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| The evangelistic newspaper of the modern Jesus Army | 2003 |
I WANTED JESUS IN MY LIFE
Serious athlete comes to the 'crunch' and chooses to live out her radical faith
Sandra looked up at the bright sun, dazed after tipping headlong over the bonnet of the oncoming car.
"I could have been dead," she thought. She lay on the road, her foot aching and the wheels of her pushbike still spinning nearby.
Little did she know that this accident was to give her the answer to her prayers.
The oldest in a family of four and surrounded by love, Sandra enjoyed her teenage years in northern Germany and made the most of every opportunity to have fun. Athletics had been part of this since she was five years old. Ten years on, she became a serious competitor.
"High jump was my favourite. I trained every day and was a member of the regional team."
But God was already on her agenda. "If You exist, show me," she had prayed.
On her first day back at school after the accident, the Jesus Freaks, a local group of radical young believers, were there. They shared the story of Jesus, the difference He had made in their lives and their desire to travel nationwide, sharing about God.
"I was amazed! Before, Christianity had seemed boring but they were really excited about it! And they really lived it too."
However, her enthusiasm soon faded when she could do sports again. Six months later another accident stopped her in her tracks. She had to have surgery on her leg and then months of therapy. More of her time was spent at Jesus Freaks' meetings. But, in April 2000, crunch-time came.
"I really wanted to do sports. But then I went to a meeting in a derelict house. There were ten young people, all just worshipping. I could really feel God. So I made my decision: 'I don't want to live without Jesus any more.'"
Six months later Sandra was baptised. After a chance encounter with an mJa member on a school-trip, she decided to spend her gap year in a Jesus Army house in London. The level of sacrifice she saw there impressed her.
"Some had left their countries, some were sharing everything, and others had made little, personal sacrifices you wouldn't even notice! They were serious for God.
"The only difference between me and my school friends back home was that they would sleep in on Sundays and I would go to church. Here I can live the radical life I always wanted as a believer."
This article has been extracted from Streetpaper, published by Jesus Fellowship
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