Barbara
I grew up as the only child of Catholic parents on a farm in the Allgäu. We regularly went to church on Sundays. I believed in God. I got married when I was 21 and we took over my parents' farm. God gave us three children. Then my husband started drinking. This made him aggressive and violent. My life eventually consisted only of hard work and disappointments. I prayed the rosary every day to receive help from Mary. Nevertheless, I soon suffered severe depression.
One day, my cousin and his wife came to visit me. They joyfully told me about their new faith in God's word. They had become Adventists. It was obvious that they had changed. They had something that I was missing. At the end of their visit, they prayed with me. That impressed me. Soon afterwards, they gave me a Bible. Unfortunately, I didn't realise at the time what treasures were in that book.
A short time later, I had to go to hospital because of a nervous breakdown. I no longer saw any point in life and thought about suicide. But the responsibility for my children kept me going. I had a New Testament plus Psalms in my hospital room. I read it in my despair. Psalm 34:19 was like a balm for my soul. For the first time, I felt that God was speaking to me. So I trusted his word.
From that hour on, many things changed. God gave me strength and courage to live again. In the meantime, my marriage had ended in divorce. I often read the Bible and had many questions. My cousin asked the preacher from the nearby Adventist church to visit me. I subsequently received Bible lessons from him. That was hard, because my building of faith gradually collapsed, but something new also emerged.
The fear of people was like an insurmountable mountain for me. I told that to an old preacher. He said that anyone who talks about you today could be dead tomorrow. Have you ever feared a dead person? The biblical view of the state of the dead was a great liberation for me. I had believed in the horror stories about hell. Now I decided to go to church on the Sabbath. The people there were so friendly and loving. The sermon was lively and informative. The service was like a piece of heaven on earth for me. I knew immediately that I would come back. Nevertheless, because of my neighbours, I went to church for a year not only on the Sabbath, but also on Sundays. But at some point I had to make a decision. After great inner struggles, I was finally ready, based on the promise in Isaiah 41:10. I gave my life to Jesus Christ and was baptised in 1991. My family and the whole village turned against me afterwards. My neighbour suddenly saw me as a witch. Even today, she still blames me when her children, grandchildren or cows fall ill. That is a terrible experience. But God always gives me the right word at the right time. I was also able to experience great miracles. First my daughter was baptised, then my daughter-in-law, a colleague at work, my mother (at the age of 90) and last year my eldest son. I can only say: „Praise and thanks be to the Lord!“ I have found many friends and a real home in the church. My greatest wish is that I can still give Bible lessons to many people and that I can lead them to Jesus and his truth through the power of the Holy Spirit.
