Christian

Like many people in Austria, I was also Roman Catholic. In confirmation classes, I wanted to learn more about God and the Bible. Unfortunately, I was left alone with my questions. Nevertheless, I believed in the existence of a God that I did not yet know.

During my law studies, I went on a wonderful mountain tour with a friend. It was to be our last. A week later, he had a fatal accident in his car. I was shocked and wondered whether death was the end of life and what gives life its meaning.

Around the same time, my mother received an invitation from a work colleague to attend Christian lectures in Vienna. My mum was interested in the advertised topics and decided to attend the event together with my father.

I hadn't actually intended to accompany my parents. But my father was so enthusiastic about the first lectures that he infected me. And so one evening I set off with him.

I immediately realised that there was a special atmosphere at this event and that the people were somehow different. I was impressed by their friendly and unaffected manner. I was also fascinated by the message of the Bible. I didn't mind having to rearrange my weekly schedule so that I could go to the lectures five times a week. Sport, dance club, billiards and disco gave way to discovering the word of God.

I wondered whether God could really be the author of the Bible. I listened attentively to the speaker's explanations about the prophecies in the book of Daniel. Suddenly I realised that there was a living God behind the Bible. Who else could have predicted world events so precisely centuries in advance?

After a few evenings, we found out that the Seventh-day Adventist Church was the organiser of this lecture series. Had we been taken in by a cult? We immediately distanced ourselves. But one evening the evangelist rang our doorbell. He patiently answered our questions and our doubts disappeared. After that, we also attended the other lectures.

I won the book in a prize draw The life of Jesus by Ellen White. But who was this author? Had God really called a prophetess in our time, as the Adventists claim? The study of the Bible on this subject, the positive influence of E. G. White's books and her unclouded view behind the scenes of world history finally convinced me of the divine inspiration of her writings.

Even during the evangelisation, I attended the youth meetings and the Sabbath services. I already felt at home in the Adventist Church when the preacher asked me what I thought about baptism. I decided to be baptised in 1987. That was a year after the evangelisation.

I found my baptism to be the best day of my life. Looking back, I am very grateful to God for his guidance and for allowing me to serve him and his church as a preacher today.