Darmstadt, Germany

My Journey with Christ

Hello, my name is Kasja Sadler. I am 15 years old and was recently baptized at Converge International Fellowship in Darmstadt, Germany. I would like to tell you about my story with Christ.

As a child I always believed in God and Jesus. I always knew why we celebrated Christmas and Easter. But that was mainly because it was all I knew. My parents are Christians, so I learned from them. There was never a doubt in my mind that God wasn’t real.

But a few months ago, my parents started really following Jesus and building a relationship with Him. I began to see a real difference in them. They were happier than usual, more peaceful, and more patient, and they just changed how they lived their everyday life. Not that there was none of that before, but it was just so much more.

That’s when I decided to start building a relationship with Jesus too.

At first, I found it difficult to find time in my day to read my Bible. And when I did, I felt like I was just reading the words that were on the paper and not really feeling anything. So, I got demotivated and stopped for a couple weeks. My parents then saw I needed help and asked me if I wanted to start getting up at 5 a.m. every morning before school for Bible study. I really didn’t want to get up that early, but I set about five alarms every night to make sure I got up!

Starting my day with the Lord showed me how much of a difference it can make. I then looked forward, not to getting up early, but to spending time with Christ. I still had the feeling that I didn’t have the Holy Spirit like my parents had, where God would speak to them and really touch their hearts just by reading the Scripture. This time I didn’t want to give up though. I kept on track and prayed a lot.

About a week later my family and I went to church and that’s when I met Pastor Kent Staton. The way he preached and shared the Word of God really moved me. I definitely learned a whole lot from him, but I still felt I didn’t have the Holy Spirit so I asked him about it and if there was anything I was doing wrong.

He told me that there isn’t really a “correct” way to pray or read the Bible, but to just pray before I read the Bible and ask God to help me hear what He was trying to tell me. I then did that every time before I read and soon I found myself crying about something I already knew from when I was a kid:  “Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us” (Ephesians 2:18).

This was my first Holy Spirit moment! That verse helped me remember what Christ did for me, something that cannot be forgotten or overlooked. Because of Him I am able, even with all my sins, to stand before our God Almighty and be forgiven and welcomed to His kingdom.

That moment was also the one that really opened my eyes and made it clear that I should completely give my life and everything I do and think to Jesus. I accepted Him as my Lord and Savior.

I decided, not long after that to get baptized. So I asked Pastor Kent that following Sunday if he could set it up and of course he was more than happy to. About 4 weeks later it was the day I was so excited for. I thought I wasn’t going to be nervous at all, which I wasn’t up until the last 30 minutes. My mom gave me some really good advice to go to the changing room about 10 minutes before the baptism and spend that time with God.  So I did, asking God to calm my nerves and to help me not freeze up like I do, especially because I had to answer the pastor’s questions in front of everybody. And guess what?  God helped me out and all of my nerves were gone and I knew exactly what to say. When I was lifted back out of the water, I really did feel like my old self was being washed away. At that moment I was completely at peace and I felt so much joy.

I now feel stronger with God than ever, and I don’t want to give that up. So I continue to get up in the mornings, I think about God in everything I do, and I even started discipling one of my closest friends. Jesus sacrificed His life for my sins, and I want to try my hardest to show Him just how thankful I am.

I now can see that I don’t have to be on my knees crying to have the Holy Spirit – I’ve had Him all along. He has done things in my life, big things that I didn’t see before, but now I do. I am just so grateful for everything He has done for me in the past and what He holds for me in the future.

Kasja Sadler