Hello everyone, I’m Vanessa,

I came to know of the faith at a young age from being raised in a Christian household. I had grown up in a very small church where there weren’t a lot of kids that were my age. I didn’t have many people who I could ask questions to, and it was difficult to understand who Christ was at that time.

It wasn’t until my last year of high school that I started to question my faith and started wondering what a relationship with God would look like. With these questions and thoughts, I felt that God had answered them by providing me with a wonderful Christian community through my university fellowship, many of whom are here today. It was during my first year that I finally felt that community, as well as the encouragement to pursue a relationship with God.

This strong desire continued until my third year of university, when I got quite sick. I suddenly felt a wave of doubt in my life and was very lost in who or where God was. Even after my illness, I struggled a lot with my relationship with God. I felt a lot of anger and frustration towards him. Instead of walking towards him, I felt I had walked away.

During this time, I kept waiting for this one moment of revelation where God reveals his plans and Himself to me, but it never happened. Instead, it was a very slow process of reconstructing my faith. I was very blessed to have had and continue to have a strong group of Christian friends who walked alongside me during these years. Many of them have prayed for me and patiently listened to my struggles.

There wasn’t one moment, prayer, or conversation that made me turn back to God. To be quite honest, I’m not sure how it happened. But maybe it was the gentle pull from God, or maybe it was God softening my hardened heart. All I know is that I was never alone. I’m reminded of one of my favourite worship songs, “Another in the fire.” The song is about the three men in the fire. And that no matter the circumstance or trials that we face, we are never alone because we have God standing next to us.

I want to thank my family, my closest friends, and my church community. Thank you for your patience, prayer, and for continuously pointing me to God in every situation. And I thank God for his faithfulness.

Thank you.