I was brought up in a Christian family attending the family service at a church in the next village so that I could go to Sunday School. At about the age of 14, the chaotic family service no longer suited my parents and we moved to another village church in the same parish so that we could attend the rather more subdued 8 am service. With a congregation of about 20 and an average age of about 80, I was the youngest member there. With just a wheezy old organ that struggled to get a tune out to accompany the singing, it was not my idea of fun.

When I came to Eastbourne in 2005 to study at university, a friend of mine introduced me to Victoria and for the majority of the last five years I have attended the weekly services. I say for the majority because when I lost my mother to cancer in 2008, I felt so let down and betrayed by God. Having spent months praying for her recovery and then to lose her, I began to wonder if there really was a God. This led to me turning my back on the church. Feeling confused, I still began to pray. I suppose in my mind I was trying to find a glimmer of hope that there really was a God. After eight months of turmoil and feeling so alone, a friend of mine re-introduced me to Victoria and I have never looked back. When I think back to those dark months, I see now that I was not alone. God was always there for me, for it was then that he carried me. It is just that I chose to go around with my eyes shut going out of my way to ignore him. I am so grateful that I have found Victoria and I now spend each day trying to live in a way that God would want.

I still make mistakes and find myself asking for forgiveness. However, I now know that God is on my side and he walks with me every step of the way. Losing touch with the church has in the end brought me closer to God and I am sure that this was his way of proving to me how great he truly is.

I have thought about baptism on and off since I joined Victoria but being brought up as an Anglican who was christened and confirmed as a child, my parents both said to me that I could not go around getting baptised at every church. However, whilst I may have gone through these motions, none of it was ever my choice and I feel that I am now ready to show that I want to be obedient to the path set out by Jesus. As the apostle Paul says, “We were, therefore, buried with him through baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” I am ready for this new life and excited to see what the Lord has in store for me. I realise that my mother is now serving the Lord and I know that I too will one day see her and Jesus. However, in the meantime, I want to do my best to serve the Lord and spread the word of the gospel. I want to help others to find Jesus Christ and for him to turn their lives around like he has turned mine.