the Cathedral, but we were discussing beforehand if we should head to the Cathedral or head to St. Andrew's and St. George's West that I found earlier. We finally agreed that we would head to the Cathedral instead. This is, I believe, where God stepped in! 

The bus that comes by on a Sunday is normally every 45 minutes to one hour, which means if we miss the bus then there was no way to make it on time. I did not drive and my parents always come up by train. By the time we got ready to leave, I had used my phone’s bus tracker to check when the bus was coming. I saw that the bus had already gone. It had come earlier than expected, and we knew then that we were not going to make it. 

We then had no choice but to go to the 11 a.m. morning service at St. Andrew's and St. George's West. God’s plan came full circle; this was the church He wanted me to attend! We arrived in time for the 11 a.m. service. As we headed in, the people were so friendly, so welcoming! 

They made us feel at home as if we had been coming for years. The interior of the church was lovely and bright, with very simple stained-glass windows, and paintings of each of the apostles. A huge wooden cross was positioned on the back wall right above the pulpit. Behind the wooden cross was a round fluorescent light. 

The service was only one hour long, but it was just perfect. Reverend Ian, who led the service, was talking about the Root of the Tree. They had a simple choir, but they sang very well. Overall, everything about the church, the service as well the congregation down to the minister, was what I wanted when looking for a church. 

After the service, my mother and I headed downstairs for afternoon tea and coffee, and we introduced ourselves. Instantly the director of music and the conductor of the choir approached me to say hello and welcome. I told her how I sang in the choir back in London, and I started at the age of eight years old. I mentioned that I sang in the choir for over 13 years before I left. She was so excited to hear of my experience in singing in the choir because they lacked a few male singers. 

She was pleading with me to join their choir! Overall, this was the church that God wanted me to be a part of. I waited patiently, and I was praying often, asking God to lead to the right church. He had answered my prayers! I spoke to Revered Ian a few Sundays later and told him of my Vision of Hell, and how I came to Christ. 

I spoke about all the terrible things that happened to me over the past 28 years of my life. Reverend Ian told me, “You have your heart and mind fixed on Christ! God will present you with more opportunities to share your testimony!” 

I spoke to several people after church in the cafe and asked them about trying to get young people to come to church. I mentioned about having Bible classes and other activities that may encourage youngsters to come to church. All I know at this stage is that I asked God to find me a church— the right church, and God answered my request. I am right where God wants me to be, and whatever plan He has for me, I know it will be to do His will!

By

Richard Kansley