During orientation, we went through sessions to work on our testimonies. They taught us to break it into three parts: life before Jesus, meeting Jesus, and life after. Simple enough, right? As someone who accepted Christ as her Savior at age eleven, it seemed like the most straightforward story. “I was a church kid. My dad sat down in my room one night and explained how Jesus died for my sins. I believed, I was born again, and now I follow Jesus.” Done! Right?
Actually, no—life wasn’t perfect after I accepted Christ. Over the past nine years, I’ve faced trials and struggles I never expected. Believe it or not, this “church kid” has wrestled with lust, depression, suicidal thoughts, anger—everything the enemy tries to throw at followers of Christ. I realized my testimony was not the basic, 3 step version, but was so much more.
When I first wrote my testimony at orientation, it was a short, simple version, cut and clean. After arriving here, I added a little more about how God saved me from depression at seventeen. “God saved me from deep sadness”—that’s it. That’s what I planned to share.
But as I continued sharing, I realized I needed to go deeper. Every day that first week, I found myself erasing and rewriting—to be more honest, more specific. God kept revealing new things, showing me how He had been working even when I wasn’t looking for Him. I saw how He was keeping me alive, how He was placing people around me, how He was pursuing me—even in my rebellion.
Our testimonies aren’t just about what happened. They’re about who God is—faithful, patient, and loving. He’s the one who never gives up, even when we feel lost. He is the one who left the 99 to go save us. And that truth is what keeps me sharing, wanting others to feel the same joy God gave me, praying for souls to drink from the water that will never dry out.
And I wasn’t the only one learning this. One of my teammates (who inspired me) shared how her understanding of her testimony changed, too. She said, “My testimony before getting to orientation was not complete. I had forgotten how much the Lord had rescued me and how He had not only given me eternal life, but has saved me here, in this life I live on earth. He saved me from a long life of shame and regret.”
As she started revising her testimony during orientation, she began to see just how important it was to speak honestly about what God had done. “I realized how crucial it was that people knew of my God, who is the ultimate Healer and Cleanser of our evil ways.”
She also reflected on what it’s been like to share more openly since arriving. “Vulnerability is not easy, but it is something the enemy hates. It is a weapon against sin, and it opens up doors so others can be vulnerable and relate to your story of God's beautiful grace and salvation.” She explained that “impurity and a life lived in secret lust is sadly very common here in the Philippines; so for others to hear there is another way to live this life—one that is filled with joy and peace—it is far more impactful to explain to them that Jesus can deliver us from those specific bonding sins!”
Looking back on this process, she said, “God has shown me His love, and how He is a detailed God! He cares for us in the big and the small, and He never shows up late.” She also shared how much it’s meant to walk through this with a close-knit team: “God has blessed me with a team of all girls where we are able to talk through— in vulnerability— the uncomfortable conversations, which has helped us immensely on revising our testimonies and being honest with ourselves, each other, and the people we are ministering to!”
In the end, our testimonies are not something we craft on our own—they are stories authored by God Himself. He is the one writing every chapter, even the ones we don’t understand yet. As we surrender and speak boldly about what He’s done, He uses our lives to reflect His grace and truth. It’s not about polished words or perfect pasts. It’s not a list of shameful things we’ve done or the trouble we’ve gotten into—it’s about letting the Author speak through us. And when He does, our stories become tools for His glory and vessels to advance His kingdom.
PH Agriculture Team, Bicol