I come from a Christian family.

My mum was brought up in a Christian environment, and my dad

became a Christian before he met my mum.

I grew up in an evangelical church, with lots of friends and family around me. So when I was little I
suppose it was a habit to go to church with my parents every Sunday. But when I grew up a little bit,
say at 9 years old, I joined the childrens group on Saturday where I used to meet up with my friends,
study the Bible, sing, pray and play too. That was what in my childhood was called Sunday School.
It was the highlight of my week.

I can say my security and happiness as a Christian child came from the Saturday and Sunday evening
meetings which more aimed at children.

I was still a regular at church, familiar with the gospel, believing that Jesus died for my sins, enjoying
the local youth conferences, when I got to teenage years. At this age I started to have my own
struggles, mainly with school. So although I can say it was a blessing to be born into a Christian
home, I can say I had my ups and downs as well.

It was difficult to develop a personal faith with God. I could see as a family we were blessed, but I
used to run to God in difficult times when I felt pretty helpless, like during school tests and exams.
God was my rescuer, but not my every day guardian, so I felt like he was far away.

During my youth I had the chance to go to several youth camps, and I think they were the most
important factor in me deciding to become a Christian. The camps were always held in the beautiful
Transylvanian mountains, with lovely views. I used to love that everything during this time from
morning to evening was focussed on God. (That was when I decided that Psalm 34 was my
favourite.) I has such a blessed time there and it felt like I grew closer to God in just a few days. After
coming back home though, after a week or so I could feel the enthusiasm leaving, and I used to miss
it.

It was on a Sunday evening 14th November 1999, when a visiting pastor was preaching at our church,
that the message about giving my heart and my life to God was clear. So I stood up in church and
asked God for forgiveness and accepted him as my saviour. It was a lovely evening. I felt free from
my sins, and I knew that God had a plan for my life.

To reinforce that decision, not long afterwards, our youth pastor gave me a verse to read Proverbs
4 verse 23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. My first thought
was simple- if I wanted to be blessed by him, Ive got to stay close to him and listen to him all the
time. Not easy to practice, but I was determined to see God work in my life. And being able to count
his blessings.

The hardest times for me actually came after I became a Christian, and that was probably a good
thing, because it gave me the chance to develop a personal relationship with God. It was hard for me
when I got married and moved to England to leave all my family behind and to start my new life here
with not much support and guidance in a different country with a different language and culture, no
job, not even close to Tims family. It was pretty hard at the start, but God was very close to me and
did as he promised in one of my favourite verses, Isaiah 54 verse 10 Though the mountains be
shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken.

Looking back now, I can confirm that God blessed me much more than I ever thought was possible.
He is my best friend, he gives me strength every day, and Im very thankful to his faithfulness
towards me and my whole family.