When I was first asked to write a testimony for the website, about the way in which God has touched my life, I couldn’t think of anything to write about. Then I thought back to August. My mum and her cousin Paul have always been close, that’s why she chose him to be my Godfather. In August he was rushed to hospital after contracting a virus, which started to shut down all his major organs. My family and I were in Spain at the time and we felt totally hopeless. I realised that I had my youth leader’s mobile number on my phone upstairs in my room. It was about 11pm on a Saturday evening and mum and I sat down and wrote a message to Carol. At that point we’d been told that there was no hope for Paul. The next day, the church prayed for him and on the Tuesday my great aunt went to see him; she cried with joy and said that she had her son back.
Now five months on he’s back to his old self, cracking jokes. My great aunt says that if the church hadn’t prayed for him, she doesn’t think that he’d still be here today.
That’s the way that God has touched my life the most
Jessica – Aged 14

Hi, I’m Anneka.
I just thought I would tell about the day I went on an Alpha Away Day. I still can’t believe it happened and can’t speak about it; I can’t get the words out.
We were told to open our hearts and let the Holy Spirit into our bodies, and then Henry, our vicar, was saying all this stuff, I couldn’t really hear him, I just had this feeling of emotion inside me. I could feel my eyes watering, and the feeling of grief I’d been holding inside just came to the surface, I felt free.
I then suddenly had a warm feeling inside of me, as though all of it was being taken away. Then I realised God was releasing me and filling me with the Holy Spirit. I started shaking, and crying, and someone took me outside and prayed with me; I felt a lot better. I felt warm again inside and felt as though God was holding my hand. When I came home I listened to some worship songs, I could hear God speaking to me.
This was my first real encounter with God, but it’s made me realise how much I want Him to be part of my life.
Anneka - age 16