Experiences with God

Dear brothers and sisters, 

God has answered my prayer of many years, and for the glory of God I would like to write a testimony about it. 

My heart is full of joy and gratitude to my Savior for His love, care, and grace. I feel enveloped and secure in His goodness – in past times of loneliness as well as now, in the time of joy. Solomon writes: “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

Looking back:

I grew up in a Christian home and knew a lot about God. However, I did not want to serve Him in my youth and went my own way, opening many wrong doors in my life that I can no longer close. In 2005, I went to Australia, met my husband there, and stayed there.

Through the prayers of my parents, God found me, even on the other side of the globe. When I found Jesus as my personal Savior through a sermon on a CD by Brother Semenjuk in 2011, I had no church and no born-again Christians around me. I suffered a lot from this spiritual loneliness, that there were no people nearby who were of one mind with me and had the same roots as well as the same imprint. In particular, I missed my family and my cousins, with whom I had grown up. I realized too late how much I missed them all.

Spiritual communication was limited to the livestream from Canada and the many CDs with sermons that were then sent to me, e-mails with brothers and sisters, and the Foundation of Faith publication which I received regularly. Online communication was not yet at the level we have today.

My first love for God was burning, and I can still remember how eagerly I awaited the livestream from the Church of God Edmonton each time. Because of the time difference, I planned my son’s kindergarten hours as well as my daily duties so that I could be at home in front of the laptop for the online livestream. It was always such a blessing for me. When there was a special celebration in Edmonton on a Sunday morning, like baptism, Christmas, Easter, etc., it was the middle of the night in Australia, and I would sneak out of the room to watch the livestream. I loved Jesus with all my heart, and nothing ever seemed too hard for me to be in His presence.

My joy was all the greater when, after a few years, an online livestream was introduced in the Church of God in Herford, Germany and then later in the church in Eppingen. It was rare that I was not watching the online services on Sundays.

In the meantime, I got to know a Russian church in Melbourne, where I found a spiritual home. I was warmly welcomed there and was able to cultivate the fellowship of believers that I was missing so much at the time.

Australia is a beautiful country. In His goodness, God had given me a beautiful house, a family of my own, a well-loved job, Christian friends, and a general well-being. Many people would probably like to trade places with me. But in all these years, I carried a fervent desire and prayer in my heart: to go back to Germany, to experience everyday life with my family, to familiarize the children with the German language and culture, to visit the Church of God, and simply to be allowed to live there again.

All these years, I blamed myself for not having managed to go back or at least for not having seriously tried to initiate everything for it. It was simply a senseless suffering. I could not change anything, because it was not for me to decide alone, and it was never “the right time” for our family.

In the bedroom on the wall, I had a picture with a Bible verse: “With God all things are possible!” (Matthew 19:26). Every day I looked at this picture and trusted Jesus that He could make the impossible possible if it was His will.

I can vividly remember one incident. I was not doing so well spiritually because I was very homesick. I asked God very specifically to take away this strong homesickness if it was His will and He could use me in Australia. My constant prayer was: “Not my will but your will, Lord, shall be done.” But surely He should take away this deep melancholy from my heart. As a result, the next day I was overcome with such peace and serenity that I had to keep checking to see if the previous pain wasn’t still there. But it was gone.

A short time after that, my husband made the suggestion all by himself to all move to Germany for a while. I could hardly believe that my wish and prayer would now come true. Half a year later, we landed in Germany where God wonderfully arranged everything: an empty apartment from my parents in my brother’s house, a job for the same company I had worked for before I went to Australia, and a school for the children. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t consciously thank God for this wonderful gift of being in the circle of my family.

How long we will be in Germany I leave to Jesus. He already knows what is best for me and my family. He always led me by His hand, and I only want to trust Him. Only He deserves the glory for everything!

Elina Gleske

Neubulach, Germany