Faith Stories (Page 4)
Derrick Jenkins: How God Works
Hello, my name is Derrick Jenkins. I am married to Tayla. I am the son of Maria and Bob, I work as a Journeyman Plumber, and I live in Dunstable MA. As a young child I was very curious about how everything worked, why it worked and who came up with the idea. I liked to take things apart and put them back together. I did this just to see how they were built and how they functioned. I had…
Heathyr Gavlik: Filling the Void
Hi, my name is Heathyr Gavlik. I have three children and I live in Tyngsborough. I grew up in the projects with an alcoholic mother and an absent father. Being the oldest I would be left alone at night to take care of my brother at a very young age. I can remember being afraid many nights. My mom and dad yelled and screamed at each other and it always made me scared. Sometimes I still fear the night as…
Diana Walker-Moyer: God Has Always Been “Of Course”
Hi, my name is Diana Walker-Moyer and I live here in Westford with my husband, Alan. When my two sisters and I were very young my mom left our family and at the age of 26, my dad found himself the single parent to three little girls ages 4, 3, and 2. He moved us to my grandparents’ farm where he had grown up and we became my grandmother’s “day daughters”. My dad worked days as a telephone lineman, helped…
Shirley Burchfield: One Thing Missing, Peace
My name is Shirley Burchfield. Currently, I live in Tyngsboro with my husband, Bruce. Growing up, I was the third child in a family of four of a good Baptist mother and a non-practicing Catholic father. As long as I can remember we attended the Baptist church and Sunday School. When I became a middle schooler, I was thrilled to be able to attend youth group with my older brother and sister. I grew up learning all the stories. I…
John Ralls: Mercilessly Bullied to Powerfully Loved
Hi, I’m John Ralls, and I help lead the worship and media ministry here at Cornerstone. I grew up in Chelmsford with my mom, dad and little sister. Although I was far from perfect, I would probably be considered a good kid by most. I was motivated to be good by guilt and fear of getting into trouble. I was the kind of kid that didn’t want to rock the boat. Going to church was important to me and my…
Chris Coughlin: Radically Changed by Jesus
Hello, my name is Chris Coughlin. My wife Trisha and I live in Westford. We have been married almost 30yrs and have been blessed with five wonderful children and now one son-in-law. Today I have the privilege of sharing my Faith story with you. I’d like to begin by saying, that God is truly in the business of changing lives and I stand before you as one whose life has been radically changed by Jesus! Paul said, “Therefore, if anyone…
Karyn Tang: Once Upon a Time, I Was an Atheist
My name is Karyn Tang. I live in Westford with my husband Aaron and six children. Once upon a time, I was an atheist. I grew up in southern China. Like most people in that region, my parents practice Fengshui, and the worship of ancestors and idols. Under the influence of the communism, Christianity was unheard of and I grew up rejecting all religions, including my parents’. My family was poor. I learned early that a good education was our…
Rachel Goclawski: You Turned My Wailing Into Dancing
I’m Rachel Goclawski, I live in Maynard with my husband, Ted and little girls, Lily and Krista. I’ve been an IT Specialist with the US Army for 15 years, and grew up on Long Island. I lost my father to cancer when I was young and my mother turned to the Roman Catholic Church for comfort, but it didn’t seem to help. Growing up I learned to rely on myself to be there for my mom in her anger and…
Pat Courtemanche: Faith Enough to Go
I grew up in a French-speaking home in Auburn, Maine with a sweet Canadian-born mother and an alcoholic father. My parents were Roman Catholic, though they allowed me to go to the Vacation Bible School (VBS) every year at the little Baptist church near my house. My friend’s grandparents were true believers and after VBS would run a little Backyard Bible club. This is where I first met Christ as a 6 year old and accepted him as my Savior.…
Bruce Burchfield: Empty Repetition and Knowing God
I was brought up Catholic. I went to church every Sunday. I attended CCD. I knew who the Lord was. I knew who the Virgin Mary was. I knew my prayers. I was baptized as an infant, celebrated my first holy communion, and was confirmed. When I was in high school, I was doing the things all teenagers do. I was dating and accompanying my girlfriends to their houses of worship and experiencing different ways of worshiping the Lord.…
Rebecca Lawrence: No, I’m Not Perfect
As a small child, this may come as a shock, but I was NOT the perfect child. In fact, when I did something wrong my parents would ask me why. “Why did you lie?” or “Why did you hit your brother?” I would answer “I dunno” and I meant it. I didn’t know why I did things I knew were wrong, but I had a sense that something was missing, I just didn’t know what. I found the answer at church. I grew up in a…
Ann Ralls: From goddess Worship to Worshipping Christ
My mother would prepare food for them, said prayers while burning incense sticks, and burn ritual paper money to appease gods and ancestors for health and prosperity. We occasionally visited temples of different gods to pray and burn more incense and ritual paper money. My impression of the religion at that time was that we’d better do all the necessary rituals or they would come after us. I once asked my mother why we were doing all this;…